A Welsh private has described the teamwork needed for the mammoth trip British troops are undertaking as part of Nato’s largest exercise of the year.
Around 2,500 British personnel, along with hundreds of vehicles, are moving across Europe by land, air and sea to take part in Steadfast Dart, a showcase of the alliance’s readiness, capability and commitment to defend Nato territories.
It comes ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday, with much of the exercise taking place in Romania, which borders Ukraine.
Private Erica Simpson, 19, from Haverfordwest, Wales, said good teamwork was needed to keep going during the 1,400-mile journey from the UK.
Speaking to the PA news agency, she said: “The drive over has been long – it’s been exhausting.
“But even though it’s been in the dark, it’s also been great, we’ve been able to see different cities, to see what different cultures are like.
“We’re driving during the night, so you’re just fighting to stay awake, it’s a lot of concentration, you have to chat with people to stay awake.
“There’s a lot of teamwork that goes into it, you speak about anything and everything just to pass the time because you’re there for hours.”
The private, who was speaking at a Hungarian military base in Szentes on Tuesday, said they had travelled 1,240 miles so far, with around 200 left to go.
The troops’ vehicles were checked over and prepared for their time on exercise in Romania.
Steadfast Dart is the first major deployment of Nato’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF) and the largest planned exercise of 2025, testing the alliance’s ability to deploy under pressure.
British troops set off from Marchwood in Hampshire last week, with around 730 vehicles, including Foxhound patrol and Jackal high mobility weapons platform vehicles, Mastiff armoured patrol vehicles as well as fuel tankers and forklift trucks, fitted onto three ferries at the Sea Mounting Centre.
