Pte Aaron Cameron of 5 SCOTS, The Royal Regiment of Scotland went from Edinburgh Castle to Lithuania.Pte Aaron Cameron from Rutherglen.(Image: ugc)

A soldier from Rutherglen has made an impressive transition from formal ceremonies to full operational readiness in Lithuania – in just over a day.

Pte Aaron Cameron of 5 SCOTS, The Royal Regiment of Scotland was one of the soldiers who took part in the historic installation of the new Governor of Edinburgh Castle.

He played a unique role in the ceremony, stationed above the castle’s drawbridge to verify the identity of Lord Lyon, the Governor’s representative, as part of the formal proceedings.

And within 24 hours, he had swapped his ceremonial uniform for combat gear and prepared for his deployment to Lithuania for Exercise IRON WOLF.

The soldiers from Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (5 SCOTS), gave F1 pitstop teams a run for their money after making the turbocharged transition from the formal pomp of the historic military ceremony at Edinburgh Castle to full operational readiness in such a short space of time.

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Pte Aaron was just one of the soldiers on ceremonial duties at 6.30pm on Wednesday for the installation of the new Governor of Edinburgh Castle. By Thursday evening, he was fully packed, prepped and ready to board military transport for Exercise IRON WOLF, a three-week deployment in Lithuania alongside their armed forces.

The formal ceremony at Edinburgh Castle, a tradition dating back to the year 1106, saw 5 SCOTS joined by the Grenadier Guards and the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland to mark the installation of Major General Robert Bruce – a former Colonel of The Regiment – as Governor.

Pte Cameron held a unique role in the installation, positioned above the drawbridge of the Castle to verify the identity of Lord Lyon, the governor’s representative, as part of the formal proceedings.

“I’ve never seen the view from that part of the castle before,” he said. “It was something different and interesting – I’ve not done anything like it.”

Left to right, Lt Henry Sutton and Pte Aaron Cameron (from Rutherglen)(Image: ugc)

As soon as the ceremony concluded at 7.30pm, the soldiers returned to barracks to begin the rapid shift from kilts to combat mode.

“Even though we do both of them, they are very different experiences and require a very different mindset,” said Pte Cameron. “But you kind of just get back into the swing of it.”

Originally scheduled to deploy at 3am on Thursday, the soldiers’ departure was slightly delayed but despite the change, the transition was already in full swing.

Exercise IRON WOLF will see 5 SCOTS working alongside a Lithuanian Battle Group in a validation training exercise designed to strengthen NATO cooperation and battlefield readiness.

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The Royal Regiment of Scotland (SCOTS) is the senior line Infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed on March 28, 2006, and it was founded on the fighting heritage of historic Scottish Infantry Regiments representing over 390 years’ continuous service to the crown. Their motto is ‘Nemo Me Impune Lacessit’ (No one provokes me with impunity) – shared with the Order of the Thistle, Scotland’s highest order of chivalry.

Since its formation, The Royal Regiment of Scotland has deployed to almost every theatre of operations the British Army has been involved in; conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, supporting peace operations in Cyprus, West and North Africa, disaster relief in the Caribbean and giving support to UK Civil Authorities to deal with wild-fire, flooding and the Covid-19 pandemic. In recent years, SCOTS soldiers have had key roles in NATO Response Forces, partnered US forces in training in the US and Europe.

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