Page 29 - Journal Compilation

saw us taking on a Polish Coy / Sqn Group, unfortunately for the YORKS BG in the rst 2 phases these were, in the words of the Polish observer mentors, so thoroughly destroyed by the Sqn in a counter attack through morning fog that they were not brought back to life. The result was the Inf element of the Battle Group sitting in trenches for 3 days whilst the Sqn moved back into Tp hides for tea and medals!
Ex DRAGON drew to a close and all of the Sqn were back in the UK for 10 November, which allowed the Sqn a month to catch
SHQ
How does the phrase go? Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat? Try: Fix, Fire, Exercise, Repeat. The story of SHQ for 2015 was a familiar one, manning churn, skiing accidents (LCpl Topliss’ X-rays are not for the squeamish) and at one point, more vehicles in the Tp than the whole of A and B Sqns combined! (Don’t talk to Tpr Davies about Bulldogs).
The early year carnage of scurrying down to Lulworth for an extra ring period set the tone for a Tp prepared to work the extra hours with minimal chain of command input and deliver, in con- junction with the ever hard working tter section, vehicles to the start line, every time (unless Capt Brearley was involved, in which case he broke his tank every time). Whilst in Lulworth the Tp contributed to ring more SHP on the range than ever before, and also setting the 120mm total rounds red in a day record on the range. Let’s just say Landmarc were glad to see the back of us, as we left not a single target pit t for ring, but our crews had vital extra experience and LCpl Buckley started to show his Top Gun credentials.
No sooner had the tanks arrived back in Tidworth, than we set out for what promised to be a signi cant deployment test, Ex TRACTABLE, with all the Army watching us. And that they were, but reality was weeks parked in a secret eld (just south of the A342 outside Ludgershall). Thankfully the SQMS was on hand, and SSgt Bain and his team swung into action setting up a burger tent, that became such a rival to the of cial dining facili- ties, that they became of cial suppliers! We did eventually move, to Warminster and SHQ ably supported the Combined Arms Demo, which provided quite a spectacle for the 1500 people who were shipped in to watch 1 YORKS BG in action.
So that’s Fix, Fire and Exercise, well here comes the repeat. May saw the Sqn x all the issues that the OC’s (Maj Perowne’s) “eye for detail” (read boredom) had identi ed on Ex TRACTABLE,
up on some leave, receive the vehicle eet back from Poland and have a fantastic Sqn party to bring the year to a close.
Army HQ stated in May that KRH was the busiest Regt in the Army, and as C Sqn has been the busiest within it, I am pretty con dent in saying that the Sqn has been somewhat “stretched” this year and has probably never been as busy – certainly when taken over a two to three year period. It has risen to the numer- ous and diverse challenges that it has been given and delivered. I couldn’t be prouder of what it has achieved.
PJP
SHQ ies the ag in Poland
alongside rushing off to Sennelager and then pack up on it’s annual pilgrimage to the Pembroke coastline and the sunny delights of Castlemartin. Could C Sqn, with all four Tps and SHQ ring, possibly get 18 crews to ACT in two weeks, on only one range. It was an unproven task, which of course was completed. The SHQ team worked along with a huge Sqn effort, that saw LCpl Pearson in a near constant ap about comms, LCpl Buckley and the Sqn Leader occasionally mentioning their Level 6D and the newbies, Tprs Heath and Fletcher not having a clue, but gamely jumping into anything that needed driving.
Lobbed into the mix at this point came the Tercentenary parade, with the Sqn Ldr and SSM WO2 Underwood both well known as the best dressed in the Regt what could go wrong. Fortunately SSgt Bain stepped up as the drill NCO, whilst SSgt Pople headed off to make up the Guidon Party.
The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars 15