Page 33 - Journal Compilation

The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars 27
After several mornings, and indeed afternoons, of practice down at the Tattoo Ground, the day of the Tercentenary Parade nally arrived. Under the watchful eye of SSM Bradley, No.3 Guard, B Squadron, acquitted themselves well in the parade and the whole day went without a mishap. HRH The Princess Royal took the opportunity to speak with several members of the Squadron during and after the parade, whilst during the presentation of the teams for the Serving Of cers -vs- Retired Of cers polo game after the parade, the 2IC even managed to stay aboard ‘Wellesley’ (the somewhat strong willed grey charger usually ridden by Prince William on Trooping the Colour) - much to everybody’s disappointment! The day provided a perfect opportunity for the wider Squadron family to see their loved ones in their blues – a rare sight – and celebrate the history of the KRH. The evening was completed by a fantastic BBQ and a chance to let our hair down during the live music.
Post Tercentenary it was announced that B Squadron would deploy four CR2 crews to Castlemartin ranges in September, on the Regimental Firing Camp. As a result, the rst phases of gun- nery training began in earnest. With crews heavily featuring new soldiers with little experience of operating on CR2, there was a lot to take in. Again, Cpl Bateson came into his own, this time with his RIG hat on. Meanwhile, Cpl Consalvey and a select few sol- diers spent a great deal of time in Germany, helping prepare tanks to be brought back to the KRH. In addition, the Squadron bid a fond farewell to Major Gibbs, off to attend ICSC, and welcomed Major Alan Ponde over from D Squadron.
Post leave was a whirlwind of Castlemartin preparation, with the take-over of four tanks bringing the usual tribulations and frus- trations. Thankfully, the Squadron nally gained some SNCOs in the form of Sgt Kennedy, fresh from the AFV D&M school, to take over as Tank Park Manager, as well as Sgt Thornley. Meanwhile, gunnery training occupied much of the guys’ time, with the PGTE humming well into the evenings as the TGT matrices and LDT serials were completed. The arrival of Sgt Young from the AFV Gunnery School was a godsend at this stage! The 2IC was busy co-ordinating and sorting paperwork in his secondary role as RGO, whilst Major Ponde got back to grips with tanks and CR2 gunnery after several years off-platform.
In the blink of an eye it was mid-September and, with gunnery training completed, it was time to deploy to Castlemartin for
three weeks. B Squadron ‘won the range lottery’ and took over the running of Range 4, with 11B, 22B and 3rd Tp from A Squadron on the apron in addition to our four crews. The B Squadron burger tent was in business, with ‘Pops’ in his element as SQMS, putting together some bargain ‘meal deals’ for the boys. Systems Performance Checks began in earnest, with most tanks passing rst time, the notable exception being OB which failed to get out of the starting blocks. Maj Ponde became so convinced he would not complete an LFX on board his own tank that the CRARRV followed him down range – sensible as it turned out, as it broke down at every attempt, well into the third week! The crews pro- gressed well through the LFXs, with night ring a great success, and we progressed onto Annual Troop Assessment, utilizing the full 2.5km length of Range 4 in a test of a new ATA format for the ‘Gunnery Training and Advisory Team’ (formerly ‘Live Fire Group’, and ‘ARMTAT’). This was a huge success and the closest to BATUS style live ring as you can get in the UK.