Page 23 - Mercian Eagle 2012

The Quartermasters Department of 1 MERCIAN and BATUK Infantry Store Staff on completion of Ex ASKARI THUNDER 5 – March 2012
RQMS “Dickie” Page, Maj “Kev” Fletcher (QM) and RQMS “Rob” Bartley display a varied selection of Mess Dress past and present
begrudgingly side-stepped to fill the role
of RQMS and we welcomed WO2 RQMS (T) Neil Green in to the department all fresh-faced, eager to please and realising very quickly that he was going to have to put in some ‘real’ work hours after having completed a comfortable time as CSM
of B Company! We now find ourselves conducting the very final preparations and the shelves are bare whilst every spare
inch of floor space across every store in
the Battalion is stacked with air freight and packing lists. The final cut has now been made and the Dept have been divided
into those who will deploy forward to Afghanistan with Capt Kim Taylor in the role of Quartermaster and the recently arrived Capt Matt Bard as Quartermaster Technical. The Home Base of Marne will be left in the capable hands of Sgts Terry Finlay, George Murray and “Police Horse” Gavin under
the watchful eye of myself as I assume
the position of Officer Commanding Rear Operations Group. I wish them all a safe tour and speedy return.
at sports. Capt Circo captained the newly formed Corps ice hockey team in this year’s Inter Corps Championships. Pte Lang swam in a number of races in the Inter Corp’s Swimming Championships and Pte Lee played a number of games for the AGC rugby team before a shoulder injury ruled him out for the rest of the season.
With an operational tour, further redundancies and Army 2020 restructuring, the near future will be uncertain and extremely busy. Sadly we will have to face the new challenges these will produce without our RAWO, WO2 Myers who sets sail for retirement in Spain after 22 loyal and successful years in the Army. Also leaving to start new careers in civilian street will be Cpl Hillhouse and Cpl Watson. All will be sorely missed and we all wish them the very best for the future.
The Exercise stretched us to our limits, as it is designed to do. Everyone within the dept gained valuable experience not only in their own specific job roles, but whilst deputising for others. The highlight of the Exercise had to be the 1 MERCIAN BG Dinner Night which was held in Nanyuki Camp on completion of
final preparations for the forthcoming deployment to Afghanistan for
Op HERRICK 17. The majority of the Dept had been in Kenya for eight weeks but could manage only a long weekend break on our return in order that we could continue to provide support for
the final phase. WO2
(RQMS) Rob Bartley
will no doubt disagree
with this comment,
as the preparations
and organisation were
tasked to him, and
although he had many
obstacles to breach, the event was a huge success. 160 Officers, SNCOs and guests sat down to an open air Regimental Dinner, complete with tribal entertainment and locally sourced food with Mount Kenya
as a backdrop. I can now confirm that mosquitoes cannot penetrate Mess Dress as easily as they do PCS (CU)!!
The eventual return from Kenya saw us step firmly into the breach of our
AGC (SPS) Detachment
The last 10 months has seen many new faces to the Detachment. We have welcomed a new RAO, Capt Sal Circo,
a new FSA, SSgt Power, Sgt Taylor, Sgt Jones, Sgt Searle, Cpl Qalo, Cpl Mowbray, LCpl Chilinda, Pte Lyall, Pte Lee and Pte Shoremi. And the Det has said farewell to many of the ‘old guard’, in particular Sgts Tony Downes and Mark Langley both of whom leave the army after serving 22 years. We wish them the very best for the future in whatever they choose to do in civilian life.
It has been a very busy year with many challenges, most notably the deployment and recovery from ASKARI THUNDER
5 in Kenya. The exercise allowed the junior members of the Det to practice
their fieldcraft knowledge and develop the infantry skills they have learned over their career. Operating in Kenya’s hot, dry and dusty environment gave all the opportunity to experience what it is likely to be like when deployed during the initial stages of
the Company-level continuation training and Battalion range packages that followed. Whilst now preparing
in earnest for the assurance inspections we began receipting a multitude of deliveries of
clothing and equipments in order to sustain the training for, and eventual deployment
to H17. It was during this busy period that RQMS Bartley had the good fortune to be promoted to WO1 (RSM) and move on to pastures new at UOTC Nottingham and
we thank him for his support and guidance during his tenure and wish him well on his promotion. A reshuffle was required within the department and WO2 (RQMS) Page
Op HERRICK 17. To top off what was a very good exercise, everyone who deployed to Kenya undertook a 5 day AT package, ranging from open water diving, to mountain biking, safari and bungee jumping to name but a few activities.
Back in the office all members of the
Det worked hard preparing for the pre- deployment inspection which took take place in June. This was made harder as the Bn’s manpower doubled as it prepared to deploy. The inspection was particularly important as its purpose was to test and assess the Battle Groups administrative readiness to deploy. The hard work was rewarded with a high grade pass, but the work continued as we prepared for the deployment on Op HERRICK 17 with many checks and inspections right up to the last deployment flight.
It hasn’t all been work though. Three members of the Det have managed to find time to escape and represent AGC(SPS)
The exercise stretched us to our limits, as it is designed to do.
RAO:
Det Comd: RAWO:
Capt Sal Circo
Lt Caroline Stalker WO2 (SQMS) Myers
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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