Page 16 - RSDG Year of 2023

14 EAGLE AND CARBINE
B SQUADRON
Maj Dan Lee-Mikus
After the excitement and adventure of Op NEWCOMBE 4 in 2022, 2023 has had a slower start. The Regiment returned from Mali in December/January (full account of the tour in 2022 Eagle and Carbine) and went on some well-earned post tour leave. The Squadron reformed as part of the Regimental re-orbat in April, which saw SSM WO2 Harley hand over to WO2 Grieve, and OC Maj Nick Taylor hand over to me. Immediately after re-orbat the Squadron set off on our Training Level CHARLIE (independent Sub-Unit) exercise. This saw us exercising as a hunter force for an exercise held on private land in and around the Galloway Forest. This unorthodox deployment was a superb first run out for the newly reformed Squadron, with almost complete turnover of all commanders. Being a TOPL (Training On Private Land) exercise, the Squadron were driving on public roads and through towns, and inevitably interacting with local people, adding a (sur)realism to the deployment. The weather was mercifully dry, but very cold, which was a brisk (read freezing) education for those of us who have never used a Jackal in anger before.
The next big-ticket item for B Squadron was UK Standby Battalion readiness over the summer. We duly trained in flood defence and working with police, but fortunately the
nation did not call upon us, though a few days of heavy rain caused a certain amount of concern in SHQ.
After the summer, the Squadron, and indeed Regiment, was principally concerned with the preparation for WESSEX STORM and qualification for Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Land) (VJTF(L)). This saw the Squadron deploy on the Regimental patrols competition in Cape Wrath, where 1st Troop finished a very respectable 2nd place Regimentally, then on to Castlemartin in Wales for mounted ranges. We managed to complete the firing progression in under two weeks despite losing one entire day of firing to a mysterious car parked in the impact area. Spotted in the morning range sweep, this resulted in the police combing the coast for bodies, before finally finding a couple of (very much alive) ramblers who had left their car for in the range danger area for a couple of days’ hiking in the charming Welsh countryside, while simultaneously turning their phones off (the police traced them) for a “digital detox”.
The grand finale of the year was of course Exercise WESSEX STORM. It is no exaggeration to say that the Squadron absolutely smashed it. Morale remained high despite the indescribably awful weather in the first two weeks, which