Page 102 - Light Dragoons 2023 CREST

WO2 Simon ‘Arnie’ Broughton joined the army in July 1997 after taking a wrong turn on his way to the shops for sweets and comics and subsequently ended up being drafted in!
He attended ATR Winchester where his bodily strength was immediately known to be substandard, but the staff there liked this skinny kid and gave him the benefit of the doubt and he passed out successfully as a trained soldier. Arnie attended Phase 2 at Bovington and trained on the CVR(T) - the petrol engine version - and it was dur- ing phase 2 training that Arnie developed a passion for D&M and Dorset which would later carve his career path.
Once he successfully passed PH2 train- ing, Arnie joined his regiment in Hohne, Germany in April 1998 and went straight into 2nd Troop, A sqn. He almost imme- diately deployed on Ex ULAN EAGLE in Poland. It was here that he learned about the six section battle ‘things’ which would assist him in BATUS later on. Arnie deployed for his first operational tour in this year too, to Bosnia as a driver in a CVR(T). A young Arnie has had a very busy year so far!
In 1999 Arnie volunteered for the boat party for another exercise, this time to Egypt on EX BRIGHT STAR. Post the exercise, the regiment had moved from the delights of Hohne to the lush countryside of Norfolk and Arnie was moved to GW troop. Arnie was then deployed to BATUS for his first visit there as a part of OPFOR in tank company 1. On his return, he was then moved to command troop.
In 2002 Arnie was promoted to the rank of LCpl and Op FRESCO was also going on, which Arnie played his part assisting with the delivery of the green goddesses to
the fires of Boro and Stockton. 2003 saw Arnie posted to the ATDU working on BOWMAN, BGTI and basically ragging vehicles around the driver training area. No wonder nothing works!
2005 saw Arnie back at RD and another Op deployment, this time to Iraq on Op Telic with the Legion as a gunner and made awful brews and burned boil in the bags! Arnie was put on Crew Commanders course which he naturally breezed, then the very same breeze got him promoted to Corporal. Arnie was elated!
Arnie’s love affair with command troop was to come back to haunt him, this time it was as C/S 0B. He stayed in this role for the subsequent operational tour to Afghanistan on Op HERRICK 7, a role in which he flourished in.
On returning to the UK, Arnie was selected to attend the D&M Cadre in Bovington in 2009, mainly to dodge another tour, but to also realise his dream to become a D&M Instructor. He was successful on the cadre and was rewarded with a 2 year tour at ‘Heaventon’. During this posting he was promoted to the rank of Sgt and made a few contacts down there for another ‘back door’ posting a bit further down the line.
When Arnie returned to RD this time it was as 3rd troop Sgt in C Sqn ‘The Legion’. It was whilst he was in ‘The Legion’ that he went off for a long exercise in Canada on Ex PRAIRIE STORM where the les- sons about the six section battle ‘things’ really shone through, and as Lt Pullingers’ Tp Sgt he managed to swerve anything remotely green despite being a sabre troop sergeant! He was clearly missing ‘Heaventon’. He also had a set of ill-fit- ting webbing which coined the immortal phrase of ‘Arnies webbing, pass it on’!
Unbelievably, Arnie got his calling back to Dorset, this time to assist on a Challenger 2 course - and ended up staying for another 2 years living his part time working dream. 2016 saw Arnie take over as RDMI - some say the second best RDMI the regiment has ever seen... he was also rewarded with a promotion to SSgt with the hard work and money he put into supporting the red shield van at Bovington feeding his tapeworm.
His final tour of duty was a split one. Firstly, Arnie made a call to his Bovvy barnacle marra’s and got himself a cushy posting squared away, this time as AFVSR ITT Gp WO. He then worked as the simu- lation development team WO in the train- ing design and development group - again, why nothing works!
Arnie met Kirsty in 2004 and have been married since April 2011. He is currently working with the Docklands light railway. We wish him and Kirsty all the best for the future.
MC
Capt Mackarness took a circuitous route to the Light Dragoons Officer’s Mess; one via The Parachute Regiment at RSBs and thence by events that were the making of the man but the breaking of the ankles. A Recce afficionado from the start, Harry even forward mounted to Catterick for 2 years before the LDs at ITC until the siren call of the hallowed halls of Gaza Barracks proved too much to resist.
Harry’s resurgence, if you will, came in the form of a welcoming embrace from the LDs as he tumbled into his new reality as a screaming hat, much to the chagrin of his sister, and those in maroon berets no doubt. But the PARAs loss was our gain
and one look at Harry’s terrible tattoos, dreadful chat, and penchant for epicurean- ism, was enough to know – he was one of us.
Quick to return the embrace, Lt Mackarness took to Lt Cav with an ease that manifested itself in winning the Binos onPh2andaplaceasaTpLdrinBSqn. The only red flag to his name being his questionable nav – having got lost for 2 years on his way to Gaza.
Earnest at the start, Harry’s initially fur- tive enjoyment of Pol was noticed – and then encouraged by his peers. This was no Colchester mess. Having said this, mere
weeks into Lt Mackarness’ tenure, another member earnt himself the nickname “punchy” as a result of their enthusiasm for making young Harry feel at home.
In the mess, Mackarness’ room, or “the Cpl’s Mess,” was a bastion of vapes, foam rollers and anarchy, for our Harry excelled at PT and winding up COs. Harry was rarely able to enjoy his room however, as his time at RD saw him travel often, and far. A particularly vibrant exercise in Morocco and some adventurous activity in Verbier, where his fluency in French proved invaluable, were particular high- lights, and the Army also took Harry to
The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
WO2 Simon ‘Arnie’ Broughton
Capt HOC Mackarness
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