Page 16 - Light Dragoons 2023 CREST

The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
OC
2IC
SSM
B Squadron – The Guards
The only thing better, in my humble opinion, than being selected as a Sub Unit Commander in the British Army is to be selected as Officer Commanding B Squadron, The Light Dragoons. That is the feeling I had on taking over command of The Guards in July 2022, and it has cer- tainly not disappointed.
What the hand over lacked in detail, it made up for in entertainment, as it fell during the squadron’s week on the regi- mental AT package in the Lake District. What this ultimately meant was that a large swathe of B Sqn soldiers got their first glimpse of their new OC, whilst his shapeless, staff officer form bobbed inele- gantly down a mountain stream, dressed in a wetsuit that left very little to the imagi- nation. An ominous start to command one might think, but it didn’t seem to curtail the eagerness of the members of B Sqn to tell me that I was taking over a great squad- ron, filled with great people, all as proud of the last 6 months as they were excited about the next 6.
2022 was usefully bookended with large scale exercise activity for B Sqn. As with the rest of the Regiment, The Guards began their year focussed principally on Ex WESSEX STORM, which, I am lead to believe, was a wet and muddy affair. In fact, one of the key bits of data captured by
Team REME, recovery is not a laughing matter
the squadron during the exercise, was that it would have taken less time to advance across Salisbury Plain dismounted, in extended line, than it took to attempt it mounted in Jackal, due to endless bogging in serials in knee deep mud. In true Light Dragoon form however, this adversity is now worn as a badge of pride, with the
summary view of The Guards being that ‘Ex Wessex Somme’ was “liftin’ but mint”. Of course, I would not be doing B Sqn 2iC justice if I did not mention his career defin- ing moment of the exercise. After weeks of being constantly killed off via the means of the giant laser quest that is ‘TES’, usually whilst trying to remove his Panther from a bog, he decided that enough was enough. ‘Turner the Terrifying’ took the fight to the enemy in some determined hand to hand combat... The result? 1 x black eye and some seriously dented pride, all on the part of my dear 2iC. It should be noted for the record that Capt Turner claims that he was ‘jumped’ by at least 2 enemy soldiers, who were a minimum of black belt in karate, otherwise they would have been in ‘serious trouble’. History may never relate.
The right hand book-end was somewhat more pleasant, as The Guards found them- selves exercising in the 40 degree heat of Oman for the final three months of the year. The deployment itself warrants its own article, which Lt Elkington will wow you with later in the journal, but need- less to say, Exercise Desert Khanjar was
Something a little short of Blue Steel
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