Page 34 - Light Dragoons 2023 CREST

The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
2022 saw another busy year for the MT Department supporting the Regiment on overseas exercises to Poland and Oman as well as providing support to Op INTERFLEX. Not to mention range packages and normal daily business. As ever, the team were up to the task and produced good results every time.
WO2 Lillico has taken on the role as MTO/MTWO as MT bid farewell to Capt Buchan, who decided to jump ship and transition into the civilian world. WO2 Bowman has also peddled away
up the A1 to Newcastle as the TWWO for the QOY. The department wishes them both all the best in their future endeavours.
The team has been split between regi- mental duty and Op INTERFLEX. Sgt Cribbin, Cpls Rutherford and Macaskill, LCpl Flowers and Tprs Coxon and Foster were focussed on running all things MT over at Wathgill, leaving the MTWO, Cpl Rai, LCpl Prescott and Tprs Bailey, Olsen and Law keeping the department running back in Gaza Barracks.
On top of supporting deployments, MT has been kept busy with the usual tasks. Road Safety Campaigns, 2 x ADR courses (training 24 personnel), 7 x Cat D licenses, 4 x D2S2T courses which provide support to the never-ending Op ESCALIN commitment, as well as a fuel and lubricants audit.
After a thoroughly deserved Christmas leave the department is looking forward
Motor Transport Department
to seeing what 2023 brings.
AL
Ididn’t want to regurgitate the same opening gambit as the rest of this year’s updates however, to be blunt 2022 has 100% been a busy year for all, which equally applies to the Regimental Training Wing. Bottom line upfront - the department has been focused on developing our people, securing courses and supporting the chain of command in activities like Battlegroup planning cycles. The hard work and dedi- cation by the team has been exemplary in selecting and preparing our soldiers for courses, for which you only need to refer to the top student boards across the LWC & CMC delivery locations to appreciate the successes we have had.
It has not been all pre course and planning, let me take stock and provide the context behind our collective achievements. The year started with Ex WESSEX STORM where SSgt Dean Perryman, as RGSS, swept up the regimental mounted ranges prior to the exercise. At which point he seamlessly swapped his hi-vis helmet cover for MTP and slipped into BGHQ to get chased around Salisbury Plain by a bunch of over enthusiastic Jocks. SSgt Scot Dinsley assumed the role of Regimental Aid Post commander, where in his own words found the hardest part of the job teaching two SNCO’s, who shall remain nameless, how to write a stag list without fighting each other. The final member of the team, SSgt James Tynan, was called out of sabre troop retirement on a fiercely contested loan agreement to his old haunts within The Legion. In a transition only a blue peter badge winner could make, he immediately employed his unique style of leadership and mentoring to truly “develop” those within his troop, includ- ing a rather shell-shocked Mr Matthew Riall. All the confirmation we needed to show that AFC Harrogate hasn’t made him totally soft and fluffy.
PNCO DS dream team
As the year progressed the Training Wing received a re-shuffle of its ORBAT, which paved the way for me to wave goodbye to RCMO commitments, leaving them in the capable hands of Capt Matt Chamberlain, with continuity remaining from Sgt Jonny Allen. Not before feathering my own nest and handpicking my team, may I add. That said, my presence in the G7 corridor (work- ing with what was an already well-oiled and efficient team) was sparce from the off, given my focus to Op INTERFLEX as lead G7 for the TDU. The newly arrived expe- rience then further enriched when WO2 James Price became TWWO from SSM C Sqn. The final flourish saw Sgt Gareth Beardshaw return to regimental duty bringing with him strong RATD experi- ence and foundations, to deliver command
and tactical training across the force. One word epitomises him, and that is ‘passion- ate’. Having retained SSgt Dinsley we also adopted the Padre, taking him under our G7 wing - the focus being soldier cultural awareness and inoculation. Padre Ian Fowler is living testament that age isn’t an excuse for not only attending but com- peting during Regtl & HQ Sqn PT. When Cpl Stephen Crossman jumped ship to G4 and SSgt Perryman posted to Warminster, we welcomed SSgt Stephen Robinson as RGSS to complete the team sheet. Recce Robbo was straight into the action as the main man for the Regimental Potential Non-Commissioned Officer cadre, deploy- ing the next generation of leaders to sunny Sennybridge for some character-building and internal soul searching. The training
Training Wing
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