Page 85 - Light Dragoons 2023 CREST

After two long, busy years as LD QM(T) and in only my 3rd year as a LE Officer I was to leave RD and for only the second time in my career I was to be posted but not until one final hur- rah: Ex WESSEX STORM 5-21, where I commanded the LD BG A2 Echelon, which just happened to be the best A2 Echelon that 4X Commander, Brigadier Marcus Mudd had seen in his 30 years in the Army. So that was a great note to depart on and a good starting point for the incoming QM(T), Capt ‘Dez’ O’Connor to take the department forward with.
I decided to remain in the G4 world, and I was fortunate enough to get my preferred job choice (thankfully avoiding the dreaded RAC E1 Bovington jobs) and in April 2022 was posted to the Mission Ready Training Centre (MRTC) based out of Bassingbourn Bks near Cambridge as their QM(T). I joined them as they were in transition, moving from IOC to FOC as the camp had just recently been reopened after many years being moth-balled so there was plenty to do but at a steadier drumbeat. This posed a different chal- lenge but with the familiar G4 aura and came as a welcome break from the 100 mile-an-hour pace of life that comes with being at Regimental Duty and with the bonus that it is only a one-hour commute (70 miles) from home, I’m not sure I mentioned this before I left RD!
For the old and bold amongst us who remember the Operational Training & Advisory Group or OPTAG, this is now MRTC, we support Force Elements at Readiness (FE@R) throughout the year. A one-stop-shop for all your pre-deployment training needs. MRTC was formed from the amalgamation of Lydd & Hythe (Collective Training) and Chilwell (Individual Training & Mobilisation) where training continued whilst both units were shoehorned into Bassingbourn Bks. This was a G4 nightmare but the department stood firm and continued to support the wider organisation ensuring they delivered the relevant outputs in sup- port of the Field Army.
The department is made up of an eclectic mix of Regular SP, Mobilised Reserve SP, SSCP, FTRS and Civil Servants, the modern day ‘Dirty Dozen’. Supporting over 15 operational deployments across the globe both collectively and individually which means the department is tested to the max every single day, ensuring that the three Formation & Unit Advisory Teams (FUTAs) and the Individual Training Wing are well equipped with everything they need to deliver first class training to those due to deploy on Ops.
Sgt Luke Hodgson is also posted to MRTC as an instructor in the Individual Training Wing (ITW), he continues to bring his sharp wit and humour to everything he does.
Historically, Bassingbourn Bks is famous for being the home of the Memphis Belle during WW2. The B-17F Flying Fortress was
QMT Dinger Bell settles into life as a Subbie
delivered in September 1942 to the 91st Bombardment Group at Dow Field, Bangor, Maine. The aircraft was deployed to Prestwick, Scotland on the 30th of September 1942 and stationed at a temporary base at RAF Kimbolton on the 1st of October. She was then finally moved to her permanent base at RAF Bassingbourn in England on the 14th of October 1942, where it carried out over 25 bombing raids on enemy held territory in Europe.
KMB
The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
Quartermaster Technical – Mission Ready Training Centre (MRTC)
ACCREDITED REGIMENTAL HATTERS FOR THE LIGHT DRAGOONS
127 New Bond St, London W1S 1DZ 0203 608 2556 military@herbert-johnson.co.uk
A SWAINE GROUP COMPANY
The Memphis Belle crew posing in front of their legendary plane at RAF Bassingbourn. Notice the painted mission and kill tally on the aircraft’s port side
83