Page 114 - RSDG Year of 2021 CREST

120 EAGLE AND CARBINE
Defence and Security Equipment International Exhibition Visit
Lieutenant B Binks
Defence and Security Equipment International, or DSEI for those in the know, is a trade exhibition showcasing the latest technology and equipment that has been developed across the industry. It was held in September at the Excel Centre in London, with Lieutenants Binks and Snowball and Corporals Alexander and Megahy all being lucky enough to attend.
The trip commenced with a long Monday spent on the train from Leuchars to London Kings Cross. Unusually, the journey ran smoothly, allowing us to arrive in the City in good time to conduct some London trans- port familiarisation. Lieutenant Snowball took the lead on this one, having, some- what unsurprisingly, spent time in London working for an arms dealer and is, therefore, au fait with the tube. The familiarisation eventually drew to a close and we made like good reconnaissance soldiers and found the local establishment, where we dug in for the evening.
Bright eyed and bushy tailed, on Tuesday morning we negotiated the underground and eventually found ourselves queuing outside the Excel with other eager arms fair goers. All was, however, not as it seemed. The two respectable looking middle aged women who queued just in front of us pro- ceeded to cover themselves in fake blood and plead with us not to go inside with all of the other ‘murderers’. After politely explaining that we would indeed be going inside, and some involvement of the Metropolitan’s finest, we managed to bypass the protestors and get into the exhibition centre.
We spent long days visiting many exhibitors, discussing future capabilities and kindly
offering to sample any kit they wished to send us for Ex KHANJAR OMAN, which was, at that point, just around the corner. Through the crowds we were delighted to spot a grey beret, belonging to WO1 Donnie Grant, who kindly showed us what ATDU have been up to and the developments to Jackal which would soon be coming our way.
The week progressed in a similar fashion, with plenty of defence engagement in the evenings. An enjoyable and insightful week learning about the future capabilities of defence, we hope to go back next time the exhibition comes to the UK!