Page 17 - RSDG Year of 2021 CREST

Sgt McCrindle manning all nets
moments of blizzard and radiant sunshine on bitter cold days, the Squadron was – as always – buoyed by the tireless efforts of “Taylor’s Independent Trading Co.” (also known as the SQMS packet) and his burger grill. Whilst morale was elevated, the Squadron funds were even more so, thanks to the attachment of a RIFLES Platoon to Mutants on the exercise; evidently not used to the finer field life of the Cavalry, it is safe to say that the RIFLES single-handedly funded the brand new Squadron phys kit provided by the SQMS as result of the profits from his grill: the refrain “all for the good of the Squadron” still echoes around the for- ests of Galloway, as does the memory of all those poor Riflemen held hostage until they coughed up their tick bill to SSgt Taylor.
Keeping to the tempo that B Squadron expects, the troops deployed on Ex KINNEABER EAGLE (a Majcher-Walpole-Chalmers Special): an overnight exercise, which saw the troops beginning their deploy- ment with a day at the IBSR range for some much- needed coached firing, followed by a road move to Fetteresso Forest, where the troops conducted a sur- passingly combative CTR serial. The unknowing brainchild of Tpr Coles, Ex KINNEABER EAGLE was designed to test the “actions on” of the exercis- ing troops. On EX SOLWAY EAGLE, back in 2020, Tpr Coles observed that “we plan all these actions on, but nothing ever goes wrong”. Seemingly personally offended by this statement, Capt Walpole and his band of merry men saw Ex KINNEABER EAGLE as their opportunity to right the wrongs of many a prac gre- nade thrown too close to an enemy sat under a basher next to a fire, and sought to wreak havoc amongst the exercising troops. Suffice to say, only one of the troops made it to the target: Second Troop achieved eyes on, after an insertion tab reminiscent of the search for Dr Livingstone, leaving many questioning how on earth dense mangrove had transplanted itself in Angus. Third Troop found itself wading chest deep up streams and climbing the sides of small ravines in order to
escape detection. In scenes reflective of every Royal Marine Recruitment advert ever, the Troop Leader’s career flashed before his eyes as a free climb up the side of a gulley was certainly not risk assessed for, and the refrains from Cpl Hutchison (the usual “boss, this is mental” litmus test) of “this is the allyist thing I’ve done since Afghan” did nothing to assuage those career-ending fears. Conducted on what is known as TOPL (training on private land), Scotland offers a cornucopia of opportunities for using private estates as training areas. A favourite resource of the Squadron Leader, the question remains whether the Squadron was in fact being used as sub-contracted estate secu- rity: when First Troop was surprised by the enemy, a short fire fight ensued; with the command “drag the bodies into the bushes” given by one section com- mander, it is safe to say that Maj Majcher had fulfilled his contractual obligations of deterring any aspiring poachers listening in on the Fetteresso Forest.
May saw the Squadron preparing to depart upon the keystone exercise of the year, Ex WESSEX STORM, where all the training overseen by SHQ would come into play. A road move from Leuchars to STANTA via RAF Cottesmore only saw a few vehicles fall by the wayside, and the Mutants found themselves arrayed in the long lines of a Regimental Leaguer in Norfolk by the start of the month. Ignoring the fact this forma- tion seemed to reawaken the “back when we were on tanks” chant from some of the old and bold, the train- ing did much to remind everyone that the Squadron was a fighting reconnaissance formation. Enter stage left Sgt McCrindle and LCpl McGregor – the dynamic duo of Squadron Comms: never too proud to try a little percussive maintenance, their efforts ensured that the Squadron were all singing, if not all dancing, within the radio space in short order. This enabled the Mutants to communicate, quite clearly for the whole Battlegroup to hear, that we had, in a number of instances, turned our vehicles quasi-amphibious in a particularly boggy STANTA. David Attenborough would have done well
The Skull King’s Lair
EAGLE AND CARBINE 15