Page 98 - RSDG Year of 2021 CREST

104 EAGLE AND CARBINE
objective was cleared, and the final action of the exercise
came to a close.
Our time in the desert was not over, however. The (perhaps unfortunately named) DV Day – D for Distinguished, and V for Visitors – allowed for little respite. With plentiful notable government and military figures present – including the UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace – the battlegroup reproduced their final attack from two days prior in a theatrical fashion against the doomed OPFOR provided by C Squadron. A short stint on ranges then followed, which saw the squadron rotate through troop lanes in the vast expanse of the desert, applying all the tactical lessons learned from the previous three weeks with live ammunition, which proved to be one of the highlights of the exercise. There was time for reflection during a hearty barbe- cue, before the battlegroup returned to the JLSB: dirty, dusty, but a good deal savvier for their three weeks in the desert.
Our final weeks in the country were preoccupied with the busy affair of preparing the vehicles to go back to the UK, as well as all the kit and equipment that had followed us out there. Around this laborious work, how- ever, were opportunities to unwind after a decent stint of desert living. Some were able to explore Muscat through a battlefield study and a series of cultural activities, oth- ers took to mountain biking or hill walking in some of the towering features in the north of the country, whilst others traded desert and vehicles for the sea and cata- marans, sailing around the stunning Dimaniyat Islands. A fitting end to a long, hard, but ultimately rewarding two months away from Leuchars. We bade farewell to Oman, relieved to be returning home to Christmas with our families. But the lessons learned from our time in the desert stand us in good stead: Mali, and a return to warmer climates beckons in 2022.
Desert Dits
The following are the oddities and outliers that kept morale high, and all the hardships of desert living firmly in perspective.
18/10/21 – It Takes a Real Dragoon to Wear Pink.
Woolly-pully jumpers are either loved or hated. As a serving member of SCOTS DG, you are entitled to feel impassioned about both the army-issued green and the regimental grey. This makes for twice the emotion. Captain Humphries, however, stunned us all when he produced his very fetching sandy-pink woolly-pully, which was donned as soon as the temperature dropped below a brisk 30 degrees. We are yet to find any pink sand, But, when we do, it is our collective assumption that the squadron second-in-command will be making himself wholly inconspicuous.
20/10/21 – Holy Helicopters. Operating at reach made aviation cover essential for the battlegroup to conform to the required medical timelines. Once deployed, the squadron rehearsed a night-time medical evacuation serial with an Omani helicopter. When the pilot was raised over the radio, we received the following reply. “You just send me the grid, and - inshallah - I will arrive.” He touched down thirty minutes later. God wills it indeed.
26/10/21 – Schroedinger’s Beyoncé. Being isolated from the wider world has its benefits, but it does remove some of the checks on the rumour mill. At one stage, the squadron’s most pressing concern was whether there was any truth to the news that popstar Beyoncé “had died”, a most troubling circulation. Mercifully, our impromptu vigils and musical tributes were in vain: she was in as good health as she had ever been. Notwithstanding, for three days Schroedinger’s cat experiment played out in real-time in the middle of the Omani desert. It made for a fairly narrow musical selection.
27/10/21 – Found in Translation. Few English speak- ers were present on the Omani side when we met to begin our integration - and even fewer Arabic speakers on ours. Despite 200 years of shared history, a common reconnaissance background and, in the squadron 2IC’s case, a disposition for pink-hued uniform, mishaps pre- vailed. During a demonstration of their optics equip- ment, Cpl Alexander asked the Omani lieutenant what their night vision goggles were called. “In English?” confirmed the lieutenant. “Yes,” nodded Alexander. The lieutenant paused, his brow furrowed, a few words were exchanged in Arabic, before he turned back to face his audience. “Night vision,” he replied. Top marks, although perhaps not the answer that Cpl Alexander was seeking.
01/11/21 – The HMG Snooze Function. Sgt Thapar Magar of 2nd Troop had a busy night during Mission 2; from his concealed position north of a main supply route, he successfully destroyed four enemy vehicles fleeing the objective with his Delta call-sign. There was just one problem. The engagement took place during the mandated drivers’ rest period, meaning that the vehicles, about a kilometre away, would have to be searched on foot. Oh well: off trudged the Troop Sergeant into the night, Delta in tow. Curiously, it was never confirmed whether their two drivers had slept through the hail of heavy weaponry being unleashed just above their heads.
02/11/21 – The Mighty Pen and the SSM. After dusk, one could reliably find a cross-section of the squadron personalities gathered under the SHQ cam net, usually for no good reason. On one such occasion, the Squadron