Page 32 - Mercian Eagle Year of 2023

Quartermaster’s Department
Maj D Lent
All change!
This year has seen a great deal of change
of personnel in the QM’s Department. Maj Stu Viveash has moved on from QM to
OC HQ Coy at 1 PWRR, Maj George Long from QM Tech to QM at 1 RRF, RQMSs Ben Umney and Lee Fowles have both been promoted and have assumed RSM posts, Cpl Murray has been promoted and moved in to the role of Regimental Duty Staff Sergeant, Sgt Lambert
Thomas, LCpl Fenwick, Cpl Wragg, Sgt Grey, WO2 (RQMS) Brown, WO2 (RQMS) Newton, Capt Kennedy and yours truly, Maj Lent, ably supported by those remaining
in post – CSgt Collins, SSgt Ampadu, Cpl Sherpa, LCpl Henaghan, and LCpl Gurung.
The pace of life has been ferocious at times – each company in the Battalion has been at full tilt, and there has been opportunity for us to get stuck in. We have
exercises and battle camps. SSgt Ampadu has set up some professional development days for the Department, and we are better for it. Interspersed with courses and leave periods, the Department’s feet have barely touched the ground.
1 MERCIAN is in a good place; busy,
yes, but from the view I have had of
all the working parts, I genuinely think
there are great things to come. Due to
the relationships with the command and
G4 elements of each company, the QM’s Department has been integral to a lot of
the success the unit has had, and I fully appreciate the hard work the team has put in. On the run up to Christmas, things aren’t slowing down. The boxing finals are upon us, Christmas week needs organising before the festivities start, and then we will close down for what is absolutely some well- earned leave before we tackle the madness the new year will bring with it.
has moved to sunnier
climes with 1 LANCS in
Cyprus, LCpl Matafonau
is posted on promotion
(after a stint thrashing
himself on a Nordic
Skiing exercise) and we
have said farewell to soldiers leaving the army and starting new chapters in their lives - Cpl Russell, Pte Actil and Pte Greenwood. They, and their families, all take with them our best wishes. Posted in to replace those that have moved on are Ptes Kirby and
Communication and Information Systems (CIS) Platoon
A busy year for the CIS Platoon, 2023 has seen a large number of commitments
to support a range of activities within
1 MERCIAN. Early in the year, a contingent of the Platoon deployed on Exercise WARFIGHTER in Texas, USA. An interesting period which saw personnel working across the Divisional and Brigade Headquarters, it was great to see such an insight to Corps- level Operations, and LCpl Palfreyman’s command of the 12ABCT Brigade Support Group was outstanding. Never before
has someone focused on logistics and sustainment finished a two-week exercise with the highest number of casualties inflicted upon the enemy, it was truly a sight to behold. Whilst some of the Platoon were living the American dream, LCpl Walsh was living it up in Sweden on Exercise AURORA, supporting B (Malta) Coy whilst working with their Swedish counterparts.
Following Exercise WARFIGHTER, some of the Platoon deployed to support Exercise IRON STORM in Germany as support
staff and Observer Mentors. A highlight
of this saw Cpl Hill taking great pleasure
been involved in, and have sent soldiers in support of Ex AURORA in Sweden, Ex SARMIS in Romania, Lead Armoured Battlegroup fleet custody, activation, gifting, and more
recently a partial handover to the Land Readiness Fleet in Sennelager – no mean feat in itself, support to the war in Ukraine, the King’s Coronation, the Prince of Wales’s first visit to the Mercian Regiment as Colonel in Chief, all manner of UK based
The pace of life has been ferocious at times
RSO RSWO BSM CQMS Pl Sgt Tech Sgt
Capt L Davies WO2 R Keane CSgt G Harrison CSgt J Rai
Sgt L Westfield Sgt C Hirst
The CIS Platoon pose for a picture in Picton Barracks
in calling in Artillery fires onto the 1 Royal Welsh Headquarters, using the birds eye view his drone provided to great effect. A lesson for us all to take on board, it certainly focused the rest of the Platoon’s minds
on the current threats we could expect in modern conflict, and what we must do to counter them. With no let-up in the pace
of 2023, September and October saw the Platoon preparing for and deploying a small team onto Exercise SARMIS in Romania in support of C (Kohima) Company. Adapting quickly to the challenging terrain of the Carpathian Mountains after having driven across Europe to deliver the vehicles into theatre, communications were set up,
enabling the Company to liaise seamlessly with their Romanian counterparts.
Throughout this, the Platoon balanced other individual commitments with support to units such as the Combined Arms Manoeuvre School, whilst continuing to send soldiers on promotional courses and run our own CIS courses to ensure the rest of the Battalion has the qualifications to communicate effectively. This is testament to the challenging work from all in the Platoon. A varied year for the CIS Platoon, deploying to support a myriad of Sub-Unit and Unit activity, Christmas leave certainly beckons, ready for what is already shaping up to be an exciting 2024.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
31