Page 81 - The Light Dragoon 2024

The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
Capt Addison checking his notes. “It says the 3rd Armoured Division drove right through this STOP sign, that can’t be right...”
Capt Addison, an SS castle, and a fleece.
The RSM looking guilty after pushing Maj Dodington over. The CO looking concerned.
“This House believes that the SS was an effective fighting force.” Chaired by the CO, the debate was well-researched and serious, with the proponents arguing that the SS’s achievements made them an effective – if horrifying – force; versus the opponents noting their inability to hold ground and weaknesses on the battlefield. The Ayes narrowly took the win.
The late-entry Officers and SNCOs rolled through a serious of planning exercises on Wednesday morning, designed to simulate the stresses and tests of late-entry Army Officer selection board (AOSB). The instructors – Capt Godfrey and the RSM – must have done something right, as both Mr Tran and Mr Pennicott went on to pass AOSB with flying colours in August. Meanwhile, the officers under Maj Dodington went to meet the Sennelager team who would facilitate our exercise in July, getting planning done early and estab- lishing relationships.
On Wednesday afternoon, Capt Addison held a study of the Battle of Paderborn in World War II. He presented lectures and videos, then led a discussion about the capture of the surrounding towns and fields
from the Germans by the 3rd Armoured Division (USA). We went out onto the ground to study three significant sites, where we debated the role of armoured warfare, obstacle crossings, and the style of command exhibited on the ground in 1945.
Thursday was a ski day. We drove an hour south through flat, soggy fields to Winterburg, surely the least mountainous ski resort in Europe. Our mate the Baron had warned us about Winterburg, saying “Yah, it is fine, but...” and here he lowered his voice with obvious distaste, “It is full of Dutch people.”
The slopes had been pumped within an inch of their lives with artificial snow and we managed to get some decent runs in, despite the lukewarm drizzle. Maj Dodington declared Capt Elston the most stylish skier, and WO1 Richardson the most improved. The RSM got his own back on the 2IC, shoulder-barging him into a snow drift as he was about to get swiped by a rogue ski-lift, ‘for his own safety’. The CO didn’t stop laughing all day.
After a team meal and some final beers, we packed up and left early on Friday 24
Maj Thirlaway in the Wewelsburg museum.
Feb, arriving in the Hook of Holland just before midday. The afternoon crossing was far less rowdy than the overnight ferry, and we made it back to Gaza Barracks around midnight, dodging roadworks all along the A1.
What was the point? Tough to say. The DS answer is that we were (1) reconnoi- tring Sennelager combined-armed tactical trainer ahead of a Regimental deployment; (2) proving the concept of a WWII battle- field study to enable a 4 Brigade study later in the year; and (3) developing SNCOs aspiring to complete AOSB. But largely, we were forging team cohesion. Getting away from camp and having a laugh together is as important for RHQ as it is for the sabre squadrons, and it was nice to have a beer with colleagues somewhere new. Who needs Kenya anyway.
By the way – I know you were wondering – ‘ausbau’ is German for ‘development’. I thought it was pretty clever when I came up with it, but nobody ended up asking what it meant. In fact, nobody seemed to care at all. The only feedback I got was people complaining it was difficult to spell.
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