Page 12 - The KRH Year of 2023 (CREST Sharing)

12 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
C (11H) Squadron
2023 began with the Senior Sqn deployed on Op CABRIT, in Estonia, with the KRH Battlegroup (BG). A late Christmas present was delivered to the Sqn in the form of the Cold Weather Operators Course (CWOC), the course challenged all members of the Sqn with a highlight being the swim in freez- ing ice water before being questioned by an instructor. A true equalizer, the cold allowed a certain SSgt the opportunity to emulate the administration skills of a Phase 1 recruit only to be (fortunately) re-trained by his peer.
As the ice thawed—and turned everything to a bog—exer- cises recommenced in the Baltics, from advancing down sin- gle tracks covered in melting snow to being recovered from ditches off single tracks covered in melting snow the Sqn was deployed on Ex WINTER CAMP. The initial deployment kept the CRARRV crew busy with officers taking it in turn to get bogged in, most notable was the double track off from Lt Ashworth and the multiple recoveries Lt Brown demanded from his adventures into the unknown. Tiff Shaw did all he could not to be deployed—citing a broken Bulldog as his excuse—only to be WO2 Thorpe’s brew-man, his exercise cul- minated in leading a REME charge (once back on a Warrior) to their death against A Sqn. The exercise challenged all, from administration in the cold to route selection, Cpl Ashfield’s solo fight with all his ammunition was a particular highlight. Post Ex WINTER CAMP the Sqn turned its excitement towards returning to the UK for some well-deserved post operational tour leave (POTL).
The return from operations heralded the inevitable churn of Sqn personalities, Major Nik Westlake-Toms left for APC
Lt Brown ‘picking a new route’
replaced by Major Will Wade, a new Sqn 2ic arrived in the form of Lt (now Capt) Hugo Kendall, two new Troop Leaders arrived (2nd Lts Mhairi Brannigan and Josh Allen), Sgt Bardell returned from ATDU to take over Troop Sergeant of 1st Tp, and a new Sqn Artificer arrived (Tiff Richardson). All whilst these changes were taking place a detachment from C Sqn took centre stage in their crimsons on the King’s Coronation. WO2 Thorpe, Sgt Bulbeck, Cpl Brooker, LCpl (now Cpl) Lawrence 499 and LCpl (now Cpl) Lawrence 200 drew many public eyes (but sadly not the BBC’s cameras) as they marched continuously for 10 days. A career highlight for the SSM as he carried the guidon (which is very light we hear, but he contests) throughout.
Post-POTL the Sqn, as part of the KRH BG, started frantically preparing for Ex IRON CYCLONE. The exercise is a new Land Warfare Centre and 3 (UK) Division initiative to regenerate some of the routine armoured training that has atrophied over the last decade. Within three weeks of returning from POTL the Sqn was moving vehicles down to Castlemartin Ranges for
SSgt McDonald preparing for his transfer
LCpl Lawrence 499, Cpl Brooker, WO2 Thorpe, Sgt Bulbeck and LCpl Lawrence 200 on GOLDEN ORB for the King’s Coronation