Page 25 - The KRH Year of 2023 (CREST Sharing)

The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars 25 Recce Troop
Kicking 2023 off in a hangar in Tapa Camp somewhat set the tone for the first few months of the year. However, as day- light hours grew longer, the end of Op CABRIT 11 drew closer, and before long the Troop were in the final stages of the tour.
Ex WINTER CAMP marked the culmination of all the work achieved in Estonia. For the quadbike operators, the exercise will be remembered as one of the coldest experiences of their lives as they rolled over the Central Training Area and pri- vate land in arctic conditions. For those mounted in Warrior the treacherous conditions provided different challenges for the drivers. This was especially true for Tpr Bretherton who seemed magnetically attracted by ditches and thus became well acquainted with the 67 callsigns. In the final stages of the exercise, the Troop dismounted and moved into observation posts; a thankless task but made slightly sweeter by the prom- ise of a helicopter extraction. Once thawed out from the cold- ness of WINTER CAMP, the end of Op CABRIT 11 was in sight and, after expertly sorting out the extraction back to the UK, the Troop was reunited with their family and friends.
Whilst most of the Troop was enjoying some very well- deserved leave, Cpl Reid was flying the flag for Recce Troop in the King’s Coronation Parade. Despite “illegally” chewing gum at 2am he managed to survive the gruelling rehearsals and proudly make it through the Parade mishap free!
Returning after leave was a sharp reality check as there was limited time to prepare for the live firing phase of Ex IRON CYCLONE in Castlemartin. But, as ever, Recce rose to the task without complaint.
Qualifying all eight crews to Annual Troop Assessment level, plus 12 new gunners, on Range 5 was a remarkable achieve- ment in six days. Throughout the range period there was some fantastic shooting and the Top Gunner for 2023 was awarded to LCpl Dean. Once the live firing was complete the Troop moved on to Dismounted Live Fire Tactical Training, which was a fan- tastic way of maintaining and developing light-role skills and drills. In the time around LFTT there was ample opportunity
Watching the lift come in
to conduct some Troop bonding including visits to Tenby and long runs to the beach where Sgt Longshaw and Cpl Cahill led the way into the sea for a ‘refreshing’ dip.
Overall, there were some key lessons learnt from this range package. Firstly, having D Sqn SQMS on Range 4 was some- what of a novelty helping to improved morale and incentivise gunners with ice creams. Secondly, Lt Watts and LCpl Wells clearly need to go to Specsavers as apparently, they can’t tell the difference between a BMP and a section of infantry. And thirdly, Cpl Ward can fall asleep anywhere.
Shortly after ranges, whilst the rest of the Battlegroup were working alongside CAMS, Recce managed to stay low and conduct a dismounted exercise bundled away in the most southern tip of Salisbury Plain. Despite the occasional wake up calls from some wild Australians, the week provided a fan- tastic opportunity for Recce to ‘train-in’ some of the more junior members of the Troop. From practicing extraction
night nav at the beginning of the week (courtesy of the rain) to a
drills and navigation theory to testing the veloc- ity of cyalume juice and the viscosity of curry sauce, Recce most certainly ticked off all training objectives. From a catastrophic
Ex SCORPIO AVVENTURA