Page 33 - The KRH Year of 2023 (CREST Sharing)

The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars 33
QM(T)’s department
From Estonia to Salisbury Plain, from CMR to supporting Gift-in-Kind to Ukraine, and then a double-tap of an equip- ment assurance (LEA) first in Estonia and then Tidworth, the team have been tested but have more than risen to the chal- lenge. In what has been a fast-paced and trying year for the QM(T) department, the team of battle hardened G4 warriors have been fully engaged in the G4 war throughout!
The start of the year saw the QM(T) department headed by Capt Simon Hudson with WO2(RQMS) Chris Brown. The additional role of QM(M) was also placed on them deployed as the eFP BG; with Capt Chris Pople taking the lead with WO2(RQMS) Nathan Dyer on the home bank as a blended QM(M) and QM(T) department. In Estonia the focus was on equipment support to a conveyor belt of exercises as well as supporting the feeding, clothing and accommodation require- ments of a Battlegroup consisting of 1000 soldiers, whilst back in the UK preparing CR2 for deployment to Ukraine was the main effort.
After months of ‘grizzing it out’ Mr Brown unfortunately had to leave Estonia after receiving a serious injury to his knee. Having already been selected for RSM he could now bow out knowing he had absolutely delivered on several high paced deployments across Europe. His replacement, WO2(RQMS) Adam Mossop, would now take the reins faced with the colos- sal task of ensuring the KRH extracted from Estonia in good order. With gunnery-style white boards and timelines, he exe- cuted the task to perfection; seeing the return of a Battlegroup ready to embark on a well-earned six-week post tour leave.
With mullets clipped high and tight and beards sheared to smoothly shaven the department returned to work in mid- May 23 and geared up to support Ex IRON CYCLONE with yet more churn within the Department. Capt Simon Hudson would leave to tackle ICSC(L), handing over to Capt Alec Walton. Promoted to WO2, Mr Gainford would move to Training Officer and be replaced by SSgt Sean Spencer. A famil- iar face would also join the department; with Sgt Alan Kendall taking the lead on equipment support material. Busy times were ahead with 8 weeks of BG level training and a pending LSA&I and LEA to prepare for, and so the work began...
Living off of a diet of printer ink and gold blend, SSgt Maher would lock himself away, fully engaged in the equip-
ment entitlement rewrite, only to appear weeks
Sgt Kendall modling the new PPE
later with the pasty look of a submariner. SSgt Dunigan would risk death by paper cut, sieving through the backlog of paper- work understandably accumulated after a busy deployment year with the support of LCpl Tripe wearing his traditionally mismatching boots with laces untied... a Velcro set are currently on demand! Meanwhile the QM(T) and RQ(T) would focus on the force generation of equipment ready for the Salisbury Plain phase of Ex IRON CYCLONE with Sgt Kendal pushed to Castlemartin Ranges on point to process equipment demands. The wider team would be frantically juggling accounts whilst processing demands and backloads. Throughout Ex IRON CYCLONE the team worked around the clock processing 2432 demands, equating to £3.1 million, contributing significantly to maintaining a 95% vehicle availability rate throughout the entire exercise. This was an outstanding (unheard of) achievement and could only be achieved by
efforts at every level, crews, supply, and the Regiment’s exceptional team
within the LAD.
ECP, Ex IRON CYCLONE