Page 6 - The KRH Year of 2023 (CREST Sharing)

4 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
Foreword by
The Colonel of the Regiment
Brigadier Nick Orr
2023 began with The King’s Royal Hussars supporting defence’s Main Effort. The KRH BG remaining deployed on Op CABRIT 11 in Estonia. While D Sqn, in the UK, provided training to the Ukrainians Armed Forces on Challenger 2. The success of this momentous task is a testament to the work ethic and tenacity all in defence have come to expect of our fine Regiment.
Returning from Operation CABRIT, a well-deserved period of post-operational leave followed for some with others provid- ing a marching contingent for the King’s Coronation. It was splendid to see so much Crimson Marching up the Mall.
On return from POTL the Regiment’s personalities went through an almost wholesale change. Notably, new Squadron Leaders emerged— Majors Will Wade for C Sqn, Tom Padgett for A Sqn, Harry Bartles for B Sqn, George Jackson for D Sqn with Chris Dunn for HQ Sqn.
The Regiment quickly set about integrating the new per- sonalities while preparing for and subsequently deploying on Ex IRON CYCLONE. This was a 10-week deployment to Castlemartin Ranges and then Salisbury Plain concentrating on gunnery and low-level armoured skills. This not only allowed the new team to engage with our primary focus but also served as a means to bonding the Regiment back together. The success of the exercise, a prototype for future training pathways, was evident in the remarkable achievements of the squadrons on ranges—a pass rate unprecedented in years.
The Regiment’s focus has concentrated on its greatest asset: the serving soldiers. Adventure Training, Sport, and Battlefield Studies have been run extensively and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Regimental Trustees and the Association for their continued support. As public money gets ever tighter the Army’s ‘offer’ would be greatly reduced were we not able to increasingly subsidise these activities.
A particular highlight was the excellent visit to the Regiment in Tidworth for the Friends of the Regiment Day. The Mayors of South Ribble, Winchester and the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, where the Regiment has been Granted the Freedoms, The Master and Warden of The Worshipful Company of Salters and the Commodore of the Royal Southern Yacht Club all descended onto Aliwal Barracks to experience a taste of how the Regiment lives and works, including all hav- ing a ride in a CR2. They were then joined for an outstanding Dinner for which and previous Colonels and Commanding Officers of the Regiment were also invited.
The Regiment has adopted an ‘interim’ force structure in antic- ipation for the planned re-rolling onto AJAX. The Regiment is now a Type-44, comprising of Three Sabre Squadrons (of 14 Challenger 2) and HQ Sqn. I would be foolish to try and predict
when, or even if, the re-rolling my occur so we will continue as one of the three Armoured Regiments in the British Army for the foreseeable future.
On Association matters, I extend thanks to Colonel Tony Singer OBE who handed over as Chairman to Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Harman after 14 years. Colonel Andrew is planning to introduce a couple of new events to the Association calendar, please give him your support.
Finally, I make a ‘Call to Arms’ for this year’s 100th Cavalry Memorial Parade on 12th May. I hope that we can muster a suit- able contingent for this year’s parade to honour our forebears.
Emma and I look forward to meeting many of you at events throughout the year.