Page 82 - The KRH Year of 2023 (CREST Sharing)

82 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
Hawks at AHQ
From the SO2 in RP...
While Estonia may have been chilly enough over the winter of Op CABRIT 11, the familiar blanket of warmth that was Regimental Duty was sharply tugged away in May 23 as I began in Army Resource Plans. Employed on the Army Staff Development Programme ahead of ICSC(L), this was a trawl by any other name, and I entered a world of impenetrable finan- cial vernacular, though refreshingly a language equally opaque to everyone else. On arrival the Resource Plans team I found, slightly ironically, had lost an SO1 and SO2 to savings meas- ures; so I was handed the Ukraine facing portfolio. Whether fate or chance, the phone a friend option in Head Office was Will Hodgkinson, who thankfully still took calls from his ex- Adjutant. Andover and Resource Plans proved a genuinely excellent opportunity for development, and thoroughly enjoy- able, providing insights across other TLBs and Directorates which have tempered the infamous pre-ICSC scepticism. After seven months in Army Headquarters it’s reinvigorating to say, despite the fiscal environment, that: opportunities outside RD are as rewarding as those within (I would recommend AHQ to any of our junior officers) and there is a team at the top who have the best interests of our people at heart. Hussar!
FETB
From the SO2 (lunatic) in the LOC...
The summer of 2023 reflected a sharp change in posture on the 1st floor of Marlborough Lines, chiefly in the average length of hair within the SO2 community. This was due to the arrival of Major Alex Walch into the Ukraine Operations Team in the Operate pillar of the LOC. Fresh out of ICSC(L), with a spring in his step following the relaxing routine of the summer term at Shrivenham with plenty of time spent on the cricket field. Atmospherics changed quicker than the weather on the prai- rie, and Major Alex Walch soon found himself staring through the sobering lens of how to support an existential crisis on the doorstep of Europe... Hereafter it didn’t take long for his confidence to build, which coincidently came in line with the anniversary of our Regiment’s most infamous battle honour
Those of Andover Troop, KRH, who were not in meetings at the time
- Balaclava. A Cavalry Officer will always seek advantage, and Major Walch is no exception. At a time when options were scarce and enabling impactful effect was being demanded, it should come as no surprise that our Hussar declared ‘take the guns sir’ whilst pointing at a certain valley in Crimea. This was a noble offer of valour and splendour to a Commanding General in the Armed Forces of Ukraine... Sadly, not everyone shared his enthusiasm.
AJW
From the SO2 in DProgs...
It seems very unfashionable to suggest among other SO2s that the Army HQ isn’t an awful place to work. There seems to be a large cohort of people akin to trying to be cool at school by say- ing that it’s the worst. But, as my fellow AHQ-SO2 in RP has attested already, it really isn’t! Not only does it feel at the centre of it all, it is also, for the first time in my career, a diverse organ- isation; my particular part in the Programmes Directorate is a 50:50 split of civilians and military as well as a varied array of cap badges. In my six months so far I have been exposed to the full spectrum of managing a 32 program portfolio: staffing and driving the change requests that will improve our capabil- ity, balancing the budgets against priorities when RP inevitably come looking for savings, assessing how to solve a problem such as keeping Bowman (for now) would just mention three highlights. While a lot of it is incredibly slow as it needs to be meticulous, I have been surprised at quite how dynamic the staff need to be to adjust to changes from above at ministerial level as well as below from end user engagement. As I focus now on a project to check our infrastructure can be built in time or support the programmes that expect to be housed within it, I hope that the rest of my 18 months are as equally various and fascinating. I think they will be, and would recommend this role to anyone looking for a wider view to managing our nation’s land capability.
KJH