Page 23 - Four Cavalry Regiments (Crest)

It was against this backdrop that B Squadron began their pre-deployment training in the UK, a laborious process consuming the immediate attention of all for the best part of six months. Two decades of counter- insurgency operations in the Middle East meant that we were well-equipped at the tactical level for the challenges that lay ahead. Notwithstanding, our vocabulary, attitude, and perception had to match the expectation for a mission that was unequivocally focussed on the protection of civilian life.
The pre-deployment training was brutal, if not in its content than in its logistical demands: the squadron covered over 7000 miles on the road. We ended the process with a comprehensive knowledge of every service station between Scotland and Lulworth Cove. The front runner is still up for debate, but I would suggest that Tebay Services on the M6 has it all. Many a Sunday was sacrificed for travel to training courses across the country; it was not uncommon for people to arrive back in Leuchars on a Friday evening, only to deploy once again on the Sunday, back the way they came.
It was not until late-February, then, that the squadron formed up in Warcop, Cumbria, for the first time since it went its separate ways in the deserts of Oman (quite literally, as on completion of the exercise a small contingent disappeared to the north of the country to conduct Defence Engagement). Broadly speaking, the faces were the same, although we welcomed a few newcomers to our ranks. A freezing week spent on dismounted ranges was followed by second, still freezing week in Lulworth Cove in Dorset for the mounted equivalent. Another busy journey, another quick turnaround, and the squadron deployed to Thetford training area in Norfolk, for the final stint of training and complete the Mission Rehearsal Exercise.
The Long Range Reconnaissance Group was a formidable, and slightly eclectic sight. The low profile, open-architecture Jackals and Coyotes – ‘open-archi- tecture’ being the Army’s polite euphemism for ‘no roof, windscreen, or any other kind of protection from the elements: sorry, and good luck on the M25’ – of the light cavalry squadron contrasted with the angular, towering Foxhounds of the light mechanised company. These were dwarfed only by the impossibly large, chunky Mastiff ’s of the Royal Engineers detachments and the ever-reliable Troop Carrying Vehicle and recovery vehicles in the logistics element of the task group. Decked in resplendent sandy-yellow, it stuck out vividly against the damp brown and green of an English spring.
When the time came to deploy, it was almost a relief. The cruellest hand was undoubtedly dealt to those pivotal to the logistical fight, who flew out having had just under one week of pre-deployment leave. Over the course of three weeks, the squadron drip-fed out to theatre, a process that began with a parade in Leuchars, and another, final southbound nine-hour coach journey, and a bleary-eyed morning spent at RAF Brize Norton before we were off. The more fortunate amongst us had an overnight stopover at Gibraltar, which was the last opportunity for a beer and, likewise, a sore head the next morning. The rest had only an hour to stretch their legs, take a photo of The Rock towering above them, before the onwards journey commenced.
Mali is the hottest country in the world, on average. This was an uncomfortable fact with which we would soon become comfortable (or at least, we openly complained a bit less). Upon arrival we were swept through a handover-takeover process that saw us account for all the vehicles, radios, weapons, and various equipment
B Sqn SHQ enjoying the desert
EAGLE AND CARBINE 11