Page 7 - RSDG Year of 2013

bers of B Squadron travelled across to Chester for the weekend and marched through the streets of the City to a moving tribute held in the Cathedral. Afterwards, led by the band, they paraded – without their officers – back through the City leading 60 members of the Regimental Association (including 18 officers) past a salute taken by the Lord Mayor. In a poignant and dis- tant act of commemoration earlier in the day, a charity in India that works to preserve the battlefields around Imphal had scaled the peaks of Nunshigum and had also laid poppies on the graves of those men of the 3rd Carabiniers who had made the ultimate sacrifice.
The ethos of the cavalry soldier, working within the discipline of the troop, has always been recognised as a battle-winning contribution. But as we continue
to celebrate our 2 main battle honours we have to ensure that these events are not allowed to become just another social occasion; rather we should solemnly remember that the heroic actions of our forebears were carried out by officers and soldiers just like ourselves and that we have a duty to ensure that their actions are never forgotten.
Quite rightly this issue concentrates on the recent Regimental tour in Afghanistan where, yet again, the Regiment distinguished itself through high standards of training, leadership and fortitude. The spirit of our forebears lives on and must continue to do so.
Once again, the Regiment has had a
successful, demanding and operation-
ally focused year. This time, however,
we have been not to Helmand, but
Kabul where we had the honour of
helping to establish the foundations
for Britain’s enduring military com-
mitment to Afghanistan – namely
support to the Afghan National
Army Officer Academy. Returning in
February 2014, this Eagle and Carbine
in significant part, therefore, spans a
slightly longer period than is usual.
This deployment was very different
to the last decade’s tours, where we
have worked in combined arms bat-
tlegroups to deliver security either directly or through support to indigenous forces. Instead, as the Kabul Support Unit, our role was to enable the actions of oth- ers, not targeting an enemy and yet constantly striv- ing to deter the very real threat posed on the streets of Kabul. In that we were successful and it is testament to the professionalism, vigilance and discipline of the soldiers that we all returned home safely. It was also a relatively small deployment, of just 200 or so regimen- tal soldiers, working alongside a similar number drawn from over 20 cap-badges and four nations – but the feel remained very much regimental and marked a fitting end to this turbulent chapter of frequent commitment to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The squadron articles give an excellent overview of the character of
the challenges faced and outstanding service delivered by the soldiers.
The Regiment’s achievements in Kabul would not, however, have been possible without preparation and support. Foremost was the train- ing undertaken from January to July, under the leadership of Colonel Bartholomew who, unsurprisingly, prepared the squadrons excellently for the deployment. Echoing previ- ous rotations through the pipeline of Mission Specific Training, myriad courses were undertaken as we con- verted to yet another set of platforms,
predominantly the Foxhound patrol vehicle and armoured Toyota Landcruisers – a far cry indeed from Challenger 2. The second vital ingredient to opera- tional success was the support of the Rear Operations Group (ROG), who provided the crucial firm base in Bad Fallingbostel, training reinforcements and keep- ing the flame alive on the sports pitches, ski slopes and at sea. They also coordinated the hugely appreciated support offered from across the wider Regimental fam- ily. We were inundated with Christmas parcels and offers of assistance from friends and strangers alike – truly humbling and a heartfelt thank you from us all.
Projecting forward, however, perhaps the ROG’s great- est contribution may yet prove to be their extensive planning and preparation for the Regiment to take our
FOREWORD
by The Commanding Officer
EAGLE AND CARBINE 5