Page 18 - QDG Year of 2020

16
1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
The Tp Ldr had promised them a babe in a stable
Unprecedented Times
With heads held high after a successful yet testing Regimental exercise, atten- tion turned to the remainder of 2020 and the many opportunities available. There was talk of a short-term training team in Nigeria, the possibility of deploying to Mali and the exciting prospects of Adventure Training and
They returned home by another way
sport. However, in March,
rather than setting our sights
on foreign shores, everyone
had to start looking inwards
at our own domestic situ-
ation, as COVID 19 shook
the world. As with everything
in the Army, the rumours
started ahead of the reality.
However, rather unusually,
the rumours turned out to
not only be true but, the situ-
ation was also considerably
more severe that originally
predicted. Everyone was
told to stay indoors, stay
safe, and wash their hands. Understand- ably, commanders at all levels grappled with this new reality and tried to under- stand how the virus would impact on the Army, an Army which prides itself on being proactive and ‘out and about.’ C Squadron, as with everyone else, lifted their laptop screens and tried to
UK based operations. Lieu- tenant Cooper commanded a small detachment on Task Force Doogan, which was used to transfer critical COVID 19 patients from overwhelmed hospitals to those hospitals with greater capacity using civilian ambu- lances. From the comfort of his ‘luxury’ hotel room, Lieutenant Cooper heroi- cally coordinated the efforts of these ambulance drivers. The commitment lasted 22 days, used 15 ambu- lances and saw a total of 18
patients transferred. This was vital work and everyone in C Squadron felt proud to be part of the greater good.
A further C Squadron task under Op Rescript, was to provide soldiers for the Nottingham Regional Testing Centre. C Squadron personnel were required to operate alongside their civilian counter-
C Squadron, as with everyone else, lifted their laptop screens and tried to work remotely
work remotely and remain as proactive and effective as usual. Virtual runs and workouts became the new norm and online courses the classrooms of the day.
The title for the military response to COVID 19 was called Op RESCRIPT, and everyone in the QDG soon realised that they would rapidly be involved in these
parts to assist and prevent them being overwhelmed by the vast numbers of tests being conducted. Whilst C Squadron provided only eight personnel, they conducted over 6000 tests in 10 days, with an average of an impressive 1400 tests being achieved each day. Concurrently, Sergeant Humphreys and his 16-personnel team set out with deliv- ering COVID tests to four different care homes. They ensured care homes and vulnerable people had access to tests and furthermore, made sure that the tests were able to get to laboratories quickly and safely for analysis. In total 4196 tests were collected, and 13 200 tests were delivered over an eleven-day deployment.
Towards the end of the military support to COVID 19, C Squadron contributed to the set up and running of five Military Testing Units. C Squadron worked with personnel from 3 Royal Artillery and rotated through the MTUs to ensure the testing was available for as long as possible. The testing units were crucial to the support to the government, with over 16,000 tests being carried out in total. A special mention must go to Sergeant Morgan, who alongside delivering tests to the society, also managed to fix a car which turned up to the testing facility faulty!
An unsuccessful bid for the cover photo
Yet more ranges