Page 5 - QDG Year of 2020

The year 2020 will be recorded by history as a most extraordinary time in which every aspect of life was dominated by the Pandemic. Rarely does our country face such a serious threat that affects the lives of every citizen, especially in peacetime. It is at such a time that the value of our Armed Forces is brought into stark relief as the nation looks to our Service personnel in its hour of need. We can all feel an immense sense of pride in the way the Queen’s Dragoon Guards played its part in Operation RESCRIPT, the military contribution to the national response to COVID-19 as described in this Journal.
Despite COVID 19, the way the Regiment successfully stepped up to the plate to take on an enhanced role on Operation CABRIT and prepared Cassino Troop for deployment to Poland was hugely impressive. The ‘Troop’ is a squadron size part of a US Army battle- group and is the UK contribution to the NATO-led deterrence force in Poland. Of note, this commitment was originally allo- cated to our paired Army Reserve Light Cavalry Regiment, The Royal Yeomanry, but the pandemic disrupted their ability to conduct collective training, so QDG was tasked to force generate the
bulk of the command element, based on B Squadron. Thus, two thirds of Cassino Troop are Royal Yeomen, which has been an outstanding oppor- tunity for Regular-Reserve integration and bringing our Regiments closer together. The strength of our regimental family was once again high- lighted by the efforts of the Regimental Comrades Associ- ation (RCA) in raising funds to ensure all members of Cassino Troop knew that they were not forgotten and all, irrespec- tive of capbadge, were sent a present and their families a hamper for Christmas.
Unfortunately, the pandemic
removed so many social events
from our diaries, including
the annual Officers’ Dinner,
Cavalry Memorial Parade, the
RCA Cardiff Reunion as well
as Branch events. I joined some of my QDG contemporaries via Zoom to watch the livestream of the Cavalry Memorial service, which was a great initiative by the event organisers.
As we all hibernated and went online, so did most of the QDG social activity but the RCA network of branches enabled us
to keep a keener eye on the welfare of our veterans, especially during the lonely months of lockdown. This demonstrates to me the value of RCA membership and I would dearly love to see more members of our Regimental family join the association. Current membership sits at less than 1/3rd of the member- ship of the QDG Comrades Facebook group. Please
encourage your mates to join up, it costs less than the price of a couple of pints!
COVID has not prevented us from making progress in our efforts to enhance the connectedness across all parts of the Regimental family, by which we can build a community that will be of benefit to all its members, serving and retired
alike, as well as maximise the power of our network. Our Army Cadet Force and Combined Cadet Force detachments give us a firm link into Welsh society and offer excellent opportunities to improve diversity in our recruit pipeline. It would be good to develop an eco-system whereby QDG Cadets feel part of the family, join QDG and then return as expe- rienced Cadet Force Adult Volunteers to inspire the next generation to make the same journey.
We are also ensuring those serving away from the Regiment are kept close and I welcome the Commanding Officer’s initiative to form F Squadron, comprised of all those at Extra Regi- mental Employment, who will be invited back to the Regiment each year for an annual update, career management and no doubt a drink or two! No longer will the only correspondence with those
1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards 3
Colonel of the Regiment’s Foreword
As we all hibernated and went online, so did most of the QDG social activity but the RCA network of branches enabled us to keep a keener eye on the welfare of our veterans