Page 37 - QDG Volume 9 No. 2 2021

1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
35
Promotions
We saw a couple of promotions in the Det this year and would like to congrat- ulate LCpl Jukesh Gurung promoting to Cpl and Cpl Greenwood promoting to Sgt. Furthermore, we would like to mention an exceptional accomplishment from one our dearest, Sgt Chilvers, who not only promoted to SSgt but was also
successfully selected for LE Commis- sioning.
We said thank you and farewell to Capt Nathan Rixson, Sgt Sasha Chilvers, Sgt Shelly-Ann Berry, Sgt Ashley Green- wood, Cpl Jukesh Gurung and LCpl Ganga Limbu. We welcomed Lt Andrew Huntley, Sgt Manasa Raikoso, Sgt Adil Saleem, Sgt Lamin Sonko, Cpl Christo-
pher Cooper, Cpl Toni Parker and LCpl Leonie Thornton to the team.
The forthcoming year already looks to be action packed and the Det continues to work hard to ensure the Regiment is 100% ready to deploy. We will always overcome any challenges that we face.
SL
Padre
How do we reflect on the past year? What has it meant to each of us. The past two articles that I have written in 2019 and 2020 have been heavily influ- enced by the ‘C’ (COVID) word or the ‘P’ (Pandemic) word but for the most part of 2021, whilst ever present, it has not controlled our lives quite as much as it did during the ‘lockdowns’ that we have lived through. For the QDG, it has been a busy time building up to and going on deployments as part of the UN Peace- keeping Mission to Mali, with C Squadron returning home to their families just in time for Christmas.
The 1st January is designated Global Day of Peace and Sharing around the world by the United Nations. In this year of preparation and deployment on Op Newcombe, we must all hope that our contribution, along with that of the other nations serving in this part of the world, will make a difference to the people of Mali and in turn, to stability of peace more widely.
In the Bible, Matthew Chapter 5, verses 1-12 contain The Beatitudes, which includes the verse ‘Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’ Taken from The Sermon on the Mount, The Beatitudes challenge us to take on Jesus’ revolutionary call to
turn to the poor, the mourning, the weak in order to see and experience the shape of God’s kingdom.
Whether you are a person of faith or not, it is a fundamental human right that peoples of all nations should be able to live alongside one another peaceably. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations says this ... ‘In the end, it comes down to values ... We want the world our children inherit to be defined by the values enshrined in the UN Charter: peace, justice, respect, human rights, tolerance and solidarity.’
Words that in very real terms echo those of Jesus. I tend to think that all of the Operations that we are involved with in the military around the world are ‘Peacekeeping’ missions in the sense that sometimes peace needs to be fought for. In Mali, we seek to keep the peace and to bring stability, disrupting the activities of those who would seek to undermine those values.
As we hold Church services, we pray each week for our families. Thank you for your support and the sacrifices that you make in supporting us and particularly whilst we are deployed. You have been very much in our thoughts and prayers and we give thanks to God for each and every one of you.
The 20th March every year is desig- nated ‘International Day of Happiness’, by The United Nations. The day was established in 2012, with the following narrative ... ‘Conscious that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal, ...recognising the need for a more inclu- sive, equitable and balanced approach ... that promotes sustainable develop- ment, poverty eradication, happiness and the well-being of all peoples, ...’
‘Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’
The last verse of Romans, Chapter 8 reminds us of the promise that nothing ‘... in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Romans 8:39)
SW