Page 11 - 4RA 2021-2023

4th Regiment Royal Artillery
AGC (SPS) Department 2Lt Nick Moran AGC (SPS)
Capt Clare AGC (SPS) 2Lt Moran AGC (SPS) WO2 Lee Sandbach Sgt Fourie
Sgt Wells
Cpl Calvert
Cpl Redhead
Cpl Horry
LCpl Edwards
LCpl Black
LCpl Luckham
LCpl Zemoh-Zemoh Pte Sawyer
Pte Wright
The 4RA Staff and Personnel Sup- port (SPS) detachment has had a busy period administrating the many deployments, exercises and activities of the Regiment, from various iterations of Ex SUNDERLAND DAGGER and a full subu- nit’s deployment to Estonia on Op CABRIT to detachment-level training, including rehearsing basic military skills and con- ducting sports and adventure training. As always, such activities occur against the backdrop of routine unit business and training.
In June 2022 Pte Zemoh-Zemoh deployed on Op CABRIT with 88 Battery to provide in-theatre administrative and person- nel support to the Battery in Estonia. She demonstrated professionalism and deter- mination over what proved to be a long and demanding deployment, successfully punching above her weight in many tasks and rightfully earning a commendation
for her exceptional performance. A few months later, back in the United Kingdom, the SPS detachment had 5 team members deploy to Salisbury Plain Training Area on Ex SUNDERLAND DAGGER 23 in order to facilitate the deployment, successfully administrating the Regiment in the field over a period of more than three weeks. In the arduous “Best Detachment” com- petition held in the final week of the exer- cise, Sgt Fourie represented the detach- ment as a member of the winning team, demonstrating the SPS’s value in combat and fieldcraft as well as in barracks. In the domain of conceptual development and understanding, Pte Wright was an active participant on the Regiment’s 2022 bat- tlefield study, Ex REFLECTIVE FOURTH, which saw exercising troops undertake a detailed study of the most significant bat- tles to take place in the Netherlands in the 20th century, with a view to applying that understanding to contemporary and future operations.
One of the bigger changes to the SPS of late has been the Pers Admin Capabil- ity Review (PACR) which required the restructuring of the detachment as well as combining of some of the roles within. This has been successfully achieved with the centralisation increasing the pace of learning of the junior clerks and giving the regiment a central hub of knowledge for all things G1/8. This was validated by the suc- cessful Regimental G1 audit in November 2022.
On the sporting front, the newly-promoted LCpl Zemoh-Zemoh and Pte Black both
participated in representing the regi- ment in Orienteering in Cyprus, with LCpl Zemoh-Zemoh getting a 2nd and 3rd place finish on 2 separate courses. The duo also participated in the Northern Army Athlet- ics Championships, where the Regimental team prevailed over its rivals to win the top prize. Members of the detachment have also participated in adventure train- ing, ranging from Ex WHITE LION (a chal- lenging two-week skiing expedition in the French Alps) to a summer rock-climbing expedition to Spain.
Cohesion events are very popular within the detachment, and the period has seen a number of sporting and social activi- ties organised to build and maintain team spirit. Recent highlights have included deciphering escape rooms and navigating adventure golf in York, as well as attending to the races in Thirsk, to name but a few. A 2-day trip walking Hadrian’s Wall was a popular excursion, as was the SPS-organ- ised regimental 10km walk (Ex SUNDER- LAND RAMBLE) to the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in the UK, for much-needed refreshment.
Looking forwards, the Detachment antici- pates both another very busy period at the Regiment and a high rate of turnover in the det’s workforce, but with BBQs, trips to the races and a Tough Mudder planned in the spaces in and around the formidable ros- ter of looming Regimental commitments, the detachment is never far from finding fun in their work.
Armed Forces Day 2023
Capt Barnes and WO1 (RSM) Wood at the flag raising ceremony in Sunderland on Armed Forces Day 2023
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