Page 13 - Light Dragoons 2022 CREST

The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
Sunset in Mali
OC
2IC
SSM
A Squadron – The Empire
The highlight of 2021 was, understand- ably, Op NEWCOMBE. Under the command of Maj Black, ably assisted by Capt Christie as 2IC and WO2 Martin as SSM, A Squadron arrived in theatre at the end of 2020 and completed a 6 month deployment in the testing environment of the Sahel desert. With a pre-deployment training pipeline of two years, everyone in The Empire was eager to get some sand between their toes.
The deployment started with the swift removal of any lockdown moustaches and laps of the Main Operating Base (MOB) in various states of dress; a monotonous task with the only relief for the troops being that the running route went past the Swedish camp. Once the wagons had been unloaded it was time to head out on the ground. An unfamiliar environment, it was a test for everyone. The Empire gradu- ally settled into the routine of ever more complex missions, patrolling further and further afield. Where many other nations had been content to patrol up and down
the River Niger, The Long Range Recce Group (LRRG) looked to head deeper into the wilderness for much longer periods of time.
The desert was a lonely place and keep- ing morale high was key. High stakes games of monopoly and multiple late night readings from Tpr Patchett’s erotic novels became the norm. As usual, a con- stant grumble came from the Sqn seniors, normally directed at a confused gaggle of junior officers. Whilst out on the ground a plethora of weird and wonderful hob- bies emerged with the most notable being ‘twitching’. With multiple flora and fauna subject matter experts in the Sqn, any new sighting of a rare bird or plant was sent as a CCIR straight to Capt Christe to tick off his ‘twitching’ list. A squadron bingo night, held inside the wire, was also well received.
Overall, the deployment was a huge suc- cess and changed the nature of informa- tion gathering in Mali. The Task Group
set a new standard of reconnaissance within the UN; the highlight of the tour being when 2nd Troop found an insurgent weapon cache. This was the first search and find of its kind by UN forces in Mali. All members of The Empire made it home safely in June, via a cold beer and a swim in Gibraltar, returning for POTL with strong tans all round and looking forward to the summer ahead.
In September 2021, after some well deserved POTL and summer leave, A Sqn
On patrol in the Sahel
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