Page 18 - KRH Regimental Journal 2022

16 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
With the designers of Challenger 3 at the Army Expo
consisting of Tpr Patterson, Tpr Wood and Tpr Taylor, proved us wrong and, despite the results, put in a strong performance!
On the eve of deployment, two crews were sent to the Army Expo in Copehill down, and although 31A managed to lose 2 top rollers almost immediately and LCpl Scott’s turret profile resembled a meerkat, C Squadron were commended on their professionalism and representation of Armour to an array of VIPs.
By late September the whole of the Senior Squadron was settled in in District 9 in Estonia preparing for our first multi-national exercise. Within days the tone was set for the rest of CABRIT with Tpr Fanning digging Lt Brown out of multiple bogs, the Tiff get- ting lost a number of times and Tprs crowing it on the back decks trying to rewarm. 1st Troop were detached to Hitman Squadron, 1st Estonian Scouts Battalion, where Sgt Smith and ‘Candy-May’ made a great impression on Lt Harmask (aka the Ghost of Tapa) who imparted invaluable local knowledge of how to navigate the treacherous terrain of the Central Training Area.
Ex BOLD HUSSAR was a comparative holiday to the relentless pace being driven in camp. From LCpl ALDP, to Baltic Warrior Patrols competition and Ex IRON SPEAR tank competition, the Senior Squadron was involved in a multitude of activities. Tpr Bell put in a stand-out performance during Baltic Warrior, finish- ing in the top 10 of over 200 teams from across all NATO coun- tries deployed in Eastern Europe. Additionally, Lt Oldroyd and Lt Watts won the mixed gendered category and finished in the top 20 overall. Sgt McCormick and his crew were victorious over A Squadron during Ex IRON SPEAR and Tpr Woods embodied mission command during the drag race of the Battlegroup Tank Competition.
The pace did not ease up and before we knew it we were deploy- ing on our second BG level exercise of the tour. Ex VERTS WARRIOR started off with a night march resembling Napoleon’s
Tpr Wood founding the KRH Canoe Water Polo team
retreat from Moscow. Tanks were sliding off tracks left, right, and centre and we soon realised we needed to adapt quite quickly to the challenges the ice presented. Fortunately, Christmas was just around the corner and the festive period allowed us to catch our breath. 1st Troop surprised us all with an epic performance in the Battlegroup Christmas Warrior Fit Competition finishing second overall by one rep and ‘What’s in the Box?’ entertained (almost) everyone for hours.
The end of the year also closed the curtain on WO2 Mossop’s reign as SSM as he handed over to WO2 Thorpe. For now, business is continuing as usual with CWOC courses happening in the back- ground and with a couple of months left in Estonia, the Squadron is looking forward to some well-deserved rest during POTL.
33A Bogged in
SMW
33A bogged in.. again
Third time lucky... 33A bogged in... AGAIN...