Page 21 - KRH Regimental Journal 2022

The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars 19
What do you mean you can’t see the targets?
CHALLENGE, a French military patrols competition just one valley over from the bright lights of Val Thorens and worthy of its own journal article.
Post DEFENDER a merciful STOP, STOP, STOP was called. With all their ducks in a row, ATUDs signed, and EC paperwork forged completed, A Sqn bid a fond farewell to SSgt Andy Bates and quick marched into summer leave: It would be their last chance to spend time at home with friends and family before they began their long stint in Winter Wonderland. Most stayed close to home but 1st Tp’s Sgt Kingston, along with the MTWO, decided to retrace the steps of various Balkan war criminals and traversed some of Europe’s less glamorous southern borders, getting shot at and wandering into a minefield along the way. The 2IC made his annual pilgrimage to countries on the Intelligence Officer’s naughty list, raising the OC’s blood pressure in the process. Much to everyone’s relief he returned from the Persian border with all his vital organs, passport and dignity intact. ‘Tiff Stevens went to Benidorm. Without his toothbrush.
The much-heralded odyssey out East came faster than some would have liked. And whilst Cpl Cardwell won’t be remembered as the face that launched a thousand HETs, he certainly will remember being sent out on the advanced party. As summer ebbed away, the first of the xHx landed in Tapa. By the end of September, the monolith that was the KRH BG was established at the edge of the civilised world. As ever, there was to be no rest for the wicked and SHQ was running white hot. Whilst the CO declared integra- tion with our European partners to be the primary TO, 1st Tp, (expertly lead by Sgt Ryan ‘boggin bazza’ Kingston) spent most of Ex BOLD HUSSAR integrating closely with the warm earth and marshes of the central training area. Lt EC-PP, with wristlet bound feet, nobly attempted to drag his stricken crews from the muck and the mire, only to become a victim himself completing the troop quartet of simultaneous bog-ins. It is still unknown to this day, who has spent less time at the FLOT – PP or AWIC Dave. The famed Gerasimov once said: ‘Time spent on CABRIT is seldom wasted.’ And thus it would be foolish to compete with
Tpr Sharpe skiing
the diligently kept, poetically written ‘Nobody’s News, or less poetically written ORK, when trying to recount all that has hap- pened on the Baltic front. Too many tales, too few pages. The FoE showed no sign of the mythical ‘white space’. From firepower demonstrations with the anti-tank company as part of the remem- brance commemorations, more time on tanks than the majority of the squadron had experienced in their careers to date, 48hours of shivering entertainment on CWOC, and taking the first tanks to the Estonian Island of Saaremaa since the Soviet invasion. We also underwent a Land Equipment Audit but managed to find time to conduct several urban NAVEXs in various Estonian cit- ies whilst regularly rolling out the Scots Guards Fijian choir and excellent pipes and drums. There is enough material to make T E Lawrence’s ‘Seven Pillars of Wisdom’ look like a command troop BCS PXR: we simply cannot recount it all here. As the nights closed in, A Sqn bid a fond farewell to MFP who was dragged kicking and screaming from his and the 2ICs boudoir down the stairs to take over as HQ Sqn SSM. In his place we welcomed WO2 (SSM) Gav Harrison, who brought with him the first snow of winter (which was not welcome). Christmas was of course a highlight. SSgt Spencer and WO2 Harrison captured the spirit of the season, with an anaemic Christmas tree, enforced viewing of Die Hard, double strength baileys hot chocolate and cold sausage sandwiches in bed – one could almost picture the Christ child wrapping his divine bangers in during his own Middle Eastern CWOC serial. Yet it was a truly Nobody’s Own event, and perhaps better than any other time captured the incredible strength of the Squadron and its wider family. With abundant welfare pack- ages provided by an incredibly generous UK support network the Troops came together, thousands of miles from home and enjoyed the ambiguous legality of the four can rule. “Sakus for all” cried SQMS(T)! With the sensual Mrs Clause bellowing out another seasonal quiz and Christcringle himself listening to the wishes of the young craftsmen – it was truly a memorable day and high- lighted the close family ethos of the Squadron, closing out what has been an excellent year for the 20th.
AWN & MRSL