Page 14 - QDG Year of 2022 CREST

12
1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
A Squadron
Dawn in the desert is spectacular. The sun emerges from behind the almost featureless horizon, chasing away the inky night and its magnificent display of stars, planets, and satellites. With it the sun brings vivid bands of colour to the huge sky and soft light to the enormous, ancient landscape. Local herders can be seen in the distance, often tiny boys barely taller than their animal’s rumps, chivvying their charges from night-time corrals towards the distant river and its life-giving water and fodder. Almost imperceivably at first, the sun’s light and heat will increase and then suddenly it will be up and begin its daily assault on the scrubby trees, rock and sand, beating down with merciless force. As insects and animals slink away to find shade and respite, an engine is started, laughter can be heard
drifting across the desert leaguer, the smell of coffee hangs in the air. A Squadron’s day is just beginning.
It is a timeless scene, and one experienced no doubt by many readers in far flung places - Aden, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan or on a host of other deployments with the Regiment. When asking members of A Squadron which scene sticks with them most from their 6-month tour of Op NEWCOMBE, it is the incredible dawns that came up time and time again.
Speaking of dawns, as the
year 2022 dawned we were
still in the foothills of the tour,
with much still to accomplish.
For those readers that did not
catch last year’s journal - a quick recap. In late-November of 2021, A Squadron had joined Regimental Headquarters
and elements of Headquarters Squadron to form the heart of the Long-Range Reconnaissance Group (LRRG). The
QDG were reinforced by A Company, 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment and a plethora of attached arms and enablers and the LRRG had deployed as the UK’s contribution to Op MINUSMA, a United Nations (UN) peace- keeping mission in the troubled West African state of Mali.
Having settled into Camp Bagnold and enjoyed the oddity and jollity of a Christmas on tour, the New Year saw the Squadron knuckle down to business. The LRRG (A Squadron leading the way) kickstarted 2022 with Oper- ation MEERKAT 2, a 21-day patrol into the Gourma
Region, SW of our base in Gao, crossing the famous River Niger in the process. The aim was to understand the area
through local engagement (both urban and rural) and identify future UN civil- ian-led projects alongside the deterrence of Terrorist Armed Group (TAG) activity. All whilst proving the concept of operating at reach. Op MEERKAT 2 was the longest patrol any LRRG had undertaken to date. Alongside Local Leader Engagements and casual conversations or CASCONs in the current jargon, A Squadron conducted several actions which saw the detention of TAG members, confiscation of illegal weapons and equipment alongside iden- tification of potential stability projects and female engagement opportunities. Our attached personnel shone with their additional tasks, Sergeant Dell (Royal Engineer Reconnaissance Sergeant) in particular, contributing as he did to the siting and design of a Forward Operating Base (FOB).
This patrol was a test for every indi- vidual and crew, with an average distance travelled of 1, 200 km and average temperature of 35 degrees. Its length and intensity proved the high standards and competency of A Squadron had achieved during its pre-deployment training and set the bar for the remainder of the tour.
laughter can be heard drifting across the desert leaguer,
the smell of coffee hangs in the air. A Squadron’s day is just beginning.
4th Troop