Page 7 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2017

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 5 Looking Forward
The Regiment deployed on an exceptionally wide variety of exercises in its Training Year in 2017 as it prepared for two years ‘at Readiness’. But, what does that mean? In short, the Regiment will be the Army’s lead Armoured Cavalry Regiment for any operations or commitments as part of a United Kingdom or NATO force for 2018 and 2019. As well as holding Force Elements at ‘R5’ (30 days notice to move) - namely C Squadron – the Regiment will also be conducting Operation TOSCA, the United Kingdom’s contribution to the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), before returning to R8 (90 days notice to move) in 2019.
Operation TOSCA is the United Kingdom’s commitment to UNFICYP. The operation will see 250 soldiers from The Royal Lancers deploying for six months to Nicosia from April to Octo- ber 2018. Alongside routine reconnaissance training, a focused public order package – covered elsewhere in this publication – and a mission rehearsal exercise (MRX), facilitated by both the UNFICYP Headquarters and the Mission Training and Mo- bilisation Centre, have been completed. The Regiment’s main role will be to patrol the ‘Green Line’ and the remainder of the Buffer Zone in and around Nicosia – namely Sector 2 – in the interest of maintaining the staus quo and reducing any tension between opposing forces. Within the Sector 2 force there are a myriad of liaison officers, civil liaison staff and ‘peacekeepers’ that will keep the majority of RHQ and, B, D and HQ Squadrons busy. At the UNFICYP Headquarters at the old Nicosia Inter- national Airport, A Squadron will form the spine of the Force’s mobile force reserve with a remit for reducing tensions between
opposing forces, or responding to incidents any- where along the Buffer Zone’s 192 kilometres span. For a reconnaissance regiment, there will much to keep our soldiers and officers busy, as we understand the nuances of UN operations, the international melting pot that is Cyprus and the situation in the broader Middle East. At the time of writ- ing the majority of the Regiment is on
pre-deployment leave after donning their blue berets after the Mission Rehearsal Exercise (MRX).
For 2018, C Squadron will be held at ‘readiness’ to deploy as part of a NATO Very High Readiness Taskforce. Commander 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade and his staff lead the force which is made up of a number of nations ranging from Spain, through Poland and on to Norway with many others inbetween. C Squadron make up the force’s armoured, ground-mounted re- connaissance. As part of their preparations, the squadron will deploy to Canada (BATUS) in spring 2018 and conduct Exercise PRAIRIE STORM. They will act as 12th Armoured Infantry’s Brigade’s covering force. This will be an excellent chance to pickup from Exercise LIGHTNING ACE and refine the con- cept of employment of a squadron working direct to the Brigade Headquarters. There will be a fifteen day Brigade level Tacti- cal Engagement System (TES) enabled Field Training Exercise (FTX) followed by a live-fire package tailored to the Squadron. Some Adventurous Training in the Rockies will precede the re- covery back to the United Kingdom.
Throughout, a small proportion of the Regiment will remain in Catterick. With much to do to build on the progress of the 2017 Training Year, the Rear Operations Group will be designing the ‘return to readiness’ training profile for A, B and D Squadrons, along with a number of long term projects. One of which, will be the finalisation of moves of equipment and personnel, as the troops return, to form the four homogenous reconnaissance squadrons that will make-up the fighting element of the regi- ment. Soon after our return, there will be a number of field and command-post exercises, up to divisional level, for the Regiment to grapple with. This will test us in our core reconnaissance role as we return our focus to being ‘ready’. Beyond that, the Regi- ment continue to consult on the impending move to Warmin- ster and look forward to the role-out of the new AJAX armoured fighting vehicle.
HAR