Page 23 - QDG Vol. 9 No. 2 CREST

1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
21
Well well well...
How did that bushfire start again?
Barren featureless desert... just like STANTA
of the United Nations and other govern- ment agencies. During a maintenance period in a camp outside of Ansongo, the Squadron organised a football game against the Senegalese Army. Whilst we lost the game, it was a great opportunity for partnerships to be formed and the national anthems to be sung. The Oper- ation lasted the majority of August, with the weather remaining largely kind to us, although a few were caught out by thun- derstorms which most inconveniently occurred between 0300hrs – 0500hrs in the morning. Over the course of this operation, C Squadron covered over 1300km per vehicle, an illustration of the distances covered.
September was quite the month for C Squadron; one which can be considered a real success and will be remembered by all the personnel in years to come. The month started quietly with the Squadron conducting the administra- tion, maintenance and checks following the completion of Operation MAKARA 2. Once this had been completed, 22 members of the Squadron conducted the ‘Honouring Heldon’ Half Marathon, a running event organised to raise money for the German soldiers who were injured at the start of our deployment. It involved running four laps around the UN Camp and included 500 personnel from across the nations represented in Camp Castor (Germans, Swedish, Irish, British and Romanian). Over £7000 was raised for the charity. Special mention must go to Lance Corporal Wilkinson and Trooper Carew who completed the half marathon in uniform and carrying 16kg in their backpacks, and to Cpl Thapa who got the fastest time from C Squadron. Once everyone had recovered from the half marathon, the Squadron spent a day on ranges outside of Camp Bagnold to
test fire the weapon systems. Trooper Sell was the best shot on the Heavy Machine Gun and LCpl Lewis was the top shot on the Grenade Machine Gun. We were also fortunate to be able to host the Commanding Officer and BGLO who were visiting for the recce over a Gurkha curry. The curry was organ-
surrounding area, the Squadron found rocket propelled grenades, weapons and other items of military kit. The profession- alism of all the members of the Squadron was exceptional and we entered the rest of the operation in the knowledge that we had protected civilians and contrib-
ised to raise money for the Gurkha Welfare Trust. Whilst the majority of time between operations was spent on personnel and vehicle recovery, there was also the opportunity to conduct career courses and the RSM organised a two-day JNCO cadre. Of particular note on this course was Trooper Carew winning the 2-mile race against the infantry!
...with some not wanting
to leave this tranquil part of Mali!
uted to the security in Mali. Towards the end of the oper- ation, the Squadron was fortunate to be joined by the Medical Team, elements of the deployable hospital, explosive experts and elements of resupply as we headed East cross country. This move was pioneering for the Long Range Recon- naissance Group and set the conditions for success. It was during this phase that the Squadron identi-
Operation MAKARA 2B
was the operation which dominated the rest of September. On the first day of the operation, the skill and experi- ence of the Squadron shone through. During an insertion into an area called Sorori Forest, the Squadron identified an area which was used by insurgents. Instantly the skill and experience of the officers and soldiers kicked in and they managed to detain one of these insurgents. Following a search of the
fied another pair of insurgents trying to escape on motorbike. The Squadron again managed to interdict the insur- gents and detained them, finding them in possession of weapons and other nefarious items. This detention was yet another example of the Squadron making tangible differences to the popu- lation of Mali. This operation ended outside of Indelimane and marked the end of the tour for Captain Cooper, the