Page 133 - QDG Volume 9 No. 5

1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards 131
Major Daniel Brown
May I be permitted to start this Valette
with my own opening salvo with Major
Dan Brown, a man that I have now come
to regard as a close friend. As a Royal
Lancer and having arrived at 1st The
Queen’s Dragoon Guards to take over
OC B Squadron, and as an unaccom-
panied Major, I was to be billeted with
the Dan in the Officers Mess Annex.
People had initially warned me that Dan
could be quite… “fastidious” in the way
that he kept that house in order, and it
would be best that I arrive with limited
kit to clutter his environment, took more
interest in house cleanliness than the
running of my Squadron and generally
conducted myself like a Submariner! I
also made the fatal mistake of parking
“nose in” due to arriving late on a
Sunday evening, on reflection it was
fate alone that saved me from having to
find other lodgings!
To Dan then, hailing from Kidwelly as
his hometown, he signed the oath of
allegiance in late 1996, starting a career
that would span over 28 years, culmi-
nating in retiring at Field Rank. Having
attended ATR Winchester where he won the Best Recruit
Award he quickly arrived at 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
in 1997 when the Regiment was based at Athlone Barracks. A
■■■ period at Regimental Duty followed, with deployments to
Norther Ireland, Canada and Kosovo arose in quick succession.
This was promptly followed by the birth of his Son, Ethan, whist
the Regiment was based in Catterick, North Yorkshire.
Promotion to Lance Corporal happened in 2001 after another
■■■ period supporting NATO exercises and also re-rolling onto
CVR(T) and the required 30mm Gunnery Conversion Courses.
Dan again deployed on operations for Op TELIC 1 with B
Squadron, in role in what was a seminal Operational tour for the
British Army. Known then as “Brownie” (no doubt in reference
to his tan which was the colour of a stained mahogany table!)
he spent the majority of the tour on his OC’s vehicle. Having cut
a hole in the roof of his vehicle I have it on good authority that
Dan would sit proudly with his GPMG, bask in the 50C heat
and revel in his decision to join an organisation that would pay
him to go a shade browner per day! Regrettably, whist following
his OC into a meeting he forgot to stow the GPMG as well as
leaving it out of sight of the driver. On his return to his vehicle
the GPMG had walked and the driver was none the wiser, and
after a few hours of furious negotiation with the locals, and a not
insignificant amount of flapping, the GPMG was retuned and
only a few dollars lost. I again have it on good authority that not
even the weapons grade tan could hide his ashen face when he
discovered what had happened!
A return to ATR Winchester beckoned when he had returned
from operations, where he was able to bestow his operational
experiences on the newest crop of recruits. In 2007 the Crew
Commanders Course was the next key milestone on the horizon
where he again challenged for the top student award. This
earmarked him out as a highly suitable RAC prospect to send
across to the other side of the Combat Arms and in due course
Dan attended and passed the arduous Platoon Sergeants Battle
Course in Brecon. To give wider context to this achievement,
this was at a time when the RAC had been given the high-pro-
file task of force generating the Brigade Reconnaissance Force
(BRF), a task that our Infantry brethren felt strongly should lie
with them. Needless to say RAC soldiers and officers were not
flavour of the month in Brecon for those
years (even those hailing from just
down the road!), and it speaks volumes
about man that Dan put in another very
strong performance on the course and
was a rallying figure for RAC members
who would follow in his footsteps.
His first tour to Afghanistan followed,
Op HERRICK 15 where fulfilled the role
of a Troop Second in Command for the
BRF. I was on the same tour but doing
a different role with the Afghans, so I
am aware of how hard the BRF team
worked from September 2011 to April
2012, and also how much the contri-
bution of Dan and the wider Squadron
effort made to the ongoings security of
our corner of Helmand. After a return
to Germany, an SQMS appointment in
C Squadron and then a promotion to
Warrant Officer Class 2, Dan retuned to
Afghanistan on Op HERRICK 20 as the
BRF Squadron Sergeant Major. This roll
allowed him to bring all of his previous
experience to bear, and along with the
OC at the time (now Colonel Hugo
Lloyd), form a subunit which was going
to provide a significant proportion for the security for the close
down of the British Army’s mission in Helmand. He was held in
very high regard by the Squadron, due to his attention to detail,
no nonsense approach to soldiering and ability to generate what
he would refer to as a “warrior ethos” amongst the ranks.
A natural choice for the Regimental Sergeant Major of 1st
The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, Dan took over the role in 2016.
Shortly after being appointed, he planned and delivered the
5th State Opening of the Welsh Assembly at the Sennedd in
Cardiff for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2nd. As RSM he always
put the soldiers first, was never afraid to speak truth to power
and invested heavily in E Squadron to reinvigorate the wider
Regimental community. Additionally to this the Waterloo Dinner
Nights that he planned were some of the best in the Regiments
history.
Having shown significant potential as a Late Entry Officer,
Dan attended the first Late Entry Combined Assessment Board
and was selected for a Commission. He promoted to Captain in
2018 and deployed on Op CABRIT(P) as the National Support
Element Commander on the same day that his sone Ethan
arrived at ART Winchester. Other Regimental appointments
followed, notably Regimental Careers Management Officer
(RCMO) where he again put the soldiers first, ensured their MS
was beyond reproach whilst mentoring his team. His son Ethan
joined the Regiment in 2019.
Dan finished his time at Regimental Duty as the Quarter
Master, and was integral in deploying the Regiment to Mali on
Op NEWCOMBE in late 2021. I remember driving him the 400m
from the Officer Mess Annex to the Guard Room so that he didn’t
have to carry his bags and remarking that I now understood the
pride that my father must have felt dropping me off at an airport
to deploy on operations, I was promptly told to bugger off (the
polite version) and make sure that the house wasn’t looking like
“DE Swamp” on his return or there’d be hell to pay!
He attended Intermediate Command and Staff College (Land)
after this and then one a SO2 role in the MOD Abbey Wood,
focusing on the acquisition of weapons and ammunition across
the RAC. He leaves the Army to take up an opportunity as a
Director of Operations for a company in South Wales.
RAO