Page 22 - QDG Volume 9 No. 5

20 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
Headquarters
Squadron:
A year of
change,
chaos, and
operation
interflex
Another year, another rollercoaster of
operations, leadership changes, and
enough logistical headaches to make
even the most seasoned Squadron
members break a sweat. But despite the
challenges, Headquarters Squadron has
come through, stronger, smarter, and—
thankfully—still well-stocked on coffee.
This year, we’ve had our hands full
with a range of major tasks, with one
of the standout operations being Oper-
ation Interflex—where we supported
the training of 2,000 Ukrainian troops
at Wathgill. Alongside this monumental
task, we’ve also been enabling the
deployment of two sabre Squadrons
to Poland on Op Cabrit. To top it all
off, we’ve also seen the arrival of fresh
faces in key positions, with many of our
senior soldiers coming to the end of their
service. As you can imagine, it’s been
a year that’s kept us on our toes—often
running in every direction at once.
Let’s start with the big one—Op Inter-
flex. Supporting the training of 2,000
Ukrainian troops at Wathgill wasn’t just
a task; it was an operation of colossal
scale and complexity. Wathgill, already an
established training area, became a hub
for vital training to help support Ukraine
during a time of immense challenge. For
us in Headquarters Squadron, it was all
hands on deck deploying soldiers from
every deployment. We had to ensure that
Combined age of 220
everything from the equipment to the
training and accommodation schedules
was spot on. Add to that the complexities
of working with our international partners,
managing cross-unit coordination, and
making sure the facilities and services
were up to scratch, you can begin to see
just how much of a challenge it was.
If you’ve ever worked on an operation
of this scale, you’ll know it’s not just about
getting things done; it’s about keeping a
million moving parts working seamlessly
together. And that’s exactly what we did.
The logistics team coordinated trans-
port and ensured that the facilities were
ready to handle the huge influx of troops.
The Training Wing, under the leader-
ship of Captain Mark Speight, ensured
that training was structured and tailored
to meet the needs of the Ukrainian
soldiers. Op Interflex was a success,
and the Squadron’s role in supporting
the training effort was nothing short of
pivotal. We were proud to play a part in
something that was not only logistically
challenging but also of significant stra-
tegic importance. Watching the troops
train and knowing we were helping them
prepare for such an important mission
was one of the rewarding and humbling
challenges of the year.
In addition to Op Interflex, we also
had the small task of enabling two
Squadrons for deployment to Poland.
A logistical marathon, we quickly rose
The new (but old) guard