Page 43 - The Chapka 2016

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) AGC(SPS) Detachment
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2016 was another varied and challenging year for the Royal Lancers AGC (SPS) Detachment. It started with the usual frantic MATTs catch up, a training bill paid more easily through the skills of our Detachment MATTs catch-all: Corporal Wise- man - BCDT instructor; C-IED instructor; AASAA; B Qual; Bronze Swimming Certificate, the list goes on. Enthusiastically helped by her assistant, Captain ‘I are good at shooting’ Taylor, a standard accepted by some as ‘about average’ was eventually achieved. Early 2016 was dominated by preparation for deploy- ment on Exercise PRAIRIE STORM and for the AGC annual event, the Triple Crown. Various members of the Detachment conducted CT1 with equally varying degrees of success. Despite her classically last minute addition to the deployment nominal roll and though she didn’t yet know it, it would be Corporal Minister who most benefited from a cold January week in the field. April came and with it Sergeant (now Staff Sergeant for the deployment) Crabtree joined the Advance Party deployment a mere three and a half weeks prior to main body one, his bags laden with cash, toner ink and A4 paper. ‘Weapon’ Handling tested, the BATUS printers wouldn’t know what had hit them...
Eventually, the remainder arrived. The rest of the SPS team comprised of Captain Taylor, Corporal Minister, Private Joyce and Private Jackson. This team formed the primary hub for personnel administration during the four month deployment in Canada. However, with only two terminals and an unreliable in- ternet connection, the normal daily tasks rather quickly became long laborious chores. Things were not made easier by Captain Taylor’s constant unplugging of Ethernet cables from the only printer, in a futile effort to utilise the laptop, and Captain Pur- brick’s persistent tampering with printer settings, which caused what affectionately became known as ‘The Purbrick Effect’. Corporal Lisa Minister was the only SPS soldier who deployed on the ground. Crewed in a Sultan and running ‘IAdmin’ in the field, she soon became a force to reckon with. Even the Regi- mental Second-in-Command commented on her outstanding performance in creating file (de)structures.
Whist they were gallivanting care free in the Canadian wild lands (Medicine Hat), the remainder of the ‘det’ were getting in some very pleasant practice carrying weight for the afore men- tioned Triple Crown Competition. Due to some last minute, and totally legitimate, injuries, the final team consisted of Captain Plant, WO2 Thornton (who had arrived at Regiment one week prior), Corporal Latham and Corporal Wiseman. The 12 mile march and shoot was covered in a respectable time which saw the team finish mid-table across some 150 teams.
With the Detachment safely returned and leave completed, our focused switched to the impending G1 Audit. What we do and how well we do it, to be decided over three days of inspections by an external team. No article describing the activity of an or- ganisation over a calendar year would be complete without using this line at least once... we were busy! However, the work paid off and the Regiment were rewarded with a good result and high praise from Brigade.
The Detachment has also seen plenty of change. 2016 has given us a new Warrant Officer, 3 Sergeants, a Corporal, a Private and a baby (Corporal Smith’s boy, born in February). As we look for- ward to 2017 there is more of the same: a September deployment to BATUS, more change in Detachment personnel and a new Commanding Officer. I can safely say that The Royal Lancers’ SPS Detachment have had a very successful year. It has been the hard work and humour of the people within it who have made this happen, and I’m sure it will endure through 2017.
Outside Richmond Church on 11th November
Captain Taylor celebrates his birthday in BATUS
AP
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