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1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
11 Bde
The 11th Security Force Assistance (SFA) Brigade was conceived as part of Future Solider, which was part of the 2021 Inte- grated Review. The vision was to have force elements from within the Brigade persistently engaged around the globe by 2025. Despite the Brigade Headquar- ters being responsible for the training of Ukrainian soldiers in the United Kingdom, this vision will still be achieved 12 months early. Operation INTERFLEX has driven change at pace and has made the Brigade more relevant and
Winter is coming
has been high but exciting. In November 2023 around 80 percent of the Brigade was deployed around the globe in Hawaii, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Brunei, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Nigeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Bosnia, Latvia, Finland and the UK. We were either training our Partners or on joint exercises helping integrate UK and Partner forces. Relationships matter in the Brigade, and we have built strong connections with the United States Security Force Assistance Brigades allowing us to cohere and synchronise our effects globally. Concurrently we are building new relationships with the nascent Italian and French security force assistance organisations as well which will help increase our reach.
The Brigade Headquarters is a young organisation but full of energy and enthusiasm. If Captains or Majors are looking for a stimulating and rewarding staff appointment in a small and agile headquarters, then I can I highly recom- mended HQ 11th SFA Brigade. It has an exciting future and is fast becoming a key part of ‘How We Fight.’
HS
useful in the 21st Century. Security Force Assis- tance is both a strategy and a capability. It is not just the preserve of the 11th SFA Brigade but a whole of Defence activity. The Brigade is a proponent for security force assistance within the Army and one of its principal delivery mechanisms. The QDG have been involved in this activity over the last decade, most recently with short term training teams in
The tempo, like the rest of the Army has been high but exciting
Teams are built around Fire Support capabilities such as mortars, anti-tank, snipers, assault pioneers and recon- naissance. The soldiers within the Teams are appro- priately trained and equipped to operate at distance in austere conditions much as a reconnaissance soldier is. The final unit is the Outreach Group which is a tri-service organisation with Regular, Reserve and Special Reserve
Kenya, The Gambia and Sierra Leone. Short Term Training Teams, however, do not in their own right build meaningful relationships and these activities must be cohered so that we create a platform for enduring engagement. The Brigade flash of the ‘Charging Bull’ is the symbol that seeks to bind our security force assistance
soldiers who specialise in Human Security, Security Capacity Building, Cultural Advisors and Civil and Military Affairs.
Our role is delivered through ‘Train, Advise, Assist, Accompany and Enable’ activity across the spectrum of conflict, from peace to conflict. In warfighting this could see force elements from the Brigade supporting the Force Generation of partners such as Operation INTER- FLEX, providing a global offset force, or leveraging partner force advantage as they are likely to be in the fight first.
The tempo, like the rest of the Army
activity into a coherent effect.
The Brigade consists of 4 Regular
and 1 Reserve Infantry Battalion that are re-structuring into an SFA organisa- tion with Advisor Teams. These Advisor
RMAS Academy Headquarters
I don’t think there will have ever been a time with more QDGs serving at the Royal Military Academy. Having recently said farewell to Capt Will Simpson, 2024 will welcome Maj David Hoey and Capt Bertie Lewis in as Company and Platoon Commanders respectively. Despite gentle nudging of the 2*, I’m still unable to convince anyone that we should have Troops and Squadrons. They will join WO1 David Chant, Me, and probably most importantly, SSgt Thomas Warner – a Plt Staff Sergeant (still called ‘Sgt Maj’ – worry not).
I say most importantly as the Officer Cadet facing posts are where we make a difference recruiting new officers into the regiment and raising awareness of the capbadge more widely. Excitingly, there is real opportunity for growth in
this area too. This year, The Platoon Sergeant’s Battle Course (Senior Brecon) was removed from the list of pre-requisites to instruct at RMAS. Why? because there is a subtle
tilt away from pure Dismounted Close Combat towards Combined ArmsManoeuvresothatwebetter prepare our next generation of leaders for the technical real-
ities of leadership and the requirement to constantly look left and right for all the assets at your disposal. This, to my mind, is a massive opportunity for QDG. Happy on our feet but
with bright, technically able SNCOs conscious of the
wider battle.
Like all training jobs, it’s full on
but with the massive benefits that come with a set time- table. In addition, unlike much of the Army, training remains well-resourced with time, equipment, and people to ensure continued delivery. The job satisfaction is hard to beat. If you’re interested, for one of your soldiers or yourself, the RMAS briefing course runs three times a year and I warmly encourage
you to get involved!
STBF