Page 51 - MERCIAN Eagle 2021

Company Quartermaster Sergeant
CSgt Chadbourne
“The British soldier will do anything you ask of him so long as you arrange he gets his mail from home, the newspapers and, curiously enough, plenty of tea.” – Field Marshal Montgomery
The moral component, and the morale of the force, is the most important and measurable factor to soldiers. The
Rifle Company’s equipment, training
and doctrine completes the operational capability of this fighting force. To balance this, Soldiers are expected to be committed, trusted and selfless. Understanding the intent of their task and willing to fulfil it to the highest standard. However, the commander must give the Soldier the opportunity
to complete their task with the right equipment, training, and clear direction. The CQMS adds value in two main parts.
The maintenance of morale. Always ‘thinking outside the box’ to improve the quality of life for the Soldiers is prerogative for the CQ. Tuck shops on the ground always brings morale, usually a side hustle to get extra money into the Coy subs, which creates funds for the end of exercise BBQ and beers or Coy T-shirts to increase team cohesion. In barracks, this is ensuring the Soldiers accommodation is up to standard so that they have a comfortable living space. Often not merited as should be,
but in recent years the traditional letters or ‘Blueys’ have been replaced by the need for Soldiers to charge their phones so that they are still connected to the civilised world, but
only if they can get signal!
Equipment
Care. To sustain
a combat edge,
the CQMS
team constantly
maintains the
Rifle Company’s
equipment. The
Armoury is the
most important.
Serviceability
checks of
weapon systems
is undoubtedly
scrutinised, led by the CQ the Soldiers must ensure that their weapons are cleaned and maintained correctly. The importance of equipment care is instilled at every opportunity so that the individual’s weapon remains ready to use at a moment’s notice, especially on operations. HMNVS, LUCIE and other image intensifying equipment allow the Soldier to operate by night,
but without strict equipment care and maintenance this advantage would be lost. Equipment in the stores add value too: water heaters, Norwegian containers, albeit simple items add morale for the Soldiers when the CQ brings out hot brews.
Mutual trust are the pivotal words that best describe the balance between the maintenance of morale and equipment care. The Soldier needs to trust that the CQMS
can administrate the Coy on the ground. Inevitably equipment breaks the CQMS needs to replace or repair ASAP to maintain combat effectiveness. Without this chain, the loss of a broken GPMG would almost halve a platoon’s integral firepower and so the CQ must act quickly to replace that equipment and maintain the fight. Knowing that the CQMS will be at the Company assembly area with ammunition, equipment, and less vital items such as a ‘tuck shop’ lifts morale. The CQ also needs to trust the Soldiers, to clean their NVGs, weapons and maintain their equipment to a high standard. With mutual trust comes team cohesion and inspires the will to fight. The team that has all these components has maintained the moral component and their will to fight is the Rifle Company’s most exclusive priority.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE 49