Page 35 - KRH Year of 2021 CREST

The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars 33
HQ SQMS hide Ex CRIMSON THUNDER on SPTA
Motor Transport
This has been a great year for MT; full of challenges that the team have embraced and delivered. A few changes in personalities have taken place with the newly promoted WO2 Kennedy coming in to replace the MT legend WO2 Malone as MTWO and Sgt Spencer taking over the MT SNCO role from Sgt Daniels who has now promoted to SSgt and is instruct- ing at the Gunnery School. The main event for 2021 to strive for was Ex IRON STORM 2 (Ex IS2) which paved the way for some interesting hurdles and some great opportunity. For Ex IS2 a considerably upscaled A1 was needed to support the largest Battlegroup fielded in the UK since 2003, an exciting prospect.
Whilst the rest of the Regiment were engaged in CMR on live fire Ex CRIMSON TRACER the MT department took the opportunity to piggyback the package to conduct their own low-level training. Ex XXVI ENABLER focused on low level skills and drills and training the battle shot in both rifle and GPMG. With an audience mainly made up of JNCOs and Tprs straight out of training, taking this time to develop our peo- ple proved fundamental in building later success. The benefits of the exercise were also ensuring the team were integrated into the wider regiment right from the outset of the training
development; this proved integral in developing the relation- ships between the Sub-Units and the A1 Echelon. Bellies were filled with range burgers as swift as rounds hit targets, though soon the department headed back to Tidworth and on to Lavington Folly for Ex LETHAL ENABLER. A range package gratefully put together by the RGSS and Sgt Bradbury allowed wheeled vehicle crews practice firing from top cover by day and night. Aligned with this Cpl Parr took some valu- able night vision training to allow our wheeled crews to drive and operate safely at night.
From this point forward the department would be split; with those who would deploy and form part of the A1 Echelon and those who would hold the fort back in the busy department providing real life support. Ex CRIMSON THUNDER would see a majority of the department deploy on to SPTA as part of the HQ SQMS. This gave opportunity to rehearse convoy drills and rolling replenishments; with the implied task of facilitating an in-battle cinema to allow the troops to watch the Euro football whilst on the area. After two successful weeks attentions would flick towards Ex IS2 and how we were going to move over 200 platforms and 900 people around the coun- try over a 7-week period with the majority of the department