Page 6 - KRH Year of 2021 CREST

4 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
Foreword by
The Colonel of the Regiment
General Sir Adrian Bradshaw KCB OBE DL
2021 has marked the Regiment’s transition from supporting UK resilience operations to re-focusing on training in Armour’s core role - Warfighting. The re-deployment of the Regiment from Cross Channel Haulier COVID Testing in January marked the beginning of a training progression which would see the King’s Royal Hussars Battlegroup deploy on the largest exercise in the UK since 2006. Exercise IRON STORM validated the Regiment as the UK’s Lead Armoured Battlegroup, the vanguard force of the Joint Expeditionary Force’s Armoured Infantry Brigade, a particularly important role as tensions heighten on NATO’s Eastern flank.
Moving a full battlegroup efficiently between multiple training areas, even just within the UK, is a demanding task to plan and to execute. Getting that part right was key to credibility as a force held at high readiness for contingency operations. Delivering concentrated force to the right place at the right time is a decisive act in itself. The Regiment demonstrated the ability to do this throughout the eight-week exercise. First to Castlemartin Ranges to conduct live firing to meet the initial, basic requirement of a tank crew – the ability to destroy enemy armour rapidly and effectively. Secondly, to Salisbury Plain for essential hands-on collective training on the ground, living some of the frictions of real-life manoeuvre that is much too rare an experience at pre- sent, and finally to a computer-run training environment in the collective training battle simulator in Warminster to practice and polish drills, and to experience the unpredictability of operating against an enemy force at scale, albeit in the virtual domain. Due to unforeseen circumstances the transition of the battlegroup of 700 people and 300 vehicles off the Plain to the simulated envi- ronment had to be conducted in under 48 hours. The Regiment did so efficiently and successfully, which was a remarkable achievement. All of this has been vital preparation for deliver- ing the battlegroup to Poland in May 2022, and to Estonia in September 2022. These deployments will see the Regiment once again deployed at the forefront of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence.
Readers will remember that in 2020, during the Regiment’s spell on Public Duties in London, we marked HRH The Princess Royal’s 50th Anniversary as our Colonel-in-Chief with a Guard of Honour on parade at the Royal Hospital. In a first, virtual linkup for such a parade, The Princess Royal ‘inspected’ the parade and was then presented on-line with a specially gilded Regimental Medal to mark her Golden Jubilee as our Colonel-in-Chief. It was a huge privilege to follow this up in November 2021 by host- ing Her Royal Highness at the Officers’ Dinner in November and presenting her Regimental Medal in person. We also saw Lt Col (Retd) Peter Garbutt presented with a bar to his Regimental Medal (originally awarded in 1986) in recognition for his work as Regimental Secretary following his retirement in the Summer.
Looking forward, 2022 marks the 30th Anniversary of the King’s Royal Hussars, formed on 4th December 1992 by the amalgama- tion of The Royal Hussars and the 14th/20th King’s Hussars. It will be a special year for the Regiment, and after the COVID restrictions of the last couple of years we much look forward to the freedom to enjoy celebrating the occasion together with the serv- ing Regiment, the Association and the wider Regimental family. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at Cavalry Memorial Day, at the Regimental Families’ Day at Tidworth, and at other Association events.