Page 13 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 11
The last quarter of 2018 was, for some, dominated by the infamous 12 Brigade Sniper Cadre. Encouraged by the ex- perienced badge-wearers before them – Sergeant Majors Quinn and King – a new generation were despatched to Warminster with quiet determination. Prior to departing, the Regiment had run two pre-course weeks, one in Cyprus and one in Catterick, in order to physically and mentally prepare the candidates for the Cadre. The performance by all who attended the pre-course weeks was excellent, and as such the bar was set high. The six top candidates were chosen and on the 18th September they left for two and a half months of sniper training.
The Cadre itself was split in to two main phases; marksman- ship and tactics. The marksmanship phase tested the students in depth on the characteristics of the weapon, skill-at-arms, shooting theory and the data calculation required to success- fully hit the target. This was followed by an intense range pack- age, culminating in a particularly difficult Annual Combat Marksmanship Test, pulling together everything the
students had learnt during the initial stages of the course. By the end of the first phase, students were able to hit targets out to 900m. The second phase was where their mettle was truly tested and com- prised of lessons and formative exercises on Salis- bury Plain. The students covered everything from night navigation and stalking to dug-in observation posts and the actions-on enemy compromise.
Cammed, concealed.... and then comes the rain...
I’ve ever carried. Towards the end of the first week our observation post was compromised, and we had to evacuate a casualty with all kit and equipment. The badge tests started on the second Monday and for most of the week we had rain and high winds. This was our first chance to do a live fire stalk. The best moment of my Army career so far was hearing the ting of the round hitting the metal target after tak-
ing my shot on my badge stalk.”
12 Brigade Sniper Cadre
As November came around the final exercise
loomed. Like many tactics course’s in the Army,
the summative exercise demands a strong perfor-
mance from its students in order to pass. But the Sniper Cadre is especially demanding. A failure in any one of the seven as- sessments would see the student sent home, so the pressure was understandably high. Lance Corporal Biles offered some choice words detailing his experiences of their final exercise;
“The exercise felt long, cold and tiring but we learnt a lot. Carry- ing full observation post kit, a sniper rifle top-flapped in our ber- gens and our personal weapons as well was the heaviest weight
The Royal Lancers are immensely proud of the student’s achievements. Against their infan- try peers the Royal Lancers shone. Trooper Raynor-Smith was awarded top student across a competitive field of the Brigades best and brightest, a truly excellent achievement. The enthusi- asm by all students who attended the Cadre, and those who at- tended the pre-courses was first-rate, and the capability of the Regiment has genuinely been expanded. Those who badged can
now look forward to putting their skills to use in the future.
GADM
Badged! 12 Brigade’s newest snipers stand with the Brigade Sergeant Major
The prize