Page 17 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 15
Operation TOSCA 28
Operation TOSCA 28 saw 300 men and women of the Royal Lancers and their attached arms deploy for six months to make up the Unit- ed Kingdom’s current contri- bution to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cy- prus (UNFICYP) between 26 March and 01 October 2018.
Since the 1974 Turkish re-
sponse to a military coup on
Cyprus, which was backed by the Greek Government in Athens, Cyprus has been divided by a 180 km buffer zone. For forty years, two opposing forces, of around 50,000, have faced off against each other; watching each other’s every move. Every oil barrel added to a fortification, each CCTV camera added to a checkpoint, is noticed and protested against.
Separating them are 800 unarmed UN troops of which the Royal Lancers comprised the largest single unit. It was our job to pa- trol Sector 2 of the Buffer Zone, often in the searing heat, and impartially maintain the status quo by identifying and reporting any infringements of the ceasefire agreed almost 45 years ago.
Our role of maintaining the status quo helps provide a stable plat- form for the Cyprus peace process. During Operation TOSCA 28 this reflected the fragmented nature of Eastern Mediterranean ge- opolitics – increasingly characterised by competitive regional ac- cess to natural resources and sharply punctuated by overspill from the nearby international posturing in the ongoing Syrian conflict.
Against such a context, the Regiment deployed in March into three main sub-units: a centrally held Mobile Force Reserve, lo-
cated in Nicosia and formed from A Squadron; an Opera- tions Company, whose main activity was patrolling the Buffer Zone and formed from D and B Squadrons; and a Support Company, providing the vital logistic and admin- istrative support to all ele- ments of the Regiment and formed from HQ Squadron. The Regiment also deployed a specialist adventurous
training team based 100km south of Nicosia. In all this, the Reg- iment was supported by the crucial work of the Rear Operations Group in Catterick who formed the administrative and often emotional link with the families and wider Garrison.
Typical activity for the Regiment involved framework patrol- ling of the Buffer Zone in and around Nicosia but, requiring all elements of UNFICYP to cooperate, every demonstration or event in the capital involving or with the potential to impact the Buffer Zone had to be prepared for with multiple contingen- cies, all planned and rehearsed for. In the Regiment’s time, these events ranged from political rallies and international car rallies to escorting religious groups and delivering aid – each of which involved the Mobile Force Reserve, Operations Company and Support Company.
Our safe return in September marked the end of the 13th Lancer deployment to Cyprus and the first operational tour as the Royal Lancers. It added a new chapter in the Regiment’s long and il- lustrious history on the island.
ADGB
I remember being fired at by a Turkish tank whilst doing a patrol around the big communication base in Cyprus. We were in a Ferret scout car. I reported the contact and was told to get the hell out of it. I told my driver Fred Frost to high reverse, not realising Jonathan Dimbley had parked his mini bus tight behind us. I didn’t even have to fill an accident form in after wrecking the bus.
Matthew Barrigan, 16/5 Queen’s Royal Lancers, 1974.
Ledra Palace