Page 21 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 19
Sector 2 Civil Affairs Team
over the halfway point to be pulled to pastures new. Alongside the SCAML a small team comprising of civilians working for the UN (including representatives from both sides of the BZ) operated as the continuity and provided much enjoyment and an additional social dynamic from the otherwise military-heavy Influence Team.
Ironically our first battle honour was because of civilian activity, and in a graveyard of all places. Exploiting the loss of corporate knowledge with the new kids on the block, a fastidious indi- vidual from a British Forces charity on the Island took it upon himself to unilaterally amend the decades-old visiting procedure and in the process create an international incident. The battle field, Wayne’s Keep Cemetery (WKC), lies in a contested part of the BZ; the TF claim it to be theirs; the rest of the world knows it to be part of the RoC. Entry is strictly controlled and the cus- todians are the United Nations. It was touch and go for a tense few hours but Captain White, in his capacity as WKC custodi- an, with swift action and determination managed the situation admirably expelling the civilians from the BZ and supporting Captain Kellard in appeasing the TF, who put little effort into keeping up the theatrics of playing innocence.
In Influence, the team found probably the most interesting and rewarding of jobs on Operation TOSCA. We enjoyed the fruits of a close-knit group able to affect the biggest impact on the mis- sion. Most of us entered this totally naïve to the complexities of
The MOLOs from L to R Captains Humphreys, Kellard, Gray and White
the Cyprus problem at the beginning of this year and finished it feeling positively local. Cypriots remember their history, our knowledge being a factor by which we were judged. Our big- gest lesson: do not expect immediate results. Ambitious we may have been and, in some instances, change we did effect. However the rotation of the British component, the bi-annual rotation of the opposing forces conscripts and the natural evolution of the Cyprus problem provides enough fluctuation to make actual change frustratingly unachievable. For the most part Operation TOSCA was about picking up the problem, understanding it and handing it on having not made it any worse; and all the while avoiding the draw of the “Tree of Idleness”.
CPWG
The MOLOs and their ‘special’ friend
The Chief MOLO asking for directions