Page 41 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 39 the firing of a Light Anti-Tank Weapon that was to be the final
act before Endex.
BATUS was a superb opportunity, both for its space and resource provided to the Exercise. But a taught CVRT spares chain, com- peting with Operation CABRIT and Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3 priorities meant reduced vehicle availability. The Exercise tested some of the more complex elements of the BRG concept but ar- guably also aged the communications lead, Sergeant Miles, and Squadron Second-in-Command, Captain Jason Jibb, some ten years in the process! It also saw some crews left stranded for up to five days, including the Army’s strongest man, Sergeant Pen- nington! But this, too, led to some necessary ‘stealth’ activity by the Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant, Staff Sergeant Wooff, who would miraculously appear tens of kilometres forward of the Bat- tlegroups providing support and morale to crews. The resource- fulness within the Squadron was further exemplified by Trooper Allinson’s use of para-cord tied to a broken accelerator cable that enabled his vehicle and troop leader to keep in the game! Despite some genuinely incredible individual and collective efforts, the Exercise brought into question once more CVRT as a warfighting capability. It also stresses the need for the Army to consider re- rolling the Armoured Cavalry on to a more reliable and protected platform such as Warrior prior to the arrival of AJAX.
Returning from BATUS, the Squadron was able to enjoy some hard-earned leave with the programme over the summer re- volved around adventurous training, low-level training in Cat- terick and sport. Captain Gardner and Staff Sergeant White ex- ploited the forty-eight-hour adventurous training rule – meaning less paperwork, more fun – taking about twenty of the Squadron rock-climbing and hill-walking in the Lake District and eastern Dales up Ingleborough; Exercise Lakeside Lancer. Captain Jibb, led a ten-man team to the Alps for two weeks where they covered some 600km, three countries and wore every type of spandex im- aginable. Several troopers also deployed to Cyprus to enjoy the adventurous training on tap with the Regiment deployed on Op- eration TOSCA. A steady drum beat to training the ‘recce basics’ including navigation, communications and armoured fighting recognition continued in the background and dominated July, concluding in a troop test exercise in the Dales when the Of- ficer Commanding had to exercise his best diplomatic efforts to placate some slightly upset North Yorkshire farmers after a few navigational ‘miscalculations’ by some of the teams! We were then soon into Summer Leave but not before the Squad- ron Fund Committee brought together a darts and fancy-dress evening that produced some eye-watering outfits. This included, rather ironically, Lance Corporals Baker and Reid who, dressed as infants, were informed of their promotion to Corporal!
The Autumn saw a shift in focus. The squadron had come full circle and was charged with reactivating the bulk of the fleet from September to mid-October in support of the Regiment’s return from Operation TOSCA. This unglamorous but vital task was led by Sergeant Walker, Staff Sergeant White and a small team supported by the Quartermaster Technical and LAD de- partments. Under the leadership of the Squadron Sergeant Ma- jor, and using the decorating talents of Corporal Pipe, any spare time was also used to set about re-painting the hangars, creating a model table and briefing room and most importantly, a ‘brew’ room from where the squadron now routinely takes tea and toast together.
But it wasn’t all in-camp duties. Elements of the Squadron head- quarters deployed to Germany on a conceptual NATO readiness exercise as the 12 AI Brigade Recce Group. The squadron also generated a Cambrian Patrol team under the leadership of Cap- tain Gardner and Corporal McKenzie and; Lieutenant George Marriott supported by Staff Sergeant Quinn set about preparing a cadre to select the potential snipers.
Trooper Biles asks the SSM if he’s forgotten to scrim his helmet
The Cambrian Patrol team trained in Catterick before heading to Wales to conduct the arduous two-day competition in late Oc- tober. Eight hours into the patrol, however, Trooper Vatuwaqa was evacuated by helicopter from the Brecon Beacons for medi- cal reasons. His team did an outstanding job in stabilising him and communicating the incident, before pressing on for another gruelling thirty-six hours to complete the event and achieve a highly contested silver medal. Trooper Raynor-Smith, Lance Corporal Biles and Lance Corporal Marshall were selected to attend the 12 AI Bde sniper cadre, a tough, twelve-week long course that concluded in Sennybridge in December. All three badged as snipers and Trooper Raynor-Smith was the top stu- dent across the Brigade!
After reactivating the vehicles and supporting the Regiment’s return from TOSCA, the Squadron deployed on Exercise CA- PABLE LANCER, based around Salisbury Plain. The week, led by Lieutenant Will Cave, included briefs from key enablers such as 4 Military Intelligence Battalion, 19, 32 and 47 Regiment’s Royal Artillery. It also included a brief by Armoured Trials and Development Unit on the regiment’s future vehicle: AJAX. The team were able to see and get inside a recce variant, conduct arty target training on a Virtual Based System, see unmanned vehi- cle systems such as Watchkeeper and participate in a pub quiz evening when several unlikely vehicle recognition geeks came to the fore! The week concluded at the Defence Academy, Shrive- nham where the squadron was able to see Russian vehicles and weapons. It was a hugely beneficial week and helped broaden our perspective on a new approach to training.
Despite the many demands of the year, there was plenty of op- portunity for sport and a daily programme of PT. Of note, Troop- er Simcox was selected for the Army road cycling team and is its U23 champion; Lance Corporal Bracken was selected for the Army boxing team wining the Combined Services bout and se- lected to represent the UK Armed Forces in the UK National Championships; Lieutenant Will Cave was selected for the Army Alpine Skiing Development Squad and Lieutenant Rob Batter- bury, Corporal Nagorski and Lance Corporal Edge were selected for the RAC rugby union and football teams respectively.
In sum, a demanding and highly rewarding twelve months. As we look forward to the opportunities in 2019, we reflect on the many, unique opportunities and experiences that have chal- lenged us this year. We continue to learn and draw pride from a defining period in which C Squadron, The Royal Lancers can be proud to have proven itself cunning, capable, cohesive and fit for recce in the 21st Century!
DSRB