Page 53 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 51
SNCO, we congratulate him on his promotion; he subsequently departed on the All Arms CQMS course followed by Post Opera- tionalTourLeave.ThismeantthattheRQ(T)wasgettingaphone call from him every other day with new ideas. This, of course, isn’t a bad thing at all apart from the fact the RQ(T) felt like he was reliving the course. The return of Staff Sergeant Davies meant that Corporal Smith was promoted to Sergeant and took over as Quartermaster(T) Troop Sergeant; congratulations to him too.
The Rear Operations Group found itself very busy throughout the Operation TOSCA 28 deployment. Yet before we knew it, the Regiment was in bound from Cyprus and set in motion a myriad of activity: planning and overseeing the reactivation and redistribution of the Basic Unit Fleet (BUF); the BUF had been put out of use due to the Regiment’s deployment on Operation TOSCA. The result of this hard work and attention to detail,
has set the Regiment up for success leading into the New year. Amongst all the technical support that the department was pro- viding we were also heavily involved with the planning and set up for the medals parade as part of the Rear Operation Group. The parade was an outright success bringing the Regiment back together and looking forward to the Christmas break.
The department then started to prepare for the Christmas stand down period which involved checking of all accounts, the secu- rity of all equipment and managing the maintenance of the fleet. Upon completion, and after several Christmas parties, the depart- ment closed down for a well-deserved Christmas leave: satisfied that we would be set for the challenges which 2019 would bring.
JR
Motorised Transport
This year has seen the members of Motorised Transport (MT) deploy to all four corners of the globe and support the Regi- ment in exotic locations such as Cyprus, Canada and Lecons- field. Delivering transport operations for the Regiment’s high- tempo work-load has been a challenge set against the backdrop of many new faces. The handover of the Motorised Transport Officer (MTO) in January saw the departure of Captain Borth- wick and the arrival of Captain Doherty (and his trusty side-kick Frank) on his return from extra regimental employment (ERE). Warrant Officer Class II Doak took the reins of the Motorised Transport Warrant Officer (MTWO) from Warrant Officer Class II Mason on his return to civilian life having completed 22 years of service.
With very little time to establish a steady routine, the majority of the troop deployed to Cyprus on Operation TOSCA under the watchful eye of Sergeant Ward. Slaving away in the hot sun, Corporals Thompson and Bagshaw steered the ship through the murky waters of the United Nations driving policy, ably sup- ported by MT stalwarts Lance Corporals Collins, Burrows and Entwistle with a helping hand from Corporal Smith and Private Jones. In a true demonstration of team spirit, Lance Corporal Whittaker selflessly offered to spend his time on tour instructing adventurous training.
Meanwhile, the MTO was whisked away to be trained – the net result of which was “don’t put diesel in a petrol car and remem- ber your MTWO is always right” – and there quickly followed a deployment to Germany in support of the Operation CABRIT Combined Staff Tactical Training Exercise (CSTTX). Lance Corporal Burgess made one final visit to the prairie in British Army Training Unit Suffield with C Squadron before heading off to pastures green as a civilian. This left Trooper Frost as a ‘one man MT’ in charge of everything else.
The summer months were spent doing countless hours up and down the A1 providing transport for troops returning on R&R for a well-earned break. In an effort to break the monotony of long distance driving, the remainder of the troop participated in a visit to the National Road Safety Centre as well as some super- interesting logistics conferences. By the end of the tour we had passed numerous inspections as well as reducing road traffic ac- cidents and driving offences to an all time low.
October brought more new faces and we welcomed Lance Corporal Brough-Jones and Troopers Felgate, Williams and Hindley-Birchall to the troop with Lance Corporal Collins and Trooper Frost getting promoted in recognition of their efforts during the year.
RJD
MT in Catterick
MT in Cyprus