Page 77 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 75
cholson demonstrating stubborn determination with the clas- sic technique and Trooper Philips calmly shooting brilliantly. During the first week, the team were joined by Trooper Rich- ards (B Squadron) and Captain Gardner (C Squadron). Trooper Richards had shown great promise during the 2017/2018 season, regularly earning a place on the podium. Captain Gardner, last year’s team captain, provided excellent coaching in skiing, re- covery and shooting. Despite the loss of his father, 2nd Lieu- tenant Mackaness (D Squadron) stoically joined the team for his first season to learn the ropes for his captaincy next year. Silje and her team had no sympathy for late-comers and all were put through their paces, with Trooper Richards finding his feet quickly on the back of B Squadron’s Exercise WHITE SWORD LANCER in Denmark and Second Lieutenant Mackaness was a natural. There was a significant improvement to the training with the additional experience and numbers. This also reflected on the range. Captain Gardner, Lieutenant Parker and Troop- er Richards assisted Ole by showing the novices how to build up the rather unnatural firing position (due to having skis on) and correcting for wind. Silje provided an outstanding training package for the team and prepared us well for the competitions to come.
Nordic skiing (or langlaufen) is a physical sport and recovery is key. One of the attractions to Exercise NORDIC LANCER is seeing Norway (a country the Royal Lancers rarely get the opportunity to exercise in) and meeting Norwegians. Saturday nights are traditionally spent in Lillehammer enjoying some lo- cal cuisine (indefinitely pizza) and enjoying the evening in one the three bars. There was a great cohesion amongst the team this year and with other Royal Armoured Corps teams in the area, particularly the Household Cavalry Regiment and Queen’s Dragoon Guards. The early morning runs, approximately four hours of training a day and bitterly cold range sessions make this downtime particularly sweet. Sundays incorporated a steady run, rehydration, stretching, sauna (or badstue) and a film. With many of us (A, B and D Squadrons) having been away for much of the year in Cyprus, it was decided that the team would break for Christmas to invest some much-needed time in families and friends. However, the team could not afford to put on Christ- mas weight and continued running and balancing exercises over leave. We met in Catterick on New Year’s Day to drive to Exer- cise NORDIC WHITEFIST (Royal Armoured Corps Champi- onship) in Hochfilzen, Austria.
Sixteen hours after leaving Catterick, driving through France and Germany, where Lieutenant Parker and Second Lieuten- ant Mackaness were able to practice their GCSE linguistics, the team arrived in Austria. Whereas the Norwegian lopes (Nordic ski tracks) had been bare, Austria was the opposite. During the competition, there was regularly a metre and a half of snow a night, making for difficult conditions. The ground was powdery making the skiing feel clunky and unnatural. Competitors were falling over throughout the course creating hazards. It was ex- tremely difficult to see, except for Trooper Abbs who was fed up with the conditions and bought himself some smart race specks unlike Lieutenant Parker had tried to make do with Ray-Bans – unsuccessfully. Despite a limited season (with only 12 days on snow) and a lack of experience, the Royal Lancers worked hard and had some competitive skiing. Congratulations must go to Trooper Philips for his near perfect shooting, Trooper Abbs for finishing the race on a broken ski and Trooper Richards for earn- ing the Junior Bronze in the 7.5km Biathlon. A team consisting of Second Lieutenant Mackaness, Trooper Abbs, Trooper Rich- ards and Trooper Philips won the Novice Trophy – a no mean accomplishment given the competition. The team had hoped to get a day of Alpine skiing in before moving to France but the conditions were too dangerous, making UK news headlines and killing nine tourists in avalanches.
The next competition, Exercise PIPEDOWN (Army semi-finals ski championship), saw the team drive to Les Contamines- Montjoie, France. Unfortunately, Second Lieutenant Mackaness and Lieutenant Parker had to return to the UK for various com- mitments resulting in Captain Gardner gleefully taking up his old mantle as team captain. There were some great results here with Captain Gardner coming 12th (first in RAC) in the 15km Classic and 20th (first in RAC) in the 7.5km Biathlon. Trooper Richards has had an exceptional performance getting the bronze medal in the 15km Classic and the gold medal in the 7.5km bi- athlon. This was enough to secure Trooper Richards a place at Exercise RUCKSACK, the Army Championships, where he is as I write this. One of the great events of Exercise PIPEDOWN is the military style patrol race. This sees teams from across the Armed Forces competing over 20km of difficult terrain, on and off skis, with 40kg of equipment. Teams are required to conduct two shoots in the standing and kneeling positions with an SA80 (British Army assault rifle) fitted with a .22 conversion kit. They also have to conduct military style command tasks and military knowledge stands. Captain Gardner, Lance Corporal Potter, Trooper Abbs and Trooper Richards came a respectful 12th out of 23.
I would like to thank those who have supported this year’s exer- cise. Financially, the Regiment and non-public funds have paid for race entries, insurance and a new set of skis for Trooper Rich- ards. Motor Transport and the Quartermaster Tech have made this exercise possible; the team is most grateful. Finally, thanks goes to the squadrons for releasing individuals and taking up the slack. The Royal Lancers Nordic Ski team will be deploying on Exercise NORDIC LANCER 19 in December 2019. Those in- terested serving in the Royal Lancers (including attached arms) should make themselves known Second Lieutenant Mackaness (D Squadron) in the coming months.
GRDP