Page 10 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2019

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Recognising excellence, dedication, innovation and selfless service is vital. From recognition at Troop level, or Squad- ron, or Regimental, or indeed higher, comes not only personal satisfaction but also a collective understanding that hard work and dedication is rewarded. People like to know that their work is appreciated and this year we strove even harder to ensure that the culture of recognition was embedded in the Regiment. We were honoured to celebrate the many successes of the Regiment throughout 2019.
We were fortunate to have Group Captain Crawford OBE RAF, Station Commander of RAF Leeming, and Colonel Nigel Rho- des from 4th Infantry Brigade present Long Service and Good Conduct (LS & GC) medals to our deserving officers and sol- diers. The LS & GC medal is awarded to those personnel who have completed 15 years of Regular service and good conduct from the date of attestation, with clasps available for those who completed a further period of 10 years of Regular Forces service. It’s a special medal that recognises the sacrifices of worthy recip- ients; in many ways the support of those families who have seen birthdays and anniversaries come and go without their loved ones by their side, and as such we are proud to invite partners and families along to celebrate the medal presentations with us to recognise this. The Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess has played host twice to such events this year and we look forward to celebrating successes there in the future.
Medallic recognition aside, we were exceptionally fortunate to recognise the success of SSgt Burnell and Cpl Shacklady who both received Commander Field Army (3*) awards for their ef-
Some of the prize winners from Regtl Awards
forts at The Royal Lancers. SSgt Burnell for his mean PT and Cpl Shacklady for his instruction and engineering contribution to the Regiment. Lt Sam Kalish AAC and SSgt Smith 097 also received recognition from GOC 3 (UK) Division for their ef- forts: Lt Kalish notably for his performance and contribution out of role in BATUS, and SSgt Smith as the linchpin for the G4 chain on Ex ARROW. Commander 12 (Armoured Infantry) Bri- gade also recognised hard work and success by giving Brigade level Commendations or Coins to deserving Lancers. Without the efforts of such individuals we would be collectively poorer and these examples of excellence deservedly received praise from outside the Regiment.
Within the Regiment, the Commanding Officer’s Commenda- tions and Commanding Officer’s Coins have been used through- out the year to acknowledge the great work that takes place on a daily basis. Soldiers from all ranks have been recognised and it has given us all something to aspire to.
Internally, the weeks prior to Christmas leave allow us to take stock and reflect on the outstanding performances throughout the year. With Regimental prizes (the full prize list is at Chapter 13) across all ranks from Commanding Officer’s Commenda- tions through to the John Garner Richards Trophy, presented this year to Sgt Ellerby, or the Thornton Sword, presented to Lt Mackaness, there is opportunity for everyone to stand out and receive worthy recognition.
2019 was certainly a good year to recognise the indispensable
Rewarding Excellence
efforts of our people... long may it continue.
AJER
Ex ARROW, a multi-national exercise conducted in Finland, was the blue-ribbon event for D Squadron in 2019. Provid- ing a new environment to train, access to Scandinavian forces, training on ex-Soviet equipment, and US forces on vehicles a little more modern was a novel and unique experience.
2nd Troop deployed to Lulworth at the end of March for Exer- cise FLETCHING LANCER. This was a two-week range pack- age that prepared the Troop for the Live Fire Tactical Training (LFTT) they would conduct on Exercise ARROW in Finland later in the Summer. FLETCHING LANCER consisted of gun- nery training in the first week under the rigid instruction of Sgt Ellerby, and ranges in the second week. The aim of the exercise was to qualify all crews to ASA (Annual Section Assessment) which was required for the crews to take part in mounted LFTT.
Gunnery training was a great success away from the distrac- tions of camp, and everyone was quickly on top of their drills. Cpls Bott and Caton-Hewings were particularly strong follow- ing their completion of the Crew Commanders’ course and were
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
Exercise ARROW