Page 14 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2019

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invested in by the Cavalry since the end of SWINGFIRE and all of the doctrine and standard operating procedures are written for the infantry. They simply do not meet the need of fast-paced, fast- thinking reconnaissance soldiering. Starting from scratch, Capt Marriott and Sergeant Atherley worked to develop a new doctrine and ways of working that are more attuned to armoured cavalry.
Based around the rapid deployment from vehicles of a potent anti-armour capability which could quickly prosecute targets handed from other callsigns, the new doctrine was tested during the exercise phase. To add realism to the exercise, Tactical En- gagement Simulation (TES) kit was borrowed from SAAB and
Teamwork makes the dream work
fitted to Land Rovers and TCV’s allowing the troops to test their accuracy of the missile by simulating destruction of targets at ranges of up to 2.5km away. Yet the need for a dismounted capa- bility is also important, and anti-tank troops need to be physical- ly robust. At times during the exercise the troops were inserting on foot up to 6km while humping and dumping all of their anti- tank kit which had some bergens weighing in excess of 60kg. For many, this was the heaviest weight they had had to carry yet all had the motivation to succeed. The exercise phase put all the theory into practice and all those who participated are now not only technically competent, but tactically competent too.
AA
The Royal Lancers had another outstanding year on the 12 (Armoured Infantry) Brigade Basic Sniper Operators course, and it all began with a pre-course selection cadre over- seen by SSgt Quinn supported by Cpl Hughes, Cpl Marshall and LCpl Graham. They had the task of running a two-week package to fully test the 25 students fighting for 7 spots allocated by the Brigade on their upcoming course.
This was their first pre-course that they had run and proved to be both challenging and rewarding at the same time. The first week the students were exposed to the theory of the seven sniper skills which are shooting, navigation, camouflage and conceal- ment, observation, static map reading, judging distance, and stalking. This proved difficult for some students and the num- bers dropped by half within the first week.
During the second week, the students deployed to Castlemar- tintoputtheirskillsintopractise.Allofthestudentscollected shooting data at distances of up to 900m and could achieve a first-
round hit. Considering that none of them had previously shot at distances over 400m before, this was a good effort and showed they had real talent. In spite of the glorious weather the days were testing and long and the numbers halved again as those who failed an element of the course departed. However, by the end of the second week, we had six nominations from across the Regi- ment ready for the eleven-week Basic Sniper Operators Course.
The 12 (Armoured Infantry) Brigade course was run by The Royal Welsh and Cpl Marshall and LCpl Graham acted as as- sistant instructors during the first six weeks of the eleven-week course. The soldiers were exposed to two weeks of classroom- based theory lessons covering weapon handling lessons and tests for the L115A3 rifle (.338), also the theory of shooting and some classroom-based sniper knowledge.
Week three to six was where the fun started. Salis- bury Plain Training Area (SPTA) and IR2 Range in Warminster (1000m gallery range), with difficult
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
Sniper Cadre