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The chief activity we were focused on was Exercise EAGLE RUN, a combined arms exercise involving an extensive live fire package with M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks and 1st Aviation Regiment using Tiger ARH. What struck me most about 2 Cav was their undisputable excellence at mounted warfare. They re- ally are masters of it. Furthermore, their compatibility with us was evident. I had a strong belief that a Royal Lancers troop could jump in to a 2 Cav recce squadron and get straight in to the fold (and vice-versa). As caveats to their excellent mounted soldiering they were also brilliant innovators, constantly seek- ing new ways of skinning the reconnaissance cat. There is a lot that we can learn from them and hopefully the value of these exchanges will be amplified when we are able to trial 2 Cav’s methods on our exercises and see if they work for us.
A last word must of course go to the officers and soldiers of A Squadron, 2 Cav. I couldn’t have been looked after better and they were as keen as ever to work with the Lancers in the future. I regularly had nightmares about what might happen if my own squadron (C Squadron) and my host squadron were to ever hit town together. In my nightmares the town is painted red and a sequel to the Hangover Trilogy is commissioned a short while after. They, like us, embrace the cavalry ethos completely. Dar- ing, professionalism and quickness of thought epitomises the 2 Cav soldier, with a great sense of Australian humour thrown in. I’d like to wish them all the best for 2020 – hook in and send it.
GADM
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
Cpl Smith and LCpl Srinok – Tpr Courage (Wedge-tailed eagle) – the mascot Beast wars Miami Vice at the boozer.
NATO Peace Support Operations Cooperation Course
In November 2019, Lts Charrington and Colquhoun departed sunny Yorkshire for the slightly cooler climes of Szolnok, Hungary for the NATO Peace Support and Cooperation Course. Before departing, both were assured they were the only repre- sentatives of the British Army and as such, the reputation of the Regiment and the wider military rested on their usually slopey shoulders. In order to prevent any international embarrassment, both were weighed down with all the “just in case” kit their keen OCs recommended. The charts, diagrams and books of doctrine alone required an extra luggage allowance. Thus armed, our in- trepid heroes set off for two weeks’ training in peace support and working with foreign militaries and civilian organisations.
At the airport, our “only two” British representatives were met by 14 other British representatives, all believing themselves to
be the only ones going. The course itself was held at the Peace Support Training Centre on the outskirts of Szolnok. A small, self-contained camp with a great deal of history, resting as it was in the shadow of enormous concrete apartment blocks where the imprint of a Hammer and Sickle (long since removed) could still be seen.
The course was represented by instructors from Serbia, Hun- gary, Finland and Austria, with students from Britain, Hungary, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and France, all bringing unique perspectives on international peace operations from both their national and personal experiences. The course involved work- ing through the challenges posed in a fictitious nation recov- ering from a civil war, working with the various governments, charities and international organisations required to bring about
Smiles that wide can only mean a Goulash party