Page 92 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2019
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                                 Maj Woodward and LCpl Glaze (HCR) somewhere in the Omani desert
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
 Officer Commanding C Sqn, The Household Cavalry Regiment
Csquadron are an absolutely splendid bunch of men – highly professional, super fit, and certainly the most rogue in the Household Cavalry. And with a smattering of former lancers in Sergeant ‘Aldo’ Alderson and Corporal Mark Olive. They suited me perfectly as I absolutely recognised the work hard, play hard- er ethos and they made me feel ay home from the outset.
As a squadron, we were tasked as the lead for STRIKE experi- mentation in 1st Brigade. Having fully converted to Warrior (as the closest existing vehicle to AJAX), we were on exercise every month. We secured funding to buy a number of commercial off the shelf drones and used them to great effect, even flying them using goggles from the back of a moving Warrior! We exercised against anyone we could find on Salisbury Plain, including a squadron of Royal Dragoon Guards who were stunned by the speed and aggression of one troop of C squadron in Warrior. And we arranged for 1 RIFLES anti-tank platoon to come to the plain to train with and against us, the quid pro quo being that we could also then experiment using their quads. Of course, each mounted exercise had a squadron ‘smoker’ in the field, with the usual associated fun and games!
We deployed to Oman on Exercise SAIF SAREEA 2 as exer- cise safety, observers and mentors, rather like the BATUS staff. It was a hugely enjoyable experience living in the desert for a month, and a great opportunity to get the majority of the squad- ron qualified as team medics and versed in the use of TacSat and high frequency communications. At the end of the exercise, we were the only sub unit deployed to conduct formal adventurous training, with the squadron going sailing along the coast, swim- ming with turtles, catching tuna off the back of the catamaran, and maybe doing a little partying in Muscat!
The year was not just about soldiering though, with a largely C squadron team entering a French Mountain Infantry Brigade’s annual patrols competition (rather like Exercise CAMBRIAN PATROL but on skis). We were the running joke team, as the other international invitees thought the invitation had been misread and the Brits has sent ‘mounted’ rather than ‘moun- tain’ troops. They weren’t laughing so much though when we finished 2nd beating the Italian Alpini, Georgian Special Forces, and a US team from their Mountain Warfare School!



























































































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