Page 25 - Example Journals

The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons 2015
Introduction by the Commanding Of cer
If, as Harold Wilson once said, a week is a long time in politics, then a year in the life of a regiment such as ours feels like an epoch in its own right. The amount of activity crammed into just twelve months could look, in retrospect, too diverse to have been meaningful, too frantic to have been executed cogently, too dispersed to enable us to feel like the single family we are. But as the year draws to a close and the Regiment enjoys an elongated Christmas break, the living breathing organism which is The Light Dragoons should be immensely satis ed that it has delivered all that has been asked of it this year: multiple overseas exercises; a short-notice opera- tional tour of Bosnia-Herzegovina; lead- ership of the Army’s development of the Light Cavalry capability; a Cavalry Cup winning football team; and multiple over- seas Adventurous Training expeditions. I will not bore you by furthering the list, but rest assured I could go on.
This year has required the Regiment to
cope with huge amounts of change and deliver a multiple num- ber of rsts for our new capability. A Sqn delivered the rst mounted Light Cavalry exercise in Kenya, the rst Light Cavalry Annual Crew Tests and the rst Light Cavalry operational tour. B Sqn delivered a squadron dismounted in two very different but new locations, rst by taking on the security duties in Gibraltar at a time of heightened tension with the neighbours, and then, slightly under the radar, delivering a dismounted squadron to the west of Ukraine while a war was raging with Russia in the east. C Sqn drove their vehicles from Swanton Morley to Marchwood for embarkation before sailing to Casablanca and then a fur- ther road move for a month long exercise area near Marrakech. HQ Sqn supported all the above, and delivered Command Troop to Slovenia for a NATO Command Post Exercise. And, by the end of the year, elements of the Regiment were providing the Light Cavalry contribution to Op VANGUARD, the Army’s Readiness Order, with C Sqn in particular being held on a very short notice to move leash.
Others in this Journal will add colour to these headlines. For me what is most heartening is not what we have done, but the way our soldiers and of cers have done it, the way they have accepted the new challenges and delivered beyond expectations and the way they have all been ready to embrace change. A good example is the operational tour of Bosnia, a place not unfamiliar to those of us of a certain age. Having overcome the signi cant hurdle of short notice force generation and deployment, A Sqn delivered an exemplary performance in Headquarters EUFOR in Sarajevo and across Bosnia, transforming the entire operation in the pro- cess. In a theatre that had lost its military operational edge, the injection of a Light Dragoon squadron was transformative. By
dint of their routine professionalism and the outstanding leadership that permeated their entire chain of command, EUFOR headquarters was reawakened, a dormant, activity-phobic multi-national battalion re-energised, and situational awareness was restored to what was previously a blind chain of command.
There have been some very low points in 2014, with the death of Sgt Foley in June being the nadir. Whilst commanding his RWMIK vehicle on ranges in Warcop he was involved in a traf c accident which killed him instantly and injured LCpl Osborne very seriously. For the Warrant Of cers’ and Sergeants’ Mess this tragedy was the fourth such loss in as many years and Sgt Foley’s family have had to carry an unimaginable burden of grief since that fateful day. The accident reminded us that even in peace our business is routinely very dangerous, and that the only way to get through adversity is to fall back on that immeasurable spirit, ethos and friendship
forged over years in messes, on sports pitches, on exercises and on operations. We miss Sgt Foley very much and we offer his family our warmest best wishes as they continue to rebuild their lives.
I have been struck this year by the strength of the wider Regimental family. Whether it be the work undertaken by Maj Mel Tazey, Capt Dicky Bird and the team in Newcastle, the tre- mendous success of the Colonel’s Appeal, or that truly fantastic Sunday in May when we hosted the Colonel in Chief, the serving Regiment is incredibly fortunate and grateful for the support it receives from the wider family. Many reading these words will think that such strength is the norm for a Regiment like ours. As a relatively new Light Dragoon who has seen other parts of the Army, I can assure you this is not the case. What we have is very special and we must work very hard to keep it that way.
Finally, a look forward to 2015. In January Battlegroup Headquarters heads to Germany for CAST, and then in February and March the entire Regiment deploys across southern England for our signature event of the training year, Exercise WESSEX STORM. This rst fully resourced regimental level Light Cavalry exercise will see The Light Dragoons Battlegroup with ve sub- units under command: a better opportunity to test our new tac- tics and equipment I cannot imagine. On completion, and with scarcely a moment to draw breath, we will say goodbye to Swanton Morley and Norfolk and hello to Catterick and Yorkshire, where our ag will y from July 2015 onwards, trained and ready for whatever lies ahead. 2014 has been a superb year, but what lies ahead is even more exciting.
JMS
Honours and Awards
Commander Land Forces Commendation
Trooper Armand Du Plessis was awarded this commendation for his actions in the aftermath of the incident that killed Sergeant Foley. His calmness under pressure, command presence and application of technical medical skills were all commendable and worthy of formal recognition.
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