Page 36 - Cavalry Regiment

8 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
November
3–4 Ex ESTONIAN HUSSAR handover exercise, Estonia – KRH BG
4-22 Live firing, Castlemartin – C Sqn
5 Op CABRIT 5 flag change, Estonia – KRH BG 10 Final recovery flight from Estonia
7-11 Post Op CABRIT 4 leave – KRH BG
10-11 Northern Reunion Weekend
December
2 Children’s Christmas party
2 Nordic ski team deploys, Norway
3 Officers’ Mess ‘Glasnost’ ball
4 Regimental carol service
5 WOs’ and Sgts’ Mess drinks in the Officers’ Mess 9 Alpine ski team deploys, Verbier
12 Christmas leave begins
19 19 23 27
KRH Trustees meeting
Officers’ dinner, Piccadilly
WOs’ and Sgts’ Mess Ramnuggur Ball, Tidworth All Ranks Party, Tidworth
2019 was the second year in which members of the KRH were asked to defend Europe from her aggressors. Not a single shot has been fired in anger but the defence of our Eastern border has led to so many colourful and poignant memories, and has been a crucible in which the Regiment has thrived and grown. After 24 months of continuous deployments on this frontier, the Regiment is far better for its experience than it was when it started.
January found C Squadron holding the ‘right of the line’ as part of the 1 YORKS battlegroup on Operation CABRIT 3 and making the most of the worst of the Estonian winter. B Squadron were preparing for ranges in February having returned to the UK in July 2018 from Operation CABRIT 2.
The rest of the Regiment were getting ready to deploy as the KRH battlegroup in early March on Operation CABRIT 4. In addi- tion to A, D and Support Squadrons, the battlegroup comprised A (Grenadier) Company 1 MERCIAN, 127 (Dragon) Battery 19 Royal Artillery (RA), 8 Armoured Engineer Squadron 26 Royal Engineers, and numerous smaller groupings from 12 RA, 32 RA, 4 Battalion REME, 4 RMP, the Royal Sigs and many more. This disparate bunch had to be formed into a coherent team, complete the required pre-deployment training and arrive at Tapa Camp on the correct day with kit and equipment to sustain them for eight months; unsurprisingly the 2IC, Quartermaster and Operations Officer had many late nights before the BG made it to Tapa Camp!
The new year started fast for A and D Squadrons, arriving back from Christmas leave earlier than the rest of the British Army to begin pre-deployment firing at Castlemartin. Meanwhile, pre-deployment preparations for the command team were put
The Field Officers assemble
WO1 (RSM) Baines and WO2 (SSM) Burnie acclimatise
on hold while the Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) deployed to Warminster to support 12 (Armoured Infantry) Brigade Headquarters during their validation on Exercise SPECULAR. With only a skeleton crew deploying, the CO, 2IC and Operations Officer fought the battlegroup valiantly through day and night, contributing to the Brigade’s eventual victory. At the same time, a visit from a Russian and Belarusian arms control team proved that the Regiment’s contribution to NATO had not gone unnoticed.
B Squadron drove away the post-leave blues by deploying on Exercise EMPEROR’S MARCH, a gruelling endurance march across Salisbury Plain, replete with numerous tasks to conduct on route. Tired bodies and sore feet aside, this will be long remembered by all those involved as the best way to start a new year and provided welcome distraction from pre-firing gunnery training and vehicle preparation. Amid all this activity, time was
Regimental Notes