Page 39 - Cavalry Regiment

The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars 11
CO KRH with HRH The Princess Royal
operated somewhat differently to UK formations and salient les- sons were identified that would later prove essential on Exercise SPRING STORM. While the BGHQ were planning, 1st Troop A Squadron headed to Latvia to compete in the NATO tank gun- nery competition being held in Adazi Camp. In a very competi- tive field, with tanks from Canada, Germany, Spain and Poland, Corporal Bradbury managed to secure an impressive 3rd place behind the gunnery instructor crews from Canada and Germany. As soon as they had returned to camp the whole battlegroup deployed, this time to prove their readiness in front of an exacting team of Estonian monitors. Once out of camp, combat team exer- cises against an Estonian enemy proved their ability to fight and manoeuvre in the close terrain of the Central Training Area. After some marching with the Estonians to celebrate Veteran’s Day and the 1 (Est) Brigade’s 102nd birthday, a freezing cold dinner night in a medieval castle in Rakvere and a visit from Brigadier Adrian Riley (Commander 12 (AI) Brigade), all were as well prepared as possible for the big test.
SPRING STORM lived up to expectations. The KRH battle- group deployed rapidly alongside the rest of the Brigade and spent five days slugging it out with a determined enemy among the population of north-eastern Estonia. Highlights include a combat team attack down main road during rush hour, civilian cars swerving around tanks, commanders traversing their bar- rels to narrowly avoid articulated lorries that were stopping for no one, all the while firing blank rounds at an enemy determined
to counter-attack; shoppers continuing to bustle in and out of a supermarket while a protracted gunfight erupts around them to destroy the machinegun nest positioned over the front door; the UK Minister for the Armed Forces arriving in a helicopter to the until-then undiscovered BGHQ for a press conference; and the civilian-clothed “covert” Recce Troop being wrestled to the ground by the Estonian Security Service in the mistaken belief that they were spies from the east! A genuinely successful test of the Brigade, the exercise proved that NATO troops can fight together well and identified opportunities to make the team even better.
Life was no quieter for the ROG, or B and C Squadrons. Led by C Squadron Leader, Major Tom Gibbs, a small team completed a 101km ultra-marathon in Spain in under 24 hours, while the B Squadron shooting team represented the Regiment at the Divisional shooting competition. Deployments on Exercises COMBAT TEAM and TEAM SPIRIT saw the Squadrons com- bine to field tanks in support of Land Warfare Centre courses, thus training the next generation of tank commanders. More socially, the spouses and partners joined those available in the UK for dinner at the Cavalry and Guards Club, the Army versus Navy rugby and Cavalry Memorial Parade: a thoroughly enjoy- able weekend and a welcome distraction.
After bidding farewell to Chasseurs Company, the KRH battle- group welcomed No.3 Company, 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment, of the French Foreign Legion. Within days of arriving, the Leclerc tanks could be found next to those of A Squadron, fir- ing on the Central Training Area. The comprehensive integra- tion programme to meld the French into the battlegroup domi- nated the next few weeks but even this was put on hold for the visit of the Colonel-in-Chief, accompanied by the Colonel of the Regiment. HRH The Princess Royal got to experience the full might of NATO as she rode into an attack in the CO’s tank; a
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