Page 5 - Cavalry Regiment

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1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
community with its distinctive Welsh character.
We cannot rest on our laurels as even great things can be improved! During my Colonelcy I want to better align all elements of the Regiment (Serving Regiment (RD & ERE), Regimental Comrades Association (RCA) and wider alumni, Home HQ, Trusts, Firing Line Museum and Cadets (ACF and CCF)) so that we are all striving towards a com- mon vision:
A Regimental community that: fields a highly capable fighting force; reinforces QDG fighting power; is a well-connected community that benefits everyone, that people aspire to join and wish to remain an active part of; cares for its dead, injured and sick, serving and veterans; commemorates its past, celebrates the present and inspires the future and is an icon of the UK in Wales and of Wales in the UK.
The RCA is key to this as the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) make it harder for Home HQ to keep details of those who are not in the RCA. So, those not in the RCA are at risk of missing out on the full benefits that come with being part of the QDG community. I would like that community to be of benefit to members from cradle to grave: whilst serving, on transitioning to civilian life, in business, in retirement and, for some, when they need assis- tance. So we need to sell the benefits of
So we need to sell the benefits of RCA membership – and you can all play a
part in this.
RCA membership – and you can all play a part in this.
To drive forward towards this vision we have adopted a campaign approach and I chaired my inaugural Regimental Council in November with those Trustees and other volunteers who will help deliver our lines of development (Capability, Branding, Alumni & RCA, Benevolence, Heritage, Profile, Cadets, Affiliates). The whole plan seeks to reinforce our cen- tre of gravity, Wales’s Cavalry Regiment, which has afforded us good protection over the years. Being based so far from our recruiting area brings new challenges as most youngsters joining the Army today wish to serve close to home. Each year that we remain based in Norfolk will erode our identity and I see the move of the Regiment much closer, or even into, its recruiting area as important to main- tain its Welsh and Marches identity. The plan, therefore, includes work to shape the basing solution for the Regiment and will seek to emphasise that a key capability for basing decisions should be manning, placing units in recruitment and retention positive locations where its people wish to serve and where we
can keep the recruiting lifeblood flowing, drawing more of our badged cadets into our ranks.
Some parts of the plan have already been delivered. We now have our own spiritual home in Llandaff Cathedral, where our memorial was dedicated by our Colonel- in-Chief and a Standard laid up on 1st July. We have a new RCA website. We also have our first badged Combined Cadet Force (CCF) in Rydal Penrhos School in Colwyn Bay, North Wales and our network of badged Army Cadet Force (ACF) is growing too. More RCA regional branches are emerging and, judging by my experiences of an excellent Waterloo Dinner with the South Wales Branch in Cardiff and a hugely enjoyable reunion with the Powys and Border Counties Branch in Oswestry, they are increasingly vibrant and well supported.
I would like to thank all our Trustees and other volunteers who do so much, often unseen, for the benefit of our Regiment. Some of them put in a significant amount of time, on top of busy day jobs and for no remuneration, and we should all be grateful for their efforts. I would also like to thank the Regimental Secretary, our Curator and the Home HQ team for all they do day in and day out. Ultimately, we all want to preserve what is so spe- cial about QDG and ensure we continue to be First and Foremost for the next 60 years and beyond.