Page 29 - QDG 2022

I’m sure I put blues on orders – if I stand still they won’t notice!
had contributed to a number of events, articles and feedback sessions to ensure that the knowledge from their time in the desert was passed on to the next rota- tions.
St David’s Day
Despite being deployed on Opera- tion NEWCOMBE 3, the Regimental Headquarters were keen to continue Regimental traditions, and so at the beginning of March, when the Task Force had returned from a patrol, the Regiment celebrated St David’s Day with a series of fun challenges split between
Adventure Training opportunities. These were designed and organised by the C Squadron Officers whilst deployed in Mali and despite numerous chal- lenges, they all went ahead and included members from across the Army who we had served with.
Ex DOWNHILL DRAGOON
The first trip overseas was to the Alps, where Lieutenant Tom Wills had organ- ised an excellent ski trip for the majority of the Squadron to Les Deux Alps. After a monumentality long coach journey and
sliding downhill and Corporal Gilliam for spending most of the week crashing into various parts of the mountain. After a week, everyone managed to obtain a qualification and after one final night to celebrate the end of a good week, and the start of the six nations, the Squadron headed home to Norfolk. It is hoped that this exercise will become a staple in the QDG Regimental forecast of events.
Ex CAPSIZED EAGLE
Ex CAPSIZED EAGLE took place in early April 2022 under the coordination of Captain Bertie Lewis. This expedition saw ten personnel from QDG travel to the Island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands to enjoy a challenging and exciting sea kayaking package. Fuerte- ventura is one of the best locations in the world for sea kayaking due to the near perfect weather conditions and beautiful coast lines to explore. Captain Lewis had managed to organise world class instruc- tors who provided the tuition over the five-day course. This included instruc- tion from the basics of movement and control to more complex activities such as recovery and capsize skills. Towards the end of the week, the group were well verse in understanding the impact of wind, basic route navigation and complex recovery at sea. The course culminated in a 15km trip to a stunning smaller island off the east coast. On arrival, everyone was awarded the qualification. The week was physically demanding, but the accommodation included a pool which was used for rehabilitation and to relax overused shoulder muscles. The island itself boosted fantastic Spanish food and culture which the team spent
Mali and Robertson Barracks. These challenges varied from running the furthest distance, making of Welsh Cakes, obtaining radio ‘shout outs’ and social media uploads. C Squadron formed part of the ‘Rear Operations Group’ for this Regimental day and all members of the Squadron enjoyed taking part. A special mention must go to Sergeant Adam Humphreys’ for coordinating the drawing of a QDG Regi- mental cap-badge on Strava, an excellent feat of digital and physical engineering. The day was great fun and thankfully, C Squadron alongside the ROG won the day!
AT
As the winter months turned into early spring, the forecast of events was primarily occupied by a series of
ferry crossing, 45 personnel from the Squadron arrived in the beautiful Alpine resort, with wooden chalets, snow covered mountains and quaint mountain restaurants. As is traditional, everyone got acquainted to the resort by experiencing the local bars and clubs into the early hours of the morning! With sore heads, the Squadron was organised into skiing ability groups, varying from Ski Foundation 1 for begin- ners to Ski Foundation 3 for those with previous expe- rience and qualifications. Throughout the rest of the week, the Squadron enjoyed excellent skiing tuition from a range of instructors from across Defence; individ- uals progressed from the
A special mention must go to Sergeant Adam Humphreys’ for coordinating the drawing
of a QDG Regimental cap-badge on Strava
1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
27
beginner green slopes to more arduous red and sometimes black runs. Special mentions must go to Lance Corporal Thomas for conquering his fear of