9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2004 - Page 0025
Image details
| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Transcription |
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) Z3 Sgt Joy/75m, 2nd Troop What a year! Iraq must get a mention. Yes we all realise it was- n’t Op Granby or the first Op Telic however, we deserve recog- nition, we demand recognition. 2nd Troop’s tour went swim- mingly, that is to say we were not involved in the 20 watt Amp incident or the 4 CVR (T) drowning incident. All told, it was quite successful six months really and to that end the whole Troop has volunteered for Op Telic 7!!!!! Get in. April was soon upon us, which meant our job in Iraq was com- plete. As always the end ofa tour sees an orbat change, so out with the old and in with the new and improved, it also spelt a well-earned period of leave. So off we went for the month of May, Blighty was the destination for many and spending money was the aim. July was the month that the Troop deployed on Swabian Lance. The Troop was under the command ofa Light Dragoon Tp Ldr, great bloke but extremely fluffy. Ray ‘the blade‘ Revill and LCpl ‘who left the fridge open‘ Hale executed their first com- mand. They spent most of their time guarding the LAD or pushing around that Samson. Tpr Fred ‘narcolepsy‘ Reid swears he saw at least four days of the exercise and Tpr ‘Good Game, Good Game‘ Obierne drove the Troop Sgt up the wall as well as from A to B. The Troop took part and performed extremely well on Troop tests and in particular the K-Bahn (confidence course), it was on this day that Sgt ‘ Kenny‘ Swain displayed an act of bravery way beyond what humans perceive as possible. Without going into too much detail he saved the whole Troop from what can only be described as the biggest rodent ever to walk on German soil. This act ofbravery took place in that dreaded tunnel... Get me out!! Autumn saw many changes. Tpr Witcher took to wearing pyja- mas during daylight hours and attended various Judo courses. 2Lt Rollin arrived to the troop fresh from his Tp Ldrs course and Tpr Ben Peters departed on a commitment to Canada for 6 months. Tpr Ward arrived at Regimental duty and Mr Rollin, Cpl Revill and Tpr Deano Tye jetted off to sunny Wales for the Cambrian Patrol. 48 hrs ofbliss in green kit. Winter was once more upon us and it brought along with it Gunnery Camp. Preparation included the CO‘s turret competi- tion which went very well. On deployment 2nd Troop was once again without a Tpr Ldr and ‘Queenie‘ Hale left us to join A Sqn, which left us a little light with regard to manpower. No need to worry, help was in the form of that young bloke Cpl ‘ Ex whore house bouncer‘ Fleetwood. Cp/ South, how mafly barre/s? The Troop deployed with 3 callsigns and they all achieved good marks on both ACT and ASA, Well done! A special thank you should go out to LCpl ‘Shrek‘ Edwards for saving his best gun- nery until the last day, better late then never. The Troop would like to welcome Tpr Ward 447 from A Sqn, take this opportunity to wish Tpr ‘Fred‘ Reid the best of luck in A Sqn and also pray for snow for Mr Rollin, LCpl ‘slim bloke‘ Thompson and Tpr Tye. 3 Troop The year continued with 3 Tp dodging bullets and minefields during Op TELIC 3 in Maysan Province in order to train the Iraqi Border Police. The task made more entertaining with a weekly trip to Basrah through the “Corridor of Death” where we experienced some rather hair raising moments. Sgt Rickett moved to the Tp to look after Lt Kappler. We moved down to the luxurious Basrah Palace in February to develop the Border Police on the Shat Al Arab, a welcome change from Abu Naji Camp. Tpr Hand perfected his fishing abilities, catching vari- ous mutated looking fish (none looked the same) while also introducing this so called sport to the rest of the Tp, unfortu- nately despite our best efforts nothing was caught. The newly promoted LCpl Thompson short toured and returned as part of the Maintenance team. Sgt Pumford took over the reins from the newly promoted SSgt Rickett who conveniently left Iraq in order to be thrashed around the Brecon Beacons. The remain- der of the Tp were overjoyed to leave from Basrah International Airport on the 24 April to go home despite having to go via Qatar. Having had a good rest, lots of exercise (in the pub) the newly formed 3 Tp were more than ready for a gruelling Regimental Exercise (Ex SWABIAN LANCE) in the picturesque area of Bavaria. The scenery soon faded. Initially we had Tp Tests which proved demanding to all, however we all completed it despite a rather embarrassing compromise, with many blisters and other aches and pains it was onto the other phases, those being the Sqn and Regt Phases. Apart from a severe lack of sleep we all survived. Cpl Hall man- aged to eventually join in despite getting a little navigationally challenged. Cpl South was getting excited and disturbingly thought he was in the Infantry for most of it. Tpr Thompson (Cancer) managed to smoke an extraordinary amount of ciga- rettes when either asleep or awake, yet continue to do well. Tpr Scott (Posture) enjoyed the Ex but failed to scare the enemy by confronting them with his true size and beauty. |
| Title |