9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2008 - Page 0011
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2008 |
| Transcription |
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 9 0C A Squadron What a yearl In 2008 A Squadron grew, reroled, re battlegrouped, trained, deployed to Iraq, operated and recovered to Germany If one point in all this is imprinted in my mind it is the ability and professionalism ofthe soldiers and young officers to perform con- sistently very well in less than ideal conditions and at times under a great deal of pressure with variable support A Squadron were initially warned off as the only squadron to deploy on Operation TELIC 12 in late 20071 We were to be grouped with the First Fusiliers, a WARRIOR mounted armoured infantry battalion who were to be given the task of strike operations in Iraq The Squadron reformed and started training in January 200& Ofits original 70 members, around 20 were ‘loaned’ to the Brigade Surveillance Company and to other groupings such as the Tactical Air Control Party who were retasked to 16 Air Assault Brigade and Afghanistan (this is well written about elsewhere) The Squadron then grew by 70 sol- diers (to include over halfthe Regiment’s troopers) gained from across the Regiment, to around 1161 We task organized as a BULLDOG squadron comprising 3 big sabre troops (around 22 - 27 personnel) of 4 BULLDOGs, a squadron headquarters troop, administration troop and a fitter sectionr Each vehicle was crewed by 6 (driver, commander and 4 dismounts) The first task was to rerole to the vehicle which is essentially a re-engined and uparmoured 4321 The Squadron were initially issued 27 BULLDOGs all of which arrived in a very poor condition and were declared vehicle off the road (VOR) A number had to be dragged into the hang- ers with tracks curled on their roofsr From this point the pace quickenedr During the days we learnt BULLDOG squadron dis- mounted and mounted tactics, other skills (over one in four would become team medics), while long into the nights the squadron laboured in the vehicle hangers to ensure a number of vehicles were fit to train on The amount of effort and time consumed doing this should not be underestimated Concurrently we converted to new weapon systems such as the Remote Weapon System and the Heavy Machine Gun (50 cal); an awesome system which saw first round hits achieved at over 1200m on man size targetsr Dismounted ranges followed in Sennelager where the Squadron trained and fired all the small arms systems it would use Conversion onto the Light Machine Gun (Minimi), 40mm Underslung Grenade Launcher, Light Support Weapon, new grenade and Sig Sauer 226 pistol among other weapon systems took place High standards were achieved on all ranges and con- tact drills up to 12 man multiple level were achieved In doing this the Squadron worked hard and gained praise for its enthusi- asm and results from an Infantry battlegroup unused to working with a formation reconnaissance squadronr Following this we exercised our new skills for a week in a battlegroup context fol- lowing yet another handover of BULLDOGsr Much welcome Easter leave was then taken before final preparation in the form of more ranges and a mission rehearsal exercise were conducted in Southern Germany at the superb US training facility that is Hohenfelsr The final operation was a Squadron strike compris- ing an 18 km approach and withdrawal with contacts onto a mul- tiple building (rubber killing houses) objective using artillery and close air support from US APACHE gunships at night The SAS Warrant Officer running the operation remarked it was the best green army strike operation that he had seen; a testament to the soldiers’ enthusiasm, intelligence and professionalism espe- cially as our strike training ofthis nature had only started a week before Following this the Squadron handed over the BULL- DOG training fleet (only one out of 18 managed to be fired on the final mission due to a lack of spares) and departed on pre tour leaver However, just prior to leave we were told our Iraq mission had changed due to an armoured vehicle track ban being imposed in the city The Squadron would now be based in Umm Qasr port |
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