9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2007 - Page 0085
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2007 |
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REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 33 802 Plans CBM Div, HQ LAND he 13 months since leaving Regimental Duty in November 2006 have been an intense learning curve for me. It started on ICSC(L) at the Joint Services Command and Staff College at Shrivenham. This 7 month course aims to teach and practice junior Majors from across the Army the art ofbeing a staff offi- cer. The course structure plants the seeds of non specific staff work, so that newly trained staff officers can turn their hands to whichever SO2 job the posting lottery selects for them. Although it places students under sustained pressure, this excel- lent course is very enjoyable and prepares 99% of those that attend very well for their initial staff post; on arriving at mine, I rather felt like one of the unlucky 1%... The Command and Battlespace Management (CBM) Division of Headquarters LAND Command is based with the remainder of the Command on the outskirts of Salisbury. CBM Div’s remit is wide-ranging and covers everything from current G6 operations around the world and the delivery of new systems into service (D11 and BOWMAN), to LAND Command Capability concept development and Air Land Integration. If this means nothing to you, fear not, it didn’t to me either before my arrival. My current post as SO2 Plans within CBM Div requires a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ approach, with the detailed work completed by the technical and experienced experts (military, Civil Servants and contractors) who make up the remainder of the Div. Work in a 4* headquarters varies from long term projects through to quick turn around submissions; needless to say there is always plenty to do. After a brief handover and a long honeymoon, I was thrust into the thick of it. In amongst much of the low lying process which governs an unwieldy beaurocracy such as the Army, the Planning Round 2008 loomed large. This was Defence’s oppor- tunity to ask for enhancements to capabilities which are in serv- ice now or in the future and the MOD’s Resource Planning Department’s chance to make cuts. The newspapers have been full of stories of Defence overspending and it should come as no surprise to hear that most of our options were delaying capabil- ities or deleting them entirely. Whilst slightly depressing, this sort of staffwork can be very rewarding as you see billion pound projects cancelled and then reprieved. What the end result will be remains a mystery but will no doubt be public by the time this article goes to print 7 I hope I haven’t counted my chickens too soon! Outside work, life continues at pace as I begin to grow accus- tomed to being married and go through the rigours of joining the Defence Deer Management organisation on SPTA, murder- ing Bambis. I still have 18 months in post before the opportuni- ty arises to go on an operational tour and whilst I relish the sta- bility, I will be following the Regiment’s exploits in Iraq keenly. MDE Instructing at RATD You will of course have read last year’s missive so all I will add is that life continues apace here in Warminster. Firstly a name change; we didn’t really do what it said on the tin before, so The Armoured ISTAR Wing became The Recce and Armoured Tactics Division 7 much less confusion. The basic outline of the courses remains the same and it continues to be a pleasure to see young(ish) crew commanders from the Regiment and even younger and fresh faced subalterns arrive here for a pretty frantic five weeks; and to see them leave more con- fident and (we hope) more capable. An exciting addition to the team in 2007 was SSgt Broadhurst who took over as the SSI. He quickly defied all the Regimental rumour-mongers by navigating suc- cessfully across Salisbury Plain Training Area with little difficulty and his Yorkshire ‘humour’ is a usefiJl weapon to deploy against cocky young officers. He, his fam- ily and their new dog (rather dis- turbingly named Recce) have all set- tled in well, when he actually makes it to work for, as usual, RAC rugby league commitments keep cropping up and he disappears off in brightly coloured, and rather too tightly fitting kit on a regular basis. However, a recent injury to his weak ankles may well mean he will have to hang up his boots for good and actually do some work! With our own ‘Celebrity HCR Troop Leaders Course’ occurring here over the last eighteen months it has been an interesting and entertaining time for all the DS; I have never seen so many staff appear for the course photo! In addi- tion 2007 saw the biannual Yeomanry Troop Leaders’ and Crew Commanders’ course that took some organisational skill to get off the ground but was, in the end, great filn to instruct 7 if only Regular officers and soldiers were so keen! As to the course content; this has been adapted in some key areas to reflect current operational trends. One of the more Traverse F’fghf’. |
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