9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2002 - Page 0043
Image details
| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2002 |
| Transcription |
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 41 Exercise STILETTO LANCER On Saturday 21 September 2002 at 0830am, 16 wives from the 9/12th Royal Lancers turned up to take part in Ex STILETTO LANCER. This was run by B Squadron under the management of Maj Farrer, the Squadron Leader, and would last for 27 hours. We met up in the training wing where we were given a brief introduction to our instructors SSgt Ian Clarke and Sgt Lee Major. All the kit required for the exercise was issued and we then dressed ourselves in combats. We now looked ‘the part’ and were ready for whatever the instructors had to throw at us (or so we thought)! Our first task was to try and lift our bergans, full of all our nec- essary equipment 7 these were nearly as big as some of us! We then proceeded with our first drill instruction. Although per- fect tuition was given, we still never quite managed to get it right, although we did try hard in between the laughing! At one stage, they even put a bag on the ground for us to march around 7 whether or not they thought this would help, drill is not quite the same as dancing! We were split into two teams 7 Team A (or the ‘A-team’ as they would rather be called) and Team B. One team went off to do small arms training which, to those that don’t know, means fir- ing guns. Mrs Angela Smart got an outstanding score of 151 which, I am told, wouldput many soldiers to shame!! The other team went to do SWIG training which means Swing Fire Improved Guidance, or in less technical terms, firing missiles at enemy vehicles using simulated equipment requiring good eye/hand co-ordination. To everyone’s surprise, even her own, Mrs Sarah Barnett blew-up four vehicles consecutively. Who said being a tank soldier was difficult!?! The teams then swapped over so they could all have a go at both activities. It was nearing lunchtime and we were taken out ofcamp and up to the woods to continue the exercise. At this stage, it also start- ed to rain 7 perfect timing. Under the protection of the trees (and umbrellas), we were given our 24hr ration packs and shown what was inside a typical pack. Amazingly, Sgt Major was the only to get a pack of Walkers crisps, a can of Fanta and a Mars bar in his pack! While attempting to make out first cup of tea, and enjoy our first meal ofbeef pate and hard cinnamon flavoured fruity biscuits, we were disturbed by a buzzing sound coming from a young lady’s bergan. Red faced, the lady in question quickly went to investigate and pulled out her tooth- brush, what a relief for us all. Cam and concealment was our next lesson. We were shown how to make ourselves blend in with the surroundings and given a perfect demonstration by our instructors of how this can be achieved. In awe of their skills, and unaware at the time that their demonstration had, in fact, been a bluff, we put our cam cream on like foundation and stuffed grass in all sorts ofplaces. We had two minutes to run and hide and the instructors then had to try and find us. As we lay on the ground, our hearts were racing, our breathing rapid, all in anticipation of being found. Our improved make-up skills had worked as only a few of us were found. With the day drawing on, it was time to make our ‘homes’ for the night. Afterbeing given a demonstration of ‘how to make a shelter’ we split up into pairs and showed the instructors how not to make shelters! To our surprise, there were no tents, just roll mats and a poncho to be tied between trees to shelter us from the rain (but not the bugs)! The skies opened up again at L to F1 Ms Leah Be// Mrs M/cheHe Penn/ngton and Mrs Amanda Terfl/ this point which gave us a good indication whether or not our shelters would actually work and, surprisingly, they did. Using the ‘buddy-buddy’ system a gourmet evening meal was then made. This mostly consisted ofbeef stew and dumplings followed by chocolate pudding and, of course, the all good cup of tea. Bearing in mind, by this stage we had hardly eaten and were quite hungry so the food went down a treat. Night time was now falling, the fire was lit and it was time for our final activity of the day, Close Target Reconnaissance. This was a favourite activity with the wives. Split into our two groups, each one led by an instructor equipped with night vision goggles, we set off in the darkness. Our mission was to retrieve 6 bottles ofwine per group and these were situated out- side a hut in the middle of the woods. However, the hut was manned by four soldiers who come out and investigate if they heard any noise. Once within 50m we were sent in pairs to retrieve the bottles. This was the real thing, this was soldiering! With the adrenaline pumping, and the thought of the prize at hand we went to great lengths not be seen or heard. It was so dark, one team member managed to walk straight past her own team. On the final run of the ‘A—Team’, only one member returned, fortunately with the two bottles of wine! However, at this stage we could hear the voices of the guards and could see a flashlight searching the area. Trying not to panic, we were sure our missing comrade would find her way back to us, as soon as it was safe, as she had the night vision goggles. Eventually, she returned only to discover she hadn’t used the goggles, as she hadn’t realised that she had them!! All I can say is, Heidi must have been having a blond moment! The time was still only 2115 and we had managed to fit in so much. All we had left to do was drink the wine! By 0115 every- one had gone to bed or so we thought, only to be discovered the following morning by SSgt Clarke in the back of the land rover, we all know who you are Mrs F. We were expecting to be woken at 0700hrs but due to the intense rain, most of us were already awake. However, this did not dampen our spirits it just meant that we had an extra half an hour in our sleeping bags. On top of this, Sgt Major brought the tea round, we don’t even get that at home! The rain eventually ceased and we could cook our corned beef hash for breakfast. |
| Title |