9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2005 - Page 0052
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2005 |
| Transcription |
50 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) The second phase of the exercise involved a move to RAF Tain Bombing Range in which live and ‘hot’ training was conducted; the latter is the dropping of concrete practice bombs to assess pilot accuracy. Unfortunately the Exercise was severely ham- pered by inclement weather and only two days practical training could be conducted, however this allowed personnel to conduct visits to RAF Kinloss and RAF Lossiemouth to visit operational jet squadrons allowing the FACs to gain an insight to difficul- ties facing pilots in the air. The weather also permitted a visit to the Glenmorangie Distillery 7 allowing the FACs to gain an understanding of Highland culture. CjM Ex WESSEX LANCER X WESSEX LANCER was run to assist the QRL in their conversion to FR. The Regiment provided three members to act as advisers and exercise controllers. Capt’s Panter and Kappler and the only one with any real FR knowledge, the vet- eran WOZ Clarke were the selected specialists although, certain questions were asked of the reasoning behind sending the Regimental Golfing and Cricket Officers. Each Sqn received one member of the Regt with Mr Clarke being the most wanted. The Ex lasted a little over ten days on Salisbury Plain. The Exercise had three phases, two mounted and one dismounted. The QRL were put through their paces going through all the different roles that FR carry out, and after ridding themselves of the big tank mentality they performed to well and seemed to enjoy their new role. Although, the 15km tab were not greeted with much applause. The Sqns happily took on board any advice that was given and were always asking questions trying to gain as much information as possible. The Ex seemed to be a great success. Only marred by the Ops Offr, Capt Wall, who promised that we would be getting two weekends back in the UK, he forgot to mention that those would be working week- ends! The trip finished with Mr Clarke and Capt Kappler miss- ing their flights back due to a sojourn to see the sights of London! CFP British Retained Site, Nicosia, Cyprus his time last year I was coming towards the end of my tenure as OC HQ Sqn and wondering what job and where I could serve next. Having discussed my options with the CO, MCM Div and of course Maggie, I decided that I wanted to be posted to Cyprus. There were very few posts available however; the post of Property Manager (PROM) of the British Retained Site (BRS) in Nicosia was coming up and after handing over to Maj John Pearce, we were on our way. , H/gh on a h/// Was a /Ofle/y goatherd etc... The BRS is situated within the United Nations Protect- ed Area (UNPA) at the old Nicosia International Air- port to the West of Nicosia City. Prior to the Cyprus troubles of 1974 the BRS and associ- ated ‘Joint User’ facilities at Nicosia International Airport were known as RAF Nicosia (1939-1960). In 1960 it then became a shared site as the station became an International Civil Airport. T/me to hang up my boots {aga/fl)! As the role of the site as a military installation declined, a series of ‘Hand Backs’ took place between 1960-1968. The land was returned to the Cyprus Government who then developed the new Terminal Building and extended the main runway. The BRS consists of Land owned by the Republic of Cyprus and made available to the British Government under the Terms of the Treaty of Establishment. The conflict of 1974 prevented any further ‘Hand Backs’ leaving the present BRS as a number of isolated areas within the UNPA. The total area of the BRS is now 187 hectares or 462 acres approximately. In 1979 a Memorandum of Understanding was agreed with the United Nations (UN). These allowed for the peculiar nature of the site, in that the UN occupied buildings owned by the British Government. To facilitate repairs to these buildings, it was nec- essary to have an agreement that would allow PROM to recover these costs. A point to note is that all of the essential services required by the UN such as electricity, water and sewage are on the BRS and as PROM, I am also responsible for recovering these costs from the UN. |
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