9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2005 - Page 0057
Image details
| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2005 |
| Transcription |
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 55 Learning Lessons How are the mighty fallen! Reduced to the ranks of just another Lieutenant Colonel and with the onset of ‘Post Command Blues’ I found myself in June 2005 joining the staff of the Land Warfare Centre in Warminster in charge of the Army’s Lessons Learnt programme. I knew nothing about the job, but domestically it was great and the shooting and stalking on Salisbury Plain were a major draw. The job has turned out to be fascinating. Learning Lessons is very much in vogue (try typing it into Google and see what you get) and the Army is no exception 7 especially when it comes to operations. What has become apparent is that we are good at identifying lessons that need learning but poor at actually tak- ing them through to a conclusion. The job of the lessons team is therefore twofold 7 learning from our mistakes and capturing what we have done right. To fix what has gone wrong, we identify mistakes (from post operational interviews and reports) and then allocate an organi- sation to fix them, carrying out an audit six months later to make sure it has happened. To capture what we have done well (and being Brits we tend to be modest about this) is proving more difficult 7 those on operations never write it down but merely say ‘the elections went well’ 7 not much help to the next lot who may also be doing elections! This is particularly embar- rassing as foreign armies seem to think we are world leaders in Counter Insurgency (and we are) and keep on asking for books COHect/flg Lessons ON Goa/mom Operat/Ofls ON beha/f OfABCA {Amer/ca, [Er/tam, Canada and Austraha), Basra A/rpO/t Jam 2006, on how we do it. When told that we don’t have a handbook they immediately assume we are hiding stuff from them. There has been plenty of travel, a couple of trips to Iraq where I have seen some of the Regiment, one to Afghanistan coming up and plenty to the States and other European countries. We are also pioneering the use of lessons to drive forward doctrine, equipment and structural changes so the small team really is making a difference... and the stalking and shooting on the Plain is not bad either. RAC US Armor Center Fort Knox Kentucky Fort Knox is perhaps best known for the gold bullion depos- itory established in 1932 and of course James Bond’s Goldfinger,but is also the home ofthe US Armor Center. Under Base Realignment and Closure, however, the US armoured and infantry branches will merge by the end of the decade to become a 2 Star Maneuver branch in Fort Benning, Georgia. Fort Knox has three British staff: a lieutenant colonel liaison officer, an exchange officer major and a gunnery instructor W02. The Fort Knox British Exchange Officer is an instructor on the twenty-week long Armored Captain’s Career Course, which is similar to the former Junior Command and Staff Course. Each syndicate is normally composed of ten US cap- M Jr: 1' Ma/ WOO/9y, |
| Title |