9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2001 - Page 0063
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
| Transcription |
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 63 Capt Jones {Ad/t QOY) on EX BR/GHT STAR their weekends (apart from match days), to do the mundane that we call work. The TA is effectively competing for the sol- dier’s leisure time; it is a huge credit to all of them that they choose to do so. I arrived in Newcastle in August 1999, straight from my Junior Division Staff College course. Almost immediately, I accom- panied the Commanding Officer and a group of about 15 Territorials to Egypt on EX BRIGHT STAR. BRIGHT STAR was a NATO exercise that ran for a total of almost 2 months and for us, was a chance to work in Recce Bde in the field. The desert was an excellent training environment. The thing that surprised me the most was how quickly the Army had forgot- ten the little things learnt in the Gulf that made life more com- fortable. DROPS quickly became bogged, then using the rack to push themselves, blew all the hydraulics. One dead vehicle, with only 24 hrs rations and no communi- cations, had been out for almost 3 days before we happened upon them! Radio communications were a nightmare and where all the flies come from I have no idea. It was also my first taste of 12 hour stags, and when the officer you stag on with is your Commanding Officer, you can guess who picks up /ta//an Reece m tao /eagues, EX BR/GHT STAR I’D-Afir. Lt 00/ PJ LeW/s {/ate 9/72L) on EX BR/GHT STAR the graveyard shift! This was also where I was to bump into Lt Col P] Lewis QOY (late 9/12L) for the first time. A follow on five day R&R period in Cairo was welcome, as were the comforts of the civilian 747 airliner on the return flight. It did not take long to realise that this was no ordinary Adjutant’s job. Discipline was hard to instil; if a soldier was charged (and no one was while I was there) he just didn’t turn up for 3 months. Almost every aspect of a regular adjutants job was missing in the TA. Much ofthis was down to the sep- aration of the Squadrons and the very effective Squadron Permanent Staff Admin Officers (read Squadron Adjutants) I was fortunate enough to have. Without Squadrons, subal- terns, and soldiers around me on a dailybasis, work was large- |
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