9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2001 - Page 0012
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
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12 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) LCp/ Stan/9y , ’/ts coo/er m the shade , honest’ With the dirty dozen firmly in place, lst Troop cracked on with what was an extremely busy year. Gunnery camp produced some good results with Tpr Reynolds exceeding all expectations (although to be fair they weren't very high). Despite it being his first bash at 30mm, he attained excellent scores throughout. Cpl Milne graced the range with his own particular brand of skills and drills, producing mixed results. Lots of banging, crashing and shouting succeeded in producing a wide eyed Tpr Lewis LCp/ Potter , '. a, who emerged from the turret showing all the symptoms of shell shock on a daily basis. The Padre is confident that 'Lew' will be back to his former self soon. The next obstacle on the horizon was Ex SAIF SAREEA 2, and with all the enthusiasm and gusto for which lst Troop has now become synonymous, we donned Desert combats, packed the wagons, and prepared ourselves for the challenges ahead. The first ten days saw a bedraggled and bewildered gaggle of men, hiding under any available shade gawping in disbelief at the intensity of the heat. Sgt Andrews suffered more than most, with several bouts of diarrhoea plaguing his acclimatisation period, but in true A Sqn fashion, he cracked on regardless and eventually achieved solid status some days later. Cpl Beuttell also became a victim of the dreaded 'back door trots' and dur- ing a particularly bad episode, in true showman fashion, com- pletely lost all control of his bowels, inevitably resulting in a rather nasty mess in the old 'rear echelon'. This did however prove to be a great source of amusement for the rest of the troop, Tel Hopkins in particular. Consequently, 'Beut' was able to rest easy in the knowledge that he had done his bit for troop morale. Desert life soon became bearable once the boys had acclimatised, and we began to concentrate on the task. We were deployed as Brigade Recce, a job which we were quite happy to take on for obvious reasons, and one at which we quickly excelled. SHQ were kept extremely busy with the constant flow of timely and accurate information that cascaded from mighty lst Troop - 90% of this was C/S 12's sitreps, courtesy of Cpl 'Daz' Milne, whose attention to detail was second to none. Although whether Maj Brodey needed to know "The enemy are eating Menu D" or "My crew have all polished their boots" is still open for debate. One thing that could not be called into question however, was Daz's level of commitment to the task; this was proved when the now infamous words "Fire Mission... My Locstat... Gr 354829” were transmitted in that unmistakable Geordie drawl. Along with ”Contact Water Bowser”, these became sources of entertainment for the troop whenever times were hard. Another major source of entertainment came in the form of Tpr Hopkins, who managed to reveal himself in every photograph taken by Daz. This achievement was made extra special, as the photographer was blissfiJlly unaware until the photographs were developed on his return to Germany. Tpr Nash was lucky enough to spot Geri Halliwell sun-bathing whilst on his stand down package and decided this would be a golden opportunity to demonstrate to the pocket sized pop star what an outstanding product of the APTC School he has become. Following his 'run past', the roars of hysterical laugh- ter could be heard for miles around as Nosh fell flat on his face smack bang in front of Ms Halliwell. Even the normally stony-faced security accompanying Geri could not hide their laughter. It truly was a great moment. Apart from the above-mentioned hilarities however, the troop did produce some outstanding work in the desert and as a whole, we gained a lot from it. Special mentions should go to the younger mem- bers of the troop, who for some were deployed on their first exercise. Tprs Fielding, Reynolds, Christie, Stevens, and Nash performed outstandingly for soldiers with relatively little expe- rience and a big Well Done is extended to them. With the troop eventually back in sunny Hohne (following the boat trip experience for Beut, Daz, Nosh and Simong) the emphasis is now on returning the vehicles to their pre SS2 glory. A task that will be no mean feat, but one which, as all who know them well will agree, is well within the capabilities of a troop which has proved on many occasions that it is made of the right stuff. Well done to all and BATUS here we come. |
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