9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2001 - Page 0018
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
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18 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) lst Troop This year has been one of change and restructure for lst Troop. Starting the year under Lt Preston and Sgt Pagett, the troop soon had a complete command change with Sgt Dynes taking over in February and Lt Evans arriving in March to deploy straight on Exercise SWABIAN CRUSADE. It was in this exercise that the reg- ulars of the troop first worked together. Lt Evans’s entry to troop leading was greatly aided by having Cpls Farren, Noone and Payne on this exercise, a fact that also helped to develop his sense of humour. The early termination of the exercise was most disap- pointing as the Troop had started to bond well, however the seeds of the troop had been sown and which consequently started to grow over the coming months. Back in camp, the characters of the new troopers began to become evident. The arrival of Tpr Davidson started a worrying trend of skinhead haircuts sweeping through the Troop. Tprs Wilson and Osborne mistakenly believing that this was the new fashion in England, and not in truth a cover for our newest members lack of fol- licles. Meanwhile, Cpl Noone moved back to 2nd Troop leaving Cpls Farren and Payne as the Troop Cpls in the run up to gunnery camp. The camp was preceded by the long awaited return of LCpl Orr-Munro, straight into gunning for the Troop Leader. Fortunately his 2-year exile to ATDU had not diminished his sense of humour, as Lt Evans was to find out during the coming shoots. The results of the gunnery were very pleasing, especially Sgt Dynes who gently coaxed his gunner, Tpr Humble, to a level 6 on his annual crew test. Lt Evans also managed to come bizarrely both last and first in the section shooting competition on the last day. Cpl Payne departed for 3rd Troop shortly afterward, leaving the members of lst Troop to contemplate the arrival of Cpl Fleetwood from his crew commander’s course. Once he had changed his watch from English to German time, his redoubtable personality soon became a fixture ofthe Troop. In the run up to Oman we sadly lost Cpl Farren and Tpr Wilson to be replaced by Cpl Langston and Tprs Brindley and Harris from C Sqn. The Troop, buoyed by Tpr Osborne’s win in the 100 meters, were ready to leave for Oman. As was to be expected the arrival went smoothly with Tpr Harris’s bergen disappearing in transit and Cpl Fleetwood developing strange 24hr flu. The Troop sadly witnessed the departure of Tpr Smith due to illness while acting as close recce for the RDG. As the first phase finished, LCpl Gibson’s morale was raised by the prospect of watching the England vs Greece football match, the presence of certain pop stars being a mere distraction. ’Look, there’s a c/oud/’ Wire/97’ Cp/ Sau/ and Mr EyrerBrooK Having returned back to Germany we now say goodbye to Sgt Dynes who leaves for the Chesterfield recruiting office. We thank him for his huge influence in forming the Troop and wish him the best of luck with his new posting and promotion. We also welcome Cpl Langston as a permanent member as we look forward to a successful BATUS next year. 2 Troop This last year has been a time of change for 2nd Troop, with many people leaving resulting in a total re build. At the begin- ning of the year Lt Simpson left to go on his GW course. In addition Sgt Holley left to go to SHQ, Cpl Haynes departed for the CVR (T) dieselisation team and LCpl Marson joined the RAC recruiting team. The Troop spent most of the first part of the year under the watchful eye of Cpl Noone. He led a some- what depleted troop to achieving good results on annual crew tests, with a rather surprised LCpl Marson achieving Level 6. The only other departure from the Troop was Tpr Smith who joined 3rd Troop. June saw the arrival of Sgt Ian Clarke fresh and thrusting from the Regimental MT department, only to find that he was the only one there. The remainder of the Troop had jetted off to the UK for the KAPE tour. Cpl Hallewell took over the reins of Troop Corporal, coming from SHQ. Cpl Saul also joined 2nd Troop having finished his Crew Commanders Course, which he did at the same time as Lt Eyre-Brook did his Troop Leaders Course. With the addition of Tprs Marley and Dickinson, and LCpl Bennison having been relieved as the CO’s driver, the Troop could hardly have changed any more in composition. In fact there were only two original ‘die hard’ members of 2nd Troop, these were Tprs Walker and Liburd, but due to the fact that they were essentially joined at the hip it would be difficult to get rid of one without the other. Before long the Troop was together in the embodiment that you see today. The first challenge that was faced was the Regimental athletics. Tpr ‘Bob’ Marley enjoyed himself, wiping the floor with everyone in the hammer, javelin and shot-put events. This was after returning from the Junior Army Championships where he won the hammer and the javelin and came second in the shot-put. 2nd Troop also had an excellent result in the Sqn March and Shoot competition, where we came equal first and eventually lost out on a minor technicality. Everyone pushed themselves very hard, ‘Shandy McNab’ (Tpr Bass) threw him- self round the assault course with such vigour that he had to retire shortly afterwards and the Troop Leader had to step in. LCpl Bennison also had an interesting time having completed the assault course, he was then reminded of what he had eaten the previous evening, or was it what he had drunk? Having completed the build up training the Troop deployed in September to sample the delights of Oman. Here we discovered that ‘Yes sand does get everywhere,’ ‘Yes it was that hot’ and ‘Yes Camel spiders really are that scary!’ 2nd Troop was joined by Tprs Doherty, Wilson and Bass from C Squadron. Despite the occasional vehicle breakdown the Troop had some good results and some interesting times. During Exercise DESERT WAR- RIOR Sgt Clarke was very pleased with himself for finding the Armoured Reserve and then chasing Challenger 2s around the desert. As a result, this phase was brought to a conclusion a day early and there was some rapid re planning so that the Brigade had something to do. Towards the end of the exercise, Cpl Hallewell and Lt Eyre-Brook found a main artillery position and observed them until the RDG were due to ‘strike’ the next day. Unfortunately Cpl Hallewell was continually chased by over zeal- ous Commando Patrols all night, leaving Cpl ‘Jelly’ Saul and Lt |
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