9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2003 - Page 0016
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
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l4 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) Sqn during its Op TELIC 3 training package: oh joyous days are here again. The Troop has been reinforced by Cpl (Dibs) Derbyshire, Cpl (Mark) Hillier, LCpl (Lee) Kelly, Tprs (Joined at the Hip) Herbert and Brown, Tpr (AWOL) Posey “if he can be bothered to grace us with his presence” and Tpr (Baz) Brooks and Pte (I’ve got two brothers in the Regiment) Salih, now replaced by Pte Cassidy. This has been a busy year for the Troop with most of our own work been done out of normal working hours. The dedication and the commitment of my permanent staff could not be better. The editor has asked for photographs, however we have been that busy doing the work required to support the Sqn that nobody seems to have had the time to have taken any: sorry! (There there, Q! Ed) Fitter Section Phew, what a year, what with equipment support, sporting tri- umphs, moving from one operation to another and Sqn training commitments. The Fitter Section had little time to reflect on the disappointment of being removed from the Op TELIC l ORBAT before a new and diverse challenge was presented in the shape of Op FRESCO. Shortly after the announcement we found ourselves dashing backwards and forwards across the English Channel attending various ‘Green Goddess’ mainte- nance courses, including the infamous ‘blue light training’. This gave us a first taste of how unreliable the Goddess fleet could be and how busy we were going to be in our Yorkshire AOR. When we deployed as part of the Regimental mainte- nance team, most of the Fitter Section were to be seen touring Sheffield, in the ubiquitous white vans, causing chaos on the once peacefiJl streets, driving from problem vehicle to problem vehicle. In addition to Op OCULUS the Sqn’s commitment in the Balkans was shortly upon us. This meant that when not required to fix fire engines we were quickly shuttled back to fix equally unpredictable tanks and deploy on essential exercises. The 1 July saw the Squadron manning go live for Bosnia with plenty of exercises and operational range packages to keep the Fitter Section busy. By now the Section was up to full strength; with the additions of Sgt (brother) Keeble, LCpl’s Tuttle, '. . .. "1 .r' Hopkinson, and Bradbury, and the long awaited arrival of Sgt Henderson, replacement for Sgt Green. In addition to our ES responsibilities the Fitter Section completed all Op OCULUS training as a Troop in its own right. This provided us all with the opportunity to learn new skills ranging from languages to crowd control; although some doubts exist as to whether “could you possibly put the mine down in the UXO pit” would have sounded quite so calm in real life! With a very successful train- ing package behind us, the Fitter Section looked forward to a well deserved pre-tour leave, though not before burning the ‘midnight oil’; inspecting and repairing the complete Sqn fleet which needed to be put into Out of Use in record time! Late August saw Cpl Casey and a soon to be promoted LCpl Tuttle deploy to Bosnia ahead of the Squadron in a pre, pre advance capacity and to help out B Sqn Fitter Section. Unfortunately shortly after their departure, the Sqn Ldr was informed that “plan A” had typically changed. Not only were Casey and Tutttle in the wrong theatre; the whole Squadron could now look forward to a much warmer Christmas than expected. And so the exploits of the Sqn Fitter Section have come full cir- cle as we now find ourselves back on Op TELIC training. It has been challenging year by any standards and one, which along the way has earned the Squadron the affectionate moniker of ‘Easy Company,’ borrowed from a recent Television WW2 adap- tation. Highlights of the year have to include the Fitter Section’s joint winning entry into the Hostage House and SSgt Cowan’s (Tiff) destruction of the C Sqn Ldr’s vehicle (VRN & C/S provided in the contact report!) during the delaying action on Exercise Sumer Charge. A feat for which I believe the Sqn Ldr still owes us a day off (cough, cough) and of course achiev- ing a credible second place with SHQ on a march and shoot. Members of the Fitter Section were also involved in the LAD’s excellent, though somewhat short football campaign this season which resulted in the LAD being crowned REME (G) champi- ons in both the 6-a-side and standard competition; an achieve- ment rarely equalled. Congratulations also go to Cpl Casey on completing his Senior Military Certificate and to Cpl Chisholm for passing his Potential Artificer Assessment Board |
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