9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2003 - Page 0019
Image details
| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
| Transcription |
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) l7 Capt/Ge muse/es m on an B San Cheesefest Infantry style exercises, CATT exercises, skiing in the Harz Mountains and maybe a bit of refresher training on the volley- ball court. New faces to the Troop include Sgt Spring from GW, Cpl Worgan from 2nd Troop, Cpl Rowley from Admin Troop and Tpr Dickinson from GW. No doubt lst Troop will continue to enjoy everything that is thrown to them in the coming year with a fairly stable period of time to settle back into Regimental life. 2nd Troop After a well deserved Xmas leave, the Troop returned back to work with their ears pinned back and an invigorated thirst for getting their teeth stuck into the New Year. In January the Troop took part in the Sqn’s pre-deployment training for Bosnia; this included a Firing Period and a week on the OPTAG (G) package in Sennelager. The highlight of the package was the highly enjoyable public order stand, which saw 2nd Troop being joined by 3rd Troop, to form a base line that was lead by SSgt Ian (I am telling you, we will not retreat an inch) Clarke. The Troop returned to Hohne with happy memories of controlled aggres- sion and a few more sandbags to be pulled up for stories around the campfire. The remainder of the month saw Cpl’s (It’s a love- ly broadside) Worgan and Bennison’s crew’s deploy on EX PRAIRE OWL, or sit there and die like a good little boy as it was referred to by the end of the EX. February saw the Sqn con- duct Small Arms Training under the diligent eyes of SSgt Clarke and Sgt (Tourette’s) Brooksbank, before Pre Deployment leave. In March the Troop had their lovingly prepared Scimitars, replaced by rusty and neglected ones fresh from the up-armour program just ten days before the train had to leave for Bosnia. The vehicles were quickly turned around by the Troop and dis- patched on the train. By the end of March the Troop, joined by their GW housemates had settled into Gradiska Troop house to start the six-month tour on Op OCULUS. The Troop set about its new role ofGZ intelligence gathering in Gradiska and its sur- rounding rural area. This involved daily patrols of the Troop AOR and a variety of Sqn level Operations. Making good use of our inherent FR skills, the Troop was tasked for the Pope’s visit to Banja Luka. This was an Operation providing a ring of armour around BL airport in the form of OP’s and VCP’s, and in addition monitored traffic crossing the border at GRADIS KA. The Troop also conducted Troop Level Operations, which proved a great success, in gaining both intel- ligence and building good public relations with the locals. One such Op was the periodic rolling Op HARVEST’s involving vis- iting every house in a specified area. At the end of the tour, the Troop had covered close to 400sq km and recovered over 200 small arms ranging from pistols to M42 heavy machine guns. As well as collecting weapons the Troop tasked the EOD team countless times to dispose of UXO that ranged from detonation cord to M80 rocket launchers. The EOD team kindly repaid us by blowing up the Troop house’s UXO pit whenever they got the opportunity. The biggest find by the Troop and Sqn was by the crime fighting duo of SSgt Ian (Sherlock Holmes) Clarke and his trusty boy wonder Cpl Stuart (int ferret) Bennison, who after a tip off recovered 97 M80 rocket launches. This was seen as a job well done by the crime-fighting duo, who by week two of the tour believed they were the modern day Sweeney, and constant- ly plotted the demise of the local crime faction. The Troop house was run by Sgt (narcolepsy) Brooksbank and his trusted patsy LCpl Alaric (honest governor I heard this strait from the horses mouth, via three people) Davies, they managed to split .; «,1 Career /aughter for Floyé/ Navy Sen/Aor 'Off/oer |
| Title |