9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2003 - Page 0026
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
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Z4 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) Mag/c Johnson? Separated at b/rth off with the Machine Gun Shield. The Troop Leader’s section narrowly missed out on the Thornton Sword, trust LCpl Whittaker to shave off his lucky tache! Since summer leave it has been all hands to the pumps to get the Squadron ready to go to Op TELIC 3. As long as Cpl Savage manages not to get locked into anymore Portaloos all should go swimmingly. The troop welcomes Sgt Rickett, Cpl Richardson, Tprs Walker, Bacon and Bedson and bids a fond farewell to Sgt Pagett who moves to l Troop, Cpl Cassidy who moves to GW Troop and Tpr 0’ Kelly who moves to Admin Troop. 3 Troop Third troop C Sqn reformed on the lst of July when Sgt AJ Joynson made the transition from MT Troop Sgt back to tank park life, taking the troop off the old stalwart SSgt Taff Bithell. The vehicles were returned to the troop after having been palmed out to the other sabre troops (lucky sods) for routine upkeep and maintenance. Slowly but surely, the trickle of manpower began. Firstly there was Tpr Tomo Thompson and Tpr Claude Butler, closely fol- lowed by the troop hierarchy, Cpl Broady Broadhurst, Cpl Jay South and LCpl Damo Marples. With no more manpower on the horizon the troop set about working hard to prepare the vehicles for back loading, whilst at the same time hoping that the four desert up-armoured vehicles, due soon, would be in a similar state. Bloke! The saying ‘...you’ve more chance of plat- ting fog...’ comes to mind. The vehicles we received were straight from that unfortunate convoy on the Basra road back in 91. So we launched ourselves into the mammoth task ofprepar- ing the hulks for regimental FTX in August. Our thanks must go out to SSGT Dick Emery and GW Troop and Sgt Kenny Swain and Support Troop for lending a hand to our depleted troop. Carpets. With the four up armoured sheds now in a fit state we embarked on Regimental FTX once again with GW troop coming to our aid by putting bums on seats including SSgt Dick (‘I’m on speed’ ) Emery as our illustrious Troop Leader. The exercise went very well and served as a great cobweb blaster for all. Sgt Joynson and crew got used to single car OPs as Cpl South’s crew suffered more breakdowns than Frank Bruno and as for Cpl Broadhurst he does not remember anything about working with the Troop Leader. Its amazing what sleep depra- vation does to the mind. So after many challenging scenarios we finished the exercise with the Troop Leader’s section intact and CS 31 and 33 minus a gearbox each. On return from exercise we embarked on a well earned summer break (which was nice) before returning ready to start OP TELIC 3 training. On return from leave we welcomed Tpr ‘Pants’ Bloomer, Tpr ‘Oz’ Osie, Tpr ‘Bruce’ Lee and Tpr ‘Egg’ Foong who had all flown back from Bosnia from B Sqn just to be part of the Elite and join us on OP TELIC 3. From then on it was hectic. Most of the troop attended courses from the likes of Commanders Cadres to Public Order Instructor to Iraqi language courses. Even the stealthiest could- n’t avoid the course loading this time. Now at this time we are nearly all coursed -up and trained to the max. We look forward to the challenges that lie ahead and a safe and successful tour of Iraq. The final word goes to our very green Troop Leader 2Lt Kappler, so green in fact he hasn’t arrived yet. ‘ Sir sort your in tray out its rather full’. A77 Support Troop The year for Sp Tp has been indicative of the highs and lows of C Sqn generally. In January on the return of the Tp Ldr from an arduous Ski Training trip in the Rockies the Tp found itself populated for a potential deployment on Op TELIC. The Sqn prepared for a dismounted role and the Tp was called upon to guide trg in Sp Tp activities. When we were struck off the guest list for that party our attention was quickly diverted to acting as OPFOR for the other members of 7 Armd Bde on Hohne Ranges. With the troop’s Spartans acting as static targetry in several inches of snow we watched Battle Group after Battle Group roll by in various degrees of order. The Troop was barely recognisable as we fleet managed soldiers to form Green and Red Goddess crews and prepare to fight fires in Sheffield 7 an eventuality we again prepared for without actu- ally fulfilling. On our return to Germany we deployed on a Sqn exercise in Scimitars thus ensuring that all were kept in touch with their Sabre Tp skills. Again on the Sqn gunnery camp we patched together a composite troop and fired only the Scimitars. It was not until late June that the Tp finally reformed into a coherent unit. With the return of Sgt Swain from his rambling exploits in South Wales on the Platoon Sergeant’s Tactics Course (Senior Brecon) and Cpl Hicks from the Regt Recruiting Team we prepared for a Regimental exercise. And when the news came in that we would in fact be deploying as a Sqn to Iraq on Op TELIC 3 we felt the impact of a change in higher’s Main Effort. The Troop exercised in Ulzuen, practising many of the key Sp Tp skills including safeguarding the Elbe Canal, denying access to key points and screening a huge flank. Sgt Swain and LCpl |
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