9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2003 - Page 0035
Image details
| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
| Transcription |
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 33 F/eefl/ ’Sot‘t B/oke’ LCpl Hale was then selected to attend a Crew Commanders course after passing his BPFA and BCFT, the Troop found this an amazing feat, not for LCpl Hale but for the gym staffmanag- ing to find an 8 mile down hill route. The troop then deployed on the Regimental FTX as OPFOR where again it proved its worth by testing the Sabre Squadrons to their maximum, with professionalism not seen since the days of David Stirling. Then after the Regimental stand down the Troop then grew with the arrival of Cpl (I’m not chainsaw trained) Robertson, and Tpr (Margery Proops) Bottomley, another pair of highly trained and motivated individuals. We then moved forward into the 21st century by order of the RQMS(T), he who should not be named, and were introduced to UNICOM, that thing on my desk that was there to be dusted every now and again. This year has been a busy and very entertaining one, where Troop moral has remained high all year. Ifyou ever feel low just pop into the HQ SQMS department and I can guarantee life will not seem so bad after your visit. Command Troop In early January the troop had a lot of late nights preparing the Regiment for a possible deployment to the Gulf. Vehicles and equipment had to be reorganised and redistributed, with the deployment date sometime in February After getting every thing completed on time the Regiment was stood down. All the hard work had been in vain, apart from the CO and his driver LCpl Broomfield who managed to get some sun. We eventually got the landrover back, surprisingly with the important kit still on it, thanks Broomy. The RSO, Capt Campbell Collins, after the disappointment of no action decided to call it a day, Good luck in the USA. This left the door wide open for the new A grade RSO fresh from the CIS factory Capt Searby. For the rest of us it was time to become firemen for a few weeks. Most of the troop worked in the Ops Rooms. Cpl Blunt and Pritchard with pens at the ready for the first 999 call, under the watchful eye of the Regt 2 i/c, who didn’t want to miss the first call. Again it was not to be the strike was called off at the last minute so yet again all the hard work hadbeen in vain. It could- n’t have been too bad L/Cpl Marpels went back for more. The first priority for the troop was to get everyone up to the required high standard that is expected from Command Troop. Moving to Uelzen for Ex Spring Charge with A and C SQN was the first time to get the troop together, this coincided with the start of the Gulf War. For the first week it was to practice our Sgt Rhodes and Sgt SW/ft stay on Step up drills and Routine. The record from start to finish was 50 minutes, which is impressive and remarkable considering the troop had only been together for a few months. The end ofweek finished with the dawn assault on our position, but with good use of personal roll radio (PRR) which we had been using all week, meant that the whole troop had communications and we were easily able to defend our position. The other memorable event was the attack of the peace protesters. Having moved into a perfect barn, they found us. Half a dozen at first saw us from the road and assaulted our position. Throwing a pink paint bal- loon over an 8m mast and the farmer’s barn. After calling the police we decided to leave the barn and move some where away from the protesters. As we prepared inside the Earn a number of cars appeared on the road. We decided to make a run for it, we bomb bursted out in different directions and each C/S had a protesters car in tow. They followed over road, track and ploughed field, but eventually we lost them in wooded areas. We all met up after about 1 hr and all had stories to tell, but all agreed it was the best adrenaline rush ever, very exciting and amusing. They were very persistent and actually a very good enemy. Maybe they can be booked next year. The exercise proved invaluable for everybody with lots of other activities planned for the rest ofthe year we now felt comfortable with the challenges ahead. A big well done to L/Cpl Reeves on his pro- motion and for his outstanding contribution on the Exercise. The next concentration of effort was preparation for the troop for Firing Camp and the CO’s Turret Competition. More hard work ensuring that we gave a good account of ourselves and with the Sqn’s working hard preparing for Operations we felt we stood a chance. This proved correct and for the first time in 30 years Command Troop won the Rolls Royce shield, (nothing to do with the RSO and RSWO scoring the signals part of the inspection). Also on the Ranges with the RSO, RSWO, CMO and Sgt McKelvey achieving level 5. Sgt Rhodes & L/Cpl Thomas level 4. Next on the program was CATT. Where the troop spent a week in Moc up CV with the rest of the regiment playing with the Army’s new Computer Simulator. Days and evenings of going through the orders process and preparing for the battles. The final battle will be remembered for the RSO and W02 Welborn being introduced on the battlefield as a Challenger 2, with everyone else being CVRT. It didn’t alter the result but hearing them on permanent send was amusing. A good week, which prepared us for the next challenge, CAST. CAST wouldbe the biggest test for the troop where all the train- ing to date would prove to be vital to the success of the CAST. A week of being fully tactical in a tropical climate, exercising under the eye of the CAST DS. All problems that they gave us were dealt with very well. We had the normal communication problems, some selfinflicted, some not. Batco comprises as well |
| Title |