Regimental Update: December 2019
Last month the Queen’s Royal Hussars Battle Group embarked on Operation CABRIT 5, NATO’s defence and insurance policy against threats from the East.
The next 5 months will see QRH soldiers as well as soldiers from over 10 other cap badges reassuring the Estonian people, deterring Russian aggression and ultimately preparing themselves to defend Estonia whatever the cost.
What will this look like in real terms? Readiness and engagement! The Queen’s Royal Hussars Battle Group with be at 6 and 12 hours’ notice to move. The mindset of the Battle Group has been focused following our arrival; after all, the Russian border is closer to Tapa Camp than Tidworth is to Birmingham although a lot less dangerous when you reach your destination.
The Baltic region, famed for its Caribbean-like temperatures in the summer months and its balmy winter evenings akin to the south of France, caught everyone by surprise on arrival with freezing temperatures. It was even more surprising to find out that snow might be on the cards. The cold weather issue has proven to be very comprehensive and now every man and woman has twice the amount of kit they originally deployed with.
The conditions are challenging and the (comparatively) mild weather, compared to what it will be in two months, has brought with it a fair amount of rain. This has led to terrain proving particularly challenging; especially for tracked vehicles but it is better to learn these lessons early on and the difficulties we encounter always lead to good training.
Op Tractable, the Army’s mission to rotate all of the vehicles in Estonia by a combination of air, land and sea movements has been a huge logistical operation moving equipment from all over Europe into theatre.
The QRH BG has had over 100 personnel involved in some way, whether it was maintenance of vehicles in Germany, moving vehicles from road to ferry in the port task group or conducting influence activity and outreach with 77X. The result has been highly successful – war-fit vehicles arriving on Op CABRIT 5 to take over as the operational fleet and phenomenal media coverage to improve our influence and visibility within the theatre.
Russian media even commented on the complexity and success of the “Royal Hussars Regiment’s” entry into Estonia.
Exercise Estonia Hussar was a two-day HOTO exercise allowing the outgoing and incoming subunits to conduct full handovers of the ground, the equipment and the tactical picture.
Using briefs and the STTA (South Tapa Training Area), ‘A’ Sqn KRH took the lead in demonstrating the capability of an Armoured Combat Team. The ground here is very different to the Canadian Prairie we are used to working on, and it has been eye-opening to see the tactical differences required to work in a wooded area.
This included the concept of “Foxhound Pull”, whereby the speed of movement is dictated by the dismounts moving through the forestry.
In an unfortunate turn of events, a wildcat helicopter was grounded on the area so the Sqn has maintained a 24/7 watch on the platform until it could be collected for repair. Whilst inconvenient for the crew, it’s a great opportunity for the guys to see the ground – and the helicopter – up close!
Many members of the BG have had the chance to take out and dust off their GCSE level French through numerous efforts to increase interoperability with our attached French Marines Coy.
Despite having hugely enjoyed getting to know them and demonstrating our physical dominance over them (one team from A Sqn crushed 8 teams from No. 5 Coy in a warrior fitness competition organised by No. 5 Coy!) we will have to say goodbye soon as their tour comes to an end just in time for Christmas. Then we will be preparing the ground for the Danes.
Due to the nature of the threat and our mission to reassure our influence activity and outreach are one of the most useful tools to reassure the local population irrespective of their ethnicity.
There have been several opportunities this week alone – training in Estonian gyms, working with NATO counterparts, a Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) event and a CrossFit competition to name but a few! The chance to get out of camp and meet the locals has been fantastic for us and opens up future opportunities and experiences.
There have been several significant events commemorated since our arrival. First, Balaklava Day was celebrated under the KRH BG. Treated to gunfire and a questionably accurate film for breakfast, it was good to think back to our ancestor Regiments and the roles they played in the battle.
Secondly, the official TOA of the BGs was observed with a parade attended by all members of both BGs and our allies. The Estonian Commander praised KRH personnel for their incredible work and commitment over the last 8 months and welcomed the QRH warmly into our next 5 months here.
The Estonian night is dark and winter is coming but one thought will keep us warm as the weather closes in and keep us driving forward to success.
Major B Erskine-Naylor, Regimental Second in Command
