Estonia – Op CARBIT 2019-21
In October 2019 the Queen’s Royal Hussars Battle Group embarked on Operation CABRIT, NATO’s defence and insurance policy against threats from the East.
The next 5 months saw 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.
The bulk of the regiment was deployed on Op CABRIT. ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘HQ’ Squadrons all deployed as part of the Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup to Estonia. The Battlegroup (BG) included a multinational sub-unit which, for the first month was from the French 5th Marine Regiment before they handed over to a Company from the Danish 1st Life Guards Battalion.
Op CABRIT is a NATO deterrence mission and much of the BG’s time was spent on re-writing our part in the Estonian National Standing Defence Plan, as well as identifying our battle positions towards the east and understanding the Russian threat.
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The conditions on arriving were challenging and the (comparatively) mild weather, compared to what will follow, has brought with it a fair amount of rain. This has led to terrain proving particularly challenging; especially for tracked vehicles.
Whilst the BG was deployed the ROG, ‘C’ and ‘D’ Squadrons conducted CR2 ranges and synthetic training to prepare themselves for subsequent tours of Estonia.
‘C’ Squadron was able to deploy to Estonia in good order and managed (by travelling from a secure base to a secure training area) to conduct mounted exercises with the Estonians as part of 1 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers BG. The weather has improved somewhat since the QRH BG was in Estonia, but the results remain reassuring and similar. ‘C’ Squadron is proving to be every bit as adept at overrunning Estonian Army positions and unhinging their defences as ‘A’ Squadron proved to be over the winter.
‘D’ Squadron (the Black Pigs) deployed to Latvia in October 2020 as part of The 5 Rifles Battlegroup on Op CABRIT.
Since October 2019 and up until ‘D’ Squadron’s return in spring 2021 The Queen’s Royal Hussars will have provided the British armoured contribution to the defence and deterrence of Russian aggression on NATO’s eastern border.
