Poland Calling...Again

The plains and forests of Eastern Europe are becoming familiar training grounds to the King's Royal Hussars as a second Lead Armoured Battlegroup deploys there in two years. This time it was the turn of the Senior Squadron to test their abilities in cooperating with and reassuring NATO allies. 

In a continuation of last years deployment of the KRH Battlegroup (BG) to Poland, the Lead Armoured Battle Group (LABG) deployed to both Drawsko Pomorski and Orzsyz training areas in a 2 month deployment from late September to early November 2015. Similarly to the 2014 deployment to Zagan, this exercise had the main aim of reassurance to Eastern European NATO allies.

The LABG at the time was headed up by 1 YORKS and included C Sqn, KRH, as the heavy armour capability. After a lengthy deployment that included a sea crossing and numerous railheads, the BG conducted integration exercises and demonstrations with their Polish, German, US and Canadian counterparts. These exercises and demonstrations proved yet again the ability to work with allies, as well as the rapid projection of force elements from the UK. The interoperability of an Armoured Infantry (AI) Brigade (Bde) is one of it's biggest attributes, and this exercise showed that a BG from 12 (AI) Bde could operate on a expeditionary mission. 

The exercise was the culmination of the Sqn’s busy year at readiness which has seen the Senior Sqn working hard to hone their ability to operate within the 1 YORKS BG after an initial training year. That training year culminated in the deployment to BATUS in Summer 2014. This final exercise allowed C Sqn’s troops to take part in everything from conventional armoured battle runs to dismounted tunnel clearances and was a test of every single man within the Sqn. C Sqn are now looking forward to an action-packed 2016.