AFFILIATIONS & CADETS THE ROYAL WESSEX YEOMANRY Major A E Sharman (Second in Command RWxY) This has been a year of change for the Wessex with a move, alongside the RTR, into 12 Brigade and then all the upheaval of a pandemic.
Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY) Annual Training in Dartmoor
Having planned for a year of consolidation, after years of effort pushing qualified crews through the Annual Crew Test as a way to demonstrate readiness, the plan for this year was to spend time delivering individual training opportunities. We’ve largely managed to execute this plan. Having started the year working towards the usual targets of Challenger 2 currency and Military Annual Training Tests (MATTs), the arrival of COVID-19 and the lockdown brought some novel challenges. First, the Regiment was warned to mobilise Regimental Headquarters and a sub-unit. This mobilisation never came but provided us with a real opportunity to focus for a while on being ready to support UK Operations; in the end, five officers from the Regiment deployed on an individual basis to support Op RESCRIPT. The second challenge was more difficult: how to keep an armoured reserve regiment together when a public health crisis requires people to stay apart.
Next, we developed and delivered a series of online exercises and training nights, using Microsoft Teams and Zoom, to allow the whole Regiment to participate. We focussed on low-level skills to design serials which were accessible to all, such as navigation, first aid and Armoured Fighting Vehicle recognition, with our reserve chain of command required to pass and manage information, exercising Regimental command and control. As restrictions eased, we were able to complete some driving and maintenance and signals training, a number of low-level adventurous training courses and outings and a Battlefield Study at Roundway Down. In September, we deployed to Okehampton, in Dartmoor, for our annual training period; over 130 reservists attended, taking part in a range of courses, including Potential NCO command leadership
and management, signals qualifications and instruction on the General Purpose Machine Gun. We thoroughly exploited this unusual opportunity to have so much of the Regiment together, running Regimental sports and competitions to deliver on the promises of sport and adventure made to our newer recruits. Alongside all this training activity, we are making renewed efforts to improve on our recruiting, with social media efforts placed in the hands of some of our talented youngsters and a new association website. We hope that we can attract more fit young men and women to serve with our squadrons across the South West. It should go without saying that our most prized recruits are bright, young ex-regular soldiers and officers with Challenger 2 qualifications under their belt; those determined to leave regular service need not be entirely lost to the Army.
Our first innovation was the introduction of paid individual physical training, using an exercise tracking app as a way for soldiers to demonstrate their activity up to three times each week. In addition to maintaining fitness in lockdown, this allowed us to continue to pay our soldiers at least a little, in an economy where the lure of driving for Ocado is strong. 23
