FOREWORD COLONEL COMMANDANT, THE ROYAL TANK REGIMENT Brigadier G J Thompson (late RTR) When I wrote last year’s foreword and praised the virtue of our innovative DNA, none of us imagined that the next challenge would be a global pandemic, requiring the Regiment to disperse for force protection whilst also providing direct support to the NHS response. This extended the time spent away from armour but over the coming two years, the Regiment will revert back to armour and its core operational role. Beginning in early 2021, the entire Regiment will begin to cycle through Estonia in the forward presence contribution, Op CABRIT. Many of you will be following the current Integrated Review and may wonder whether the debate is unsettling the Regiment. I can tell you that it is not, but that does not allow us to become complacent. There are compelling arguments for the UK to invest more into the cyber and space domains. As scientific progress opens these domains they are inevitably becoming contested and it is quite right that the UK wants to have a leading global role in response. Allowing an asymmetry to exist between the UK and our adversaries in any domain is inadvisable. What is true of cyber and space is equally true of the land domain. It makes little strategic sense to disinvest in armour and permit an armoured asymmetry in order to close gaps in the cyber and space domains at a time when armoured forces face each other in Eastern Europe. History can help us in this analysis. The French disinvested in armour at the end of World War One, believing the tank to have been a solution to the static idiosyncrasies of that war and failing to recognise it as a decisive weapon of the future. Their hasty attempt to reinvest in armour in response to German aggression in the 1930s delivered an inferior tank that was defeated with ease by German armour advancing through the Ardennes in 1940. Similarly, the US closed its armoured
programme after World War Two, believing that disinvestment in the land domain was an inevitable consequence of the development of nuclear weapons. This decision had to be reversed after early defeats by Chinese and North Korean forces at the start of the Korean War. It is important that we play a role in reminding the current generation of these earlier follies. While I cannot predict the choices Defence will make in the Integrated Review, I do not sense at this stage a threat to armour that challenges our Regiment. One aspect of Regimental life that was not adversely impacted by COVID-19 was the winter sports season. This year, our Alpine and Nordic teams, backed by a new winter sports strategy, over-exceeded expectations. Both teams were crowned RAC Champions but then went on to improve at an unprecedented rate to peak at the Army Championships. The Princess Marina Cup is awarded annually to the Regiment with the best combined Alpine and Nordic results. In previous years we have succeeded in peaking in one or other of the disciplines but not in both concurrently. This year however, the Alpine team finished second in the Army Championships, the Nordic team ninth and these results combined led to a runners up spot in the Marina; an outstanding result, the best in 50 years, which re-asserts
Brigadier Gavin Thompson, Colonel Commandant, The Royal Tank Regiment
the Regiment as a pre-eminent winter sports regiment. Whilst the Cavalry Cup football final had to be postponed, we were the first team to qualify for the final. For the second year in a row the Regiment was awarded the Iron Trophy, the 12 Brigade completion for overall physical fitness and physical development. Finally, I am writing this foreword in advance of our traditional Cenotaph weekend but in the knowledge that it will be going ahead in a curtailed virtual format. This is regrettable but I do hope that it is understandable. Our priorities must be to pay our respects, to protect our veterans and to uphold the reputation of the Regiment as a professional and disciplined unit. We can do each of these with a virtual event. It will not fully compensate for the full weekend but I am confident that the rationale will be widely understood. We are pragmatic in nature and comfortable with novel solutions when faced with changing circumstances. It is a fitting Tankie response to the national situation. Let us all hope life returns to normal before next year.
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