The Queen’s Own Yeomanry (QOY) have spent part of the winter honing their military skills on Exercise Rising Fox.
Normally based across the North of England, the Army Reserve light cavalry unit took advantage of the terrain on offer across Kirkcudbright Training Area, which proved perfect for reconnaissance-related practices.
Major Evans, who took a leading role during the drills, said: “Reconnaissance is all about being able to get the right information back to the right people at the right time. This is us returning to our core business.”
On operations, QOY personnel could be tasked with getting close to the enemy, without alerting them to the presence of friendly forces, and reporting findings back to troops further back.
However, in the event of their position being compromised, the unit packs a punch and is always prepared to fight back when the situation requires it.
Exercise Rising Fox saw the QOY practice both elements of this scenario: reconnaissance of suspected ‘enemy’ activity and actions on the situation transforming into a firefight.
It’s all about that ability to think for yourself Major Evans
Major Evans said: “This is our opportunity to come together as a regiment, with all four squadrons from Newcastle, York, Chester, and Wigan, and actually do our job.
“Light cavalry is all about independence of thought and courage as a commander. I want my troop leaders to take my orders, vanish off into the undergrowth for five days, and report back to me. It’s all about that ability to think for yourself.”
The integration of the Army Reserve with their regular comrades is a key tenet of the Future Soldier programme; this makes training packages like this so important in the long term.
Balancing their Reservist roles with civilian jobs and home lives, most of the QOY will now enjoy a period of relaxation over Christmas before getting straight back into the action in 2022.