After the battalions busy last year, this year was set to be one for relaxing and popping off here there and everywhere overseas. Most of the platoon ended up deploying on last years Sierra Leone operation. This was either for signaling purposes or that of an instructional capacity. It was a great experience and to top it all, we had a suntan for Christmas, courtesy of Her Majesty.

As the overseas exercises and other commitments approached, the platoon was quickly spread to the four winds. Ever adaptable, as signalers have to be, they occasionally found themselves double hatted. This was in order to provide full detachments to all four companies. Then arrived the Oman experience. C Company detachment deployed out and must have worked exceptionally hard, to achieve their suntan that is. A signals detachment consisting of Cpl Weldrand, (now Sgt), LCpl Batty, Pte's Brooks, Stiff, (now LCpl) and Walker deployed to Oman in February. Although the barren landscape should have made the signaling easy, the fact that Cpl Weldrand forgot the Antenna elements, made the task somewhat harder, still everyone can make mistakes sometimes, some more than others. A somewhat demanding exercise in the first few weeks, with the acclimatization and training in weather fit for camels. The training was finished off with a weeks adventurous training run by Maj Stainthorpe, QMSI and LCpl Batty. The latter forgetting he was part of the signals detachment and staying by the sea for 6 weeks. A final exercise of four days and sleep deprivation was a good learning curve providing much needed training for the signals detachment. Sadly on return the only place most of them showed their tans was Cumbria. Post exercise leave was postponed, whilst they deployed to cover the foot and mouth crisis.

At the start of the foot and mouth crisis, the RSWO and a small number of signalers deployed to Carlisle to set up an operations center. Ten days later they returned with news that we were all expected to deploy very shortly. It was at this point a number of smiles disappeared from certain faces. Having carried out the task in hand the platoon returned to Chester and sat tentatively waiting for the next task.

A Company detachment, having not deployed to Cumbria, were all excited as they were off on the Jamaica exercise. Once again great envy went with them as we suffered the good old English weather. You can imagine the sound of laughter when we heard that they were pulled out of the jungle due to bad weather, well it had to rain sometime. A company signals detachment deployed to Jamaica on exercise Red Stripe. They were deployed in a place called Port Antonio. The sigs det consisted of 4 men: Cpls Hyde and Glasgow, LCpl Brook (now Cpl) and Pte McWilliams. They were required to provide an ops room for the duration of the company training, which included a range package, a jungle school and adventure training. Most of the comms used were Hf as the terrain was mainly jungle and over long distances. The section commander's radios were up-graded from PRC 349 to PRC 351 to account for the distance and conditions. LCpl Brook stayed in the jungle for 21 days to provide the jungle school with comms back to base location. Cpl Glasgow set up and provided comms each day for the range safety nets and was sole in charge of the range sentries. Cpl Hyde and Pte McWilliams Provided the back bone of communications in the ops room. As for the FTX the 2 Cpls manned the ops room to provide a rear link and control station, Pte McWilliams excelled him self and proved to be a more than capable OCs signaller, by providing him comms, and the dets "gameboy" throughout the FTX.

On return from Jamaica the detachment and Cpl Taylor were deployed to Scotland to cover the Tactics phase of the leadership cadre. A phase that certain members of the platoon carried out and as a result Ptes' Jobling and Kaye were promoted on the last board, along with the long awaited promotion of Pte Stiff. We also saw the promotion of LCpl Brook to Cpl, so our congratulations go to all individuals involved. Just proving that signals is still the place to be for promotion. (Hint Hint) The Signal platoon now finds itself back with HQ Company, after just short of a year away. As a result of the move we lost Sgt Weldrand to a SP Company multiple, which meant Cpl Taylors' job remained safe as Pl Sgt. Also we regained Cpl Nicholson, who replaced Sgt Baker as the IT rep, a job that is now associated with the platoon. I suppose there is always a down side to every move. Only joking its nice to have the old faces back.

As well as the platoon move we also saw the move of certain individuals. Sgt Baker and Pte Gower both discharged from the Army for medical reasons and Pte Peel who terminated. They will all be missed for different reasons, as for Pte Peel, now the terminator has gone, maybe retention will stand a chance again. Also Sgt "Chuckle-brother" Wyrill has moved off to ACIO Hull, after carrying out a Handover of the store. He couldn't grasp that it was just to me, not: to me, to you, to me. Welcome back to Cpl Scanlon, who returns from ITC Glencourse, after an extremely short two years, about 8 months I think. Finally the platoon is beginning to grow in size. With the dispersal of C Company we inherit Ptes' Maxwell, Pepper and Wright and from ITC we have the new face of young Pte Marlow. I have no doubt that all four will be fully trained and chomping at the bit prior to Omagh. We all look forward to the end of August when finally the empty RSO seat will be filled by the return of Capt Thirsk from his 11 week course. Welcome to all the new comers and good luck to them, as a platoon, with the forth-coming tour of Omagh.