HMS Lancaster By Sub Lieutenant Elliot Marples


The Adjutant General’s Corps had the honour of parading the freedom of the city in Winchester and it was HMS Lancaster’s honour to be invited to participate. Sub-Lieutenant (SLt) Jasper Salisbury and myself; had the immense privilege of being guests at this year’s event, but why would the AGC invite two junior officers from a Royal Navy ship deployed in the Middle East to attend this prestigious event?


T


he answer is simply to forge stronger ties between the ship and the Corps as the two are affiliated. Such an opportunity to forge these ties is especially important as HMS Lancaster transitions into the forward deployed Type 23 Frigate of the Royal Navy. This means that as well as being sent halfway around the world for a deployment spanning a couple of years, the ship is also home to two crews.


SLt Salisbury and I form a part of what is known as Port Crew; some 190 of us who are currently in the UK but not for much longer. In December we will be deployed to Bahrain to relieve Starboard Crew who had the


task of sailing the ship from her home port in Portsmouth to the Persian Gulf. Once in place, our ongoing tasking will be to conduct maritime security operations in the Gulf. This includes protecting shipping in the vicinity of Iran and


through the Strait of Hormuz and conducting boarding operations to counter the smuggling of narcotics and arms. Port and Starboard Crews rotate every four months, ensuring the sustainability of our workforce and the enduring commitment to stability in the region.


AGC JOURNAL 2022 35


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