Guest Editorial
Colonel Paul Johnson, Commander Equipment Support, 1st (United Kingdom) Division “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Ingenuity in Adversity: The Future of Equipment Support
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eing Commander Equipment Support is pretty good. For sure, there are some nervous moments when senior officers are asking difficult questions about the Division’s equipment availability. But I am fortunate to be supported by 1,500 engineers who give me the confidence that our kit is well looked after. Much of the time this confidence is instinctive, from meeting our people face-to-face on visits, and understanding their professionalism and dedication. But sometimes it comes from letters from Commanding Officers or Generals, singing the praises of our people at first and second line. Of course, our engineering ability features large, but the Division’s REME personnel also impress with their soldiering skills, ingenuity, cheerfulness, leadership and general ‘can do’ attitude. It is these skills we offer, even under trying circumstances, which I want to focus on.
Cpl O’Toole supports the national effort in COVID defence
6 craftsmaneditor@reme-rhq.org.uk
Two major events are happening as I pen this in April, causing me to reflect on the Corps’ abilities. The first is the impending funeral of our Colonel-in-Chief, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. Others will write about his long association with the Corps, but his broader attitude to engineering is worth considering. Instrumental in the formation of the Royal Academy of Engineering, he famously said that, “everything that wasn’t invented by God is invented by an engineer”. He also commented on the demands on global resources, “...somehow or other that balance, to try and fit as many people onto this globe as
5 Battalion deliver power pack repair from their new home in Lyneham
