Brigadier David Cullen.

By David Falcke

AMESBURY man, Brigadier David Cullen, has recently taken over as the new Commander of 12 Mechanised Brigade.

Arriving in November as his units returned from operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, he is now faced with the task of preparing the brigade for another round of operations planned for early 2009.

"We have a very compressed training period in which to recharge batteries after recent ops," he said.

"We have to rebuild base capabilities and get ourselves into a position where we can deploy again in an environment that is changing all the time."

"The tempo of deployments is still pretty intense, and we are asking a lot of our soldiers and their families, and thankfully, they are still delivering."

"It is putting an enormous strain on our families and focus has increasingly got to be beyond them to ensure that we are attending to their needs - this includes the wider family beyond the quarters and garrison."

The pressure on what the army calls field force units' continues to grow as the hoped for reductions in troop levels in Iraq have yet to be realised. This, as Brigadier David explained, means that the recommended interval between tours will not be met.

"The squadron of KRH that have just returned from Afghanistan will deploy with the brigade in early 2009, so they will only have a 12-month tour interval," he explained. The brigade which currently has units around the country will concentrate on the Plain in the coming years.

"Increasingly our focus will become Salisbury when, by the end of next year, we gain 4 Battalion REME and 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, which are joining the Garrison. We will gradually be raising our profile in the local community, and I sense that there is an appetite for it here in a community that has such a long heritage and history with the military."

Married to Helen, who is a teacher at Christ the King RC Primary School in Amesbury, they have a son who completed his A Level at Bishop's Wordsworth, and is now studying Veterinary Science at Bristol University, and a daughter at Wiltshire College doing her A Levels.

His parents are residents of Amesbury, where they have lived for over 20 years.

11:42am Thursday 1st May 2008

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