Post by aghart on May 2, 2012 20:03:14 GMT
17 members were present for the May 2012 meeting. Final call was made for those wishing to attend the Nottingham branch memorial service at the National Memorial Arboretum on June 13th.
We were able to confirm that the branch will visit the CIS (signal) school at Bovington on Tuesday 10th July 2012. Having Gareth Davies as the CO of the school does help! Thanks Gareth. The branch is attempting to get a grant from a military charity to cover the costs of a branch weekend trip to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire during August 2012. An update was given and a decision is expected soon.
Members were reminded that due to the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday long weekend, there will be no branch meeting in June, and the July meeting will be the AGM with the Regimental Colonel as guest speaker.
The Chairman then closed the meeting and introduced the guest speaker, Sgt Bill Haley 1 RTR currently on extended service and serving at the D&M School Bovington. Bill brought along Sgt Carl Cordory 2 RTR as “back up”.
Bill gave us a rundown on the Junior Commanders Course. This is not the AFV Crew Commanders course that you may remember from days gone by. This course basically combines what was the J/NCO cadre course and Dvr/Gnr Mech/Con Sig courses, to provide a single course which is designed to qualify L/Cpl’s to be able to command vehicles if needed and to prepare them as stand in junior commanders. Some senior Tpr’s may get on the course as may some Cpl’s who somehow got “missed” previously. The course is held at Bovington, takes 50 students a time and combines soldiers from both Armoured and Armoured Recce regiments. Units usually provide students with some form of “pre course preparation” before they embark on the course.
Week 1 gets them to make presentations and build confidence in themselves. There is a lot of infantry work involved which is one of the more alien developments in the RAC from the cold war days. Exercise Dragon Lance lasts a week and the students are almost “honoury Ghurkas” by this point due to living with the elements bit. They also team up with the Sgt’s course where they learn to be section 2I/c. Even RAC senior ranks are running round with guns, bullets and bayonets!
The first module is the J/NCO cadre course bit after which module 2 is the class one crewman part of the course. They do a week on the signals phase, and then do a 9 day D&M phase where they get to supervise track changes, learn to guide vehicles on the ground and on/off low loaders. They finish with a 2 day exercise and then go to do gunnery for 6 weeks or so. This involves Commander/supervisor duties and a range package. Bill emphasised that today you have to be qualified to do anything in the army, the days of a Tpr jumping in the commanders seat to help move a vehicle are gone forever. If you aint qualified you “don’t”. Mech courses are now gone and after this package you could move onto the instructors course. With signals however it seems there is an “advanced” course prior to the signals instructor course.
Hopefully this is a reasonably accurate description; I was trying to make notes while wearing the wrong glasses and drink my beer as well, multi-tasking? I hate it.
Many questions flowed and Bill was happy to answer all that were fired at him. Another successful branch meeting.
We were able to confirm that the branch will visit the CIS (signal) school at Bovington on Tuesday 10th July 2012. Having Gareth Davies as the CO of the school does help! Thanks Gareth. The branch is attempting to get a grant from a military charity to cover the costs of a branch weekend trip to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire during August 2012. An update was given and a decision is expected soon.
Members were reminded that due to the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday long weekend, there will be no branch meeting in June, and the July meeting will be the AGM with the Regimental Colonel as guest speaker.
The Chairman then closed the meeting and introduced the guest speaker, Sgt Bill Haley 1 RTR currently on extended service and serving at the D&M School Bovington. Bill brought along Sgt Carl Cordory 2 RTR as “back up”.
Bill gave us a rundown on the Junior Commanders Course. This is not the AFV Crew Commanders course that you may remember from days gone by. This course basically combines what was the J/NCO cadre course and Dvr/Gnr Mech/Con Sig courses, to provide a single course which is designed to qualify L/Cpl’s to be able to command vehicles if needed and to prepare them as stand in junior commanders. Some senior Tpr’s may get on the course as may some Cpl’s who somehow got “missed” previously. The course is held at Bovington, takes 50 students a time and combines soldiers from both Armoured and Armoured Recce regiments. Units usually provide students with some form of “pre course preparation” before they embark on the course.
Week 1 gets them to make presentations and build confidence in themselves. There is a lot of infantry work involved which is one of the more alien developments in the RAC from the cold war days. Exercise Dragon Lance lasts a week and the students are almost “honoury Ghurkas” by this point due to living with the elements bit. They also team up with the Sgt’s course where they learn to be section 2I/c. Even RAC senior ranks are running round with guns, bullets and bayonets!
The first module is the J/NCO cadre course bit after which module 2 is the class one crewman part of the course. They do a week on the signals phase, and then do a 9 day D&M phase where they get to supervise track changes, learn to guide vehicles on the ground and on/off low loaders. They finish with a 2 day exercise and then go to do gunnery for 6 weeks or so. This involves Commander/supervisor duties and a range package. Bill emphasised that today you have to be qualified to do anything in the army, the days of a Tpr jumping in the commanders seat to help move a vehicle are gone forever. If you aint qualified you “don’t”. Mech courses are now gone and after this package you could move onto the instructors course. With signals however it seems there is an “advanced” course prior to the signals instructor course.
Hopefully this is a reasonably accurate description; I was trying to make notes while wearing the wrong glasses and drink my beer as well, multi-tasking? I hate it.
Many questions flowed and Bill was happy to answer all that were fired at him. Another successful branch meeting.