Inters Continues

There is a great deal of things to tell you and not a lot of time to tell them but i'll do my best.

We have entered was is commonly known as Faraday Stretch which is the 5 weeks between the end of First Encounter and Druids Ridge (our next big exercise) which basically involves a great deal of academic work in Faraday Hall. Combined with this academic work there is a mix of range work, PT, lots of orders and combat estimate practice as well as copious amounts of drink.

We had our regimental visits last week which again gave us an opportunity to visit our choice of arm and to make final decisions as to which are going to be our firm first and second choice. I decided to go away with the Army Air Corps for my final visit to a squadron based in Dishforth. The day began with the announcement that we wouldn't be leaving till 1300 which was strange considering that it was at least a 5 hour drive to get to North Yorkshire, which lead us to believe that we would arrive just in time to eat, have a few drinks in the bar, go to bed to then get up early the next morning only to have to leave pretty sharpish to get back in time for Academy Sports training. But at the last possible moment the AAC rep at Sandhurst informed us that they were flying two Lynx helicopters to pick us up from Sandhurst to take us there. The visit was a great opportunity to see how a regular squadron is run and meet another group of officers and NCOs to further our knowledge of the Corps. They were then kind enough to drop us back off the following morning. It took a 5 hour drive down to an hour and a half flight. Winner!

The View From My Window

We have also been training hard for our upcoming orders test which is this Thursday called Practac. But I think the platoon is more than ready to pass it.

I was also lucky enough on the weeks just gone to attend my old OTC annual dinner in Cambridge, which was absolutely fantastic. It was great seeing old and new faces and gave me a chance to let my hair down with good company, as well as have a good amount of drink. Thanks to everyone for an absolutely amazing night.

On that note I would like to let my old shooting coach Stewart Smart know that I had my Annual Combat Marksmanship Test this week which I not only passed but obtained the Marksman Badge (affectionately named the Crow Badge). Without you Stew that wouldn't have been possible.

On another positive note one of my Choices of Arms has offered me a place at the Regimental Selection Boards, so I now only have to wait for my other choice and I'm all set.

I've still got a couple of weeks of Faraday Stretch to enjoy then I'm on exercise again, so watch this space.

Thanks to anyone who is still reading this!

Inters - Week 3

Hello again,

Spent week 2 doing a variety of training, including an extreme amount of CBRN training getting ready for the upcoming exercise in week 3, lots of range training as well as a bit of PT and the normal class room lectures. We spent a cold wet day on the training area doing a TEWT (tactical exercise without troops) practicing the orders process as well as the seven questions. It was an informative week and a usual period of time to practice the skills we hadn't done in a while. On the Saturday morning we then taken to the respirator testing facility, where we kitted up and were exposed to CS gas. Proving to us that the respirators function correctly. Then to ensure that we were aware of the effects of CS gas we were then forced to remove our mask, state our name rank and number, as well as any obscure questions the colour sergeants wanted to ask us before being let out. I can honestly say it was one of the worst things I have ever had to do. You cannot describe the fear you have when you struggle to gasp for air. But luckily the effects wear off after a few minutes once out of the chamber. We then spent the rest of the weekend getting ready for the exercise.

We woke up at 0300hrs on Monday morning, had some breakfast, collected our weapons and got the coach headed for Stanta Training Area in Thetford. We arrived at around 0900 and began digging almost immediately. The purpose of the exercise is to teach you the intricacies of defensive operations. Which basically involved digging a series of tranches providing security to a forward operating base in the centre. Each trench was dug by 4 men, meaning that there were 8 trenches per platoon. Another aspect of the exercise is to apply pressure to the situation using sleep deprivation. So we dug non-stop from early Monday morning until around 0200 on Thursday morning with no sleep. We were then given 4 hours enforced rest, woke up and continued digging. It was on the morning of the thursday that we were attacked for the first time, using a chemical attack, which meant we had to don our respirators and fight the enemy in full CBRN kit. The whole time being sprayed with CS gas from the colour sergeants. It was only a short attack and gave us a bit of a break from the digging which we got straight back to and finished off what was needed. The evening of the Thursday we ventured out to conduct a platoon attack on an enemy defensive position which went really well and conducted a tabbed march with full respirator kit which was quite emotional. That night we were then able to get a couple of hours of much needed sleep. We woke up on the friday morning to a full assault from the enemy, which for our platoon was quite boring as the attack came from the opposite side leaving us a little useless. But the event was exciting enough and we were used as the casualty evacuation group which was interesting in respirators. Once the attack finished we then spent the rest of friday, digging up the trenches, removing the corrugated iron and then refilling and re-turfing the positions. The exercise wasn't massively mentally challenging just one of the most tiring and exhausting exercises I've ever done. I think I can safely say that we are all glad that it is over.

Now that I have the real internet I can add some pictures to my posts.

Thats all for now!

Rob x

Inters - Day 7

Spent the first half of this week being introduced to New College and the way thing work around here. We've been kept busy sorting out the accommodation and and getting ready for the coming inspections.

We then deployed onto exercise Royal Return which was a 2 day shake out exercise to blow away the cobwebs and get use to living in the field again. We woke up at 5am on Wednesday, had no sleep until we returned at 3am on Friday, we were then graciously given 3 hours sleep until we had to be up for a full day on the ranges. Needless to say everyone was absolutely knackered and caught up on some much needed sleep on Friday evening.

On the exercise I was platoon commander for one of the attacks, which I was pretty nervous about initially, but after we got into it I thought that I did very well, which my command position debrief concurred with.

Unfortunately for one of the guys in our platoon his alarm clock didn't wake him up on Friday morning, and when he finally awoke, realising it was midday his entire world came crashing down around him. Luckily for him they were feeling generous and onl gave him a week of extra duties. Which sounds a lot but it could have been much worse believe me.

This weekend we had some lessons on defensive operations in preparation for Exercise First Encounter which we have in a couple of weeks time. More about that to follow. We managed to get some sport in and had our Academy Sunday church parade this morning and spent the rest of the day getting ready for an inspection tomorrow morning. I'm still shattered and have a feeling that this week is going to be just as busy, but we'll get through it, we always do.

We are starting to be treated more as officers now, allowing us to take control of the day to day stuff and allowing us to have a part in decisions. However this freedom brings more responsibility, which I think is a little daunting but also a great opportunity to build confidence.

Thats all for now. Hope everyone is doing well, and isn't getting bored of my posts yet.

Rob x

Sorry for the Delay - Inters Day 1

Who would have thought I would have survived to see the start of Inters, but here I am. It’s been a while since my last post so this will probably be a long one. Since my last post we have done a huge amount. The final few weeks of juniors was a combination of emotions. I spent the majority of week 12 worrying about exercise Crychans Challenge which we were due to go on in week 13. Not only because of the assessment and scrutiny we are going to be under but also because of the horrific weather forecast that is due for Wales. We also spent the last two days of week 12 of exercise Second attack which was more for us to get back into the rhythm of field exercises as well as a chance to experience the cole. Despite the coldness I was able to get an awful lot from it, which left me feeling a little better about Crychans.

Week 13 started at 0330 on Monday morning and I don’t think I’ve ever been dreading an exercise as much as I was that morning. We arrived at the training area to a foot and a half of snow and sub zero temperatures. However we kept as busy as possible to fight the cold and tiredness. The exercise was spent conducting platoon advance to contacts, recce patrols and fighting patrols, which I will admit got a little tedious after a while, but it gave everyone a chance to command in a variety of roles, from 2IC all the way to platoon commander. The exercise culminated with a final attack early in the morning on the Friday for which I was the section commander for the point section for the entire company. The responsibility was high but so were the rewards for a job well done. Once we had finished the attack we rushed back to the buses or ‘white angels’ as we call them, and after a bit of admin we jumped on and instantly fell asleep all the way back to Sandhurst. It was a tough exercise but definitely gave us a real sense of achievement. Even if the temperature did get as cold as -14 degree in the night.

Most of week 14 was spent administering ourselves ready for the move to inters, mostly cleaning and handing in kit as well as boxing up our stuff that was to move to the new accommodation. The had the sovereigns’ banner steeple chance on the Thursday which wasn’t too bad as well as a PFT to see how our fitness had improved (greatly in some cases). And on the Friday we got dressed up and watched the Sovereigns Parade, and saw the Senior term pass out. Which gave us all something to look forward to. We were then due to leave on a mountain leader course for out first week of leave which was unfortunately cancelled due to the weather, which did give us an extra week at home for Christmas.

So here I am now, sat in my new room in New College, day 1 of Inters and I am already absolutely knackered. We’ve had a busy day including a fitness test to ensure we haven’t let ourselves go over the break as well as a mountain of administration tasks ready for a 2 day exercise we leave for on Wednesday night. We have got a visit to Shrivenham tomorrow to see some weapons demonstrations which should be good, but I don’t think anyone is really looking forward to the exercise the day after.

I’m not going to lie it is a little depressing being back after 3 weeks off but I’m back with the guys and once this exercise is done we can really get back into the training again. Not to mention taking a much opportunity to laugh at the new Junior term running around in their boiler suits, thinking it could be worse.

Thanks for reading!

Rob xx

Day 73 - decisions decisions...

Right, where to start. Started last week with our junior navigation exercise which we were all a bit nervous about, I certainly was, due to the fact that it was pass or fail, the latter resulting in a retest and a back term. I had a good go at it and came out with a decent score (3rd in the platoon). Unfortunately the platoons average score was very poor putting us in a bad position in the soviergns banner competition. Which our colour sergeant screamed at us all of that night.

We have also been getting heavily involved with DIA and war studies. getting our nose into academics. That combined with the PT sessions as well as the weighted marches have been keeping us busy.

We spent a couple of days last week getting through our initial marksmanship tests. I managed to pass with some decent scores.

I am currently sitting on the bus half way through a regimental visit to the Royal Military Police. We spent the morning on Bulford looking at the GPD (general police duties) section and the SIB (special investigation branch). It's been really informative, not to mention a good break from the Sandhurst bullshit. We get back tomorrow lunch tine which will be nice.

Can't remember what I've got this week, but I'll let you know asap.

Rob x

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Day 62 - time flys...

Hello all! It's strange how quickly this last few days have gone. The first 5 weeks were dreadfully slow, however the last 4 have gone in a flash.

We are currently finishing week 9 which leaves only 5 more of this term. There has been an incredible amount of stuff going on so I won't have time to tell you all of it.

The level of PT is ever increasing, ranging from swimming, cardiovascular, running and circuit sessions. All of which leave you thoroughly knackered. Our ever popular weighted tabs have ramped up a little too. We had a 6 mile 18kg tab yesterday and a 6 mile 20kg tab tomorrow.

We have also been working hard on learning the combat estimate and the seven questions, in preparation for delivering orders. And we got our first chance to practise this on exercise deliberate strike which happened on Wednesday. Luckily the rain held off leaving a bitterly cold day, planning a platoon level attack that we would carry out as part of a wider company attack, later that day.

We also got our second long weekend which I spent with my mum and went to a motor show on the Sunday with my dad. Coming back after a relaxing weekend is still one of the hardest things to face here.

We are also busy planning a variety of events that are due to happen in the coming weeks including a platoon social, a company dinner night, company sports and the company skits night which I have been put in charge of. For those who don't know a skit is a play where we have the opportunity to take the piss out of the directing staff without fear of discipline. Ours is shaping up to be pretty borderline contraversial. We have also just been told of our junior navigation exercise competition that happens on Monday.

Another interesting subject we have started is called defence and international affairs which is interesting and a nice change from the physical aspects of the course. Teaching us everything from military doctrine to the laws of armed conflict. We have also been set our commondants war studies essay which we are to finish by next term, another chance to exercise our brains.

There is far too much to say so I won't bore you any more. All that is left to say is I'm thinking of you all, and hope to see you soon.

Also you are useless at sending me these pictures guys! Sort it out!

Night night.

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Day 50 - progress made

So another week has passed since my last message so there should hopefully be lots to talk about.

Since returning from long reach the PT has ramped up a fair amount with PT Monday, double PT Tuesday, loaded march and PT on Wednesday with academy sports in the afternoon. We then had exercise first attack on Friday which was a full day of section attacks one after another, which was the best day I've had so far.

We returned thoroughly knackered and were 'volunteered' to do an inter company sports competition on the Saturday. I was lucky enough to in the cross country team, pffft. Saying that I did enjoy myself, I did the 6.3 mile course in 43 minutes which isn't too bad I suppose.

Sunday came round and we had Old College Sunday where our parents were invited to come and see what we do, and to have the chance to show off a little. We got dressed up, did some stands, chapel and a march past. It was a great day. We went out as a family to cinema but I fell asleep through most of it so I can't tell you what the film was about.

I went to bed at 2030 that night which was epic.

Yesterday we had a full day of range shooting, and today is all about the 7 questions and orders. Tonight I've been invited for drinks with the Royal Military Police which should be good.

We also had our progress board invterviews last week where we were told how well we are doing. The platoon is split up into the top, middle and bottom thirds. And I'm relieved that I am in the top third.

Anyway I've got to get back to lessons. Speak to you all soon!

Rob x

P.s I'm still waiting for you to send me some photos!

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