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Iwas assigned to the 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (7 RHA) in October 23, and within 4 days
of arriving I was straight out the door, deploying out to Oman on Exercise PEGASUS AMARANTE for 5 weeks - ‘Hitting the ground running in true 16 Brigade fashion.’
The Regiment remain embedded within 16 Air Assault BrigadeCombat Team, providing rapid strike assets on contingency operations and training missions. This requires a high level of physical fitness and mental robustness which the Regiment wholly prides itself on. Both Officers and Soldiers alike uphold these standards and lead from the front in all aspects. One of the biggest commitments as an RAPTCI in 16 Brigade is the vital output of the All Arms Pre- Parachute Selection (AAPPS) 8-week
SSgt (SSI) A Ferreira taking a loaded march for 16 Bde Unit Conditioning Course (UCC)
SSgt (SSI) A Ferreira RAPTC
conditioning courses, these are ran back- to-back all year round to prepare Service Personnel (SP) for the rigours of P-Coy. On the most recent AAPPS, a record number of SP from the Regiment passed P-Coy which hasn’t been replicated for several years.
Another huge success/win was the active engagement and communication with Army Headquarters to be the first Regiment in the British Army to trial 8 sets of fully customised Deployable Physical Training Equipment Pods for use whilst deployed on exercise or overseas. Trialling this kit will not only benefit the troops, but also help shape the future of the British Army’s RAPTCIs forward capability on Ops and overseas exercises.
2024’s calendar is another extremely busy one, which will see the Regiment spread
over numerous commitments culminating in a multi-Nation exercise in Germany this summer on Exercise CYPHER STRIKE, involving German and American counterparts.
Alongside the day-to-day running of unit business, I have held the British Army Warrior Fitness (BAWF) Secretary regional appointment for LONDIST, 16 Brigade and Midlands Region for several years. Planning and overseeing the smooth running of 9 highly successful BAWF events throughout each season. Although BAWF doesn’t hold official Army Sport status it seems to be the Sport of choice and is very much on trend, growing exponentially over recent years with a huge cult following of fitness enthusiasts across the Army.
7TH PARACHUTE REGIMENT ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY
Members of the Regiment Playing Football in Oman on Ex PEGASUS AMARANTE
SSgt (SSI) A Ferreira and 7 PARA RHA Gym staff delivering Members of 7 PARA RHA competing the GOCs BAWF competition at a Regional BAWF event