Page 102 - Mind, Body & Spirit Number 104 2020/21

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HQ Warminster Garrison is a complex environment responsible for the delivery of physical training and testing for Special Weapons School (SWS), snipers, mortars,
machine guns and anti-tanks promotion courses. Reconnaissance and Armoured Tactics Division, armoured cavalry, light cavalry and recce promotion courses. All of this is conducted alongside the primary role of physical development support to Warminster Garrison and various lodger units, including Land Warfare Centre (LWC), Infantry Trials and Development Unit, Collective Training Group (CTG), HQ Small Arms School Corps (SASC), HQ Infantry, Junior Staff Centre (JSC) and many others.
The COVID pandemic brought many changes to how we delivered our physical training capability, moving all sessions outdoors, adopting social distance measures and not sharing any physical training equipment. However, this enabled a reinvigoration of the physical training programme. SWS course physical training adopted a more bespoke approach, delivering isometric, eccentric and concentric training using individual’s military issue equipment (bergans, daysack, etc), to facilitate load. Off feet conditioning elements (assault bikes, ski-erg etc) were replaced with drags, crawls and agility exercises. All preparation and progressions for the programme were implemented, focused on the objective of SWS course personnel, carrying their special weapons systems and equipment (mortars, machine guns, anti-tanks and snipers) over the undulating terrain of Pen-Y-Fan, Brecon, Wales.
Wider Garrison roles gave me the opportunity to deliver an outdoor training area and to assist the LWC SO2 PD Maj Lundie, procuring deployable physical training equipment (Beaverfit FOB Lockers)
Inter Services Fixture Army v RAF
via the Leidos E-Cat system to support LWC Operating Groups (CAST South, Warminster, CAST Germany and BATSUB, Belize) physical training, delivery and capability outputs.
On the sporting front I continued my role as a player coach for the Army Men’s Senior Representative Football Team. We managed to play the Royal Air Force in the annual Inter Services Competition, at Shrewsbury Town FC, where we were victorious winning the fixture 1-0. However, due to the national lockdown we were unable to fulfil our fixture against the Royal Navy, subsequently meaning the competition was determined null and void.
Outdoor Beaverfit Trg
LWC
HQ WARMINSTER GARRISON
WO2 (QMSI) K Emmerson RAPTC
SWS Course carrying specialist equipment over Pen-Y-Fan
LWC Deployable PTE FOB Locker