Page 26 - Mind, Body & Spirit Number 104 2020/21

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www.raptcassociation.org.uk
29 COMMANDO REGIMENT ROYAL ARTILLERY
SSgt (SSI) P Dodds RAPTC & SSgt (SSI) N Craven RAPTC ERI
29 Commando Regiment is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army’s Royal Artillery, based in Plymouth, in The Royal Citadel. The Regiment is under the operational control
of 3 Commando Brigade, to which it provides artillery support and gunnery observation, holding a unique capability within the RA and providing an offensive support to 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines. We are held at Very High Readiness and we specialise in amphibious operations, mountain, desert, jungle and arctic warfare, routinely deploying around the world and to several different environments.
• Arctic (Norway)
• Temperate (UK and America)
• Desert (Oman)
• Jungle (Brunei, Belize, Singapore)
Training soldiers ready for the All Arms Commando Course (AACC) is one of the Regiments main efforts, potential commandos arrive to us from Larkhill, where they embark on the journey of becoming an Army Commando. Here we aim to set you up for success, we have the facilities required to train and prepare you to pass the course. The Regiment have a Commando Training Wing which prepare the potential commandos, running a foundation programme within the Royal Citadel and Okehampton
Battle Camp which is a perfect setting for harnessing and homing in the commando elements of the course. The REME Cdo WKSP run a ‘Commando Familiarisation’ package which incorporates a general overview of key elements of the course, topics include, fieldcraft, navigation, survival skills, high confidence assessments at the infamous Fogin Tor and above all, the ability to operate in cold and wet environments.
The AACC is an arduous course held at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Lympstone, Devon, on completion of the course, you will be awarded both the Commando Green Beret and ‘Army Commando’ shoulder flashes (badges).
Although a lot of emphasis is put into preparing potential commandos to complete the AACC and prepare Commando trained personnel for deployments, we still find time to represent the Regiment and Corps in various sporting and adventurous pursuits.
In May 2020 – 29 Commando Charity Event – Bdr Best organised a 29-hour charity Endurance Running Event within The Royal Citadel. The event consisted of teams of
two SP running in one-hour shifts around the Battlements for 29 consecutive hours. This was a great success that featured in the local news and social media, raising, over £5,000 for NHS Plymouth hospitals charity.
In Sept 2020 – Army Sergeant Major Visit – Fantastic opportunity to welcome the WO1 Glen Haughton OBE to the Royal Citadel; an opportunity to showcase our value-based, purpose-driven culture. In exchange for his thoughts on leadership and empowerment.... we treated him to some commando Phys!
Although the annual Lympstone to Poole running event was cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Regiment decided to run an in-house bio secure bubble Jurassic Challenge event, led and organised by SSgt (SSI) Craven, four teams of 4-6 participants ran in partners from CTC Lympstone 88 miles along the SW coast over two days finishing at Poole. Some participants even tried to complete the entire distance as a solo effort, Sgt Amsbury came the closest to completing the full distance, but fatigue took over and he wrapped at the 79-mile point, GEDDON.
Commander Field Army Visit – Tue 15th Dec the Regiment hosted the CFA, Lt Gen I B L Jones CBE, it was a great opportunity to showcase the Regiments modernised Artillery capability ahead of the ‘Future Commando Force’ restructure, as well as for SSgt Craven to discuss important issues like MSKI, effective phase 2 candidate selection and AACC training. Understanding the modern-day teenager and the physical challenges they bring has aided our programme design, the potential within the individual has not changed, how we harness and develop that potential must always evolve (generational change) and 29 Regt are always willing to try new ideas.
The Regiment continues to take a proactive approach to injury prevention and supports ERI delivery on level 3 PT, which facilitates a proactive ERI rather than reactive one. This then enables niggles and or poor biomechanics that contribute to injury to be identified earlier and corrected before them becoming a more serious issue. Additionally, this has also meant that the typical Gunner is far more open minded about reporting to the rehabilitation centre for early expert intervention, the stigma of being ‘on the biff’ is slowly diminishing.
“United we Conquer”