Page 16 - LBV 2017

COMPANY TRAINING
A (Kimberley) Company
A COMPANY WEEKEND 1
‘I believe I can speak on behalf of the majority
of Officer Cadets when I say, that we turned up to the first training weekend of the year with little idea of what to expect.’
‘The primary aim of Mod Alpha is to bring every Cadet to a basic level of soldiering ability. By the end of the year, every Officer Cadet taking part, from the more experienced ex-school Cadets to the complete novices, should have mastered a range of skills’
OCdt Hindley,
University of East Anglia,
A (Kimberly) Company
‘The first training weekend was best described as a crash course to the organisation that
is the British Army, along with the CUOTC. There was an introduction to the Mess
(and mess games!) on the Saturday, topics
such as: Values and Standards; history of the CUOTC; kit maintenance; and correct wearing of military uniform, were introduced.’
‘In summary, it is fair to say that the weekend went very well indeed and, without a doubt, was well received by the new recruits. If they continue doing as well at picking up new skills, and remain as enthusiastic as they were that weekend, then CUOTC will gain a truly exceptional cadre of high achieving individuals who will make excellent potential commanders, JUOs and Officers.’
JUO Fonseka,
University of East Anglia,
A (Kimberly) Company
A COMPANY WEEKEND 2
‘As we gathered on the Friday evening we were nervous but excited at the prospect of our first night spent in the field. We had been told that we were in for a weekend of ‘aggressive camping’ where we would learn the basic soldiering skills that we would need to carry us forwards in our training.’
‘This involved learning how to set up a basha, learning how to move in the field, ranging
and sighting, the duties of a sentry and target indication amongst many other stands.’
OCdt Frewer,
University of East Anglia, A (Kimberly) Company
‘A Company’s second weekend focused on how to operate and survive in the field, and it was the first time that we had deployed to the field as a company. The weekend aimed to develop initial fieldwork skills, such as how to cook rations and other basic but essential soldiering skills.’
‘Despite the poor weather, the new officer cadets remained enthusiastic throughout the day.’ JUO Heward,
University of East Anglia,
A (Kimberly) Company
A COMPANY WEEKEND 3
‘Weekend 3 saw the officer cadets arrive at West Tofts camp for what could be said to be the most important part of any soldier or officer’s military training. Under the instruction of a number of NCOs from the Queen’s Division they were taught how to handle the SA80 rifle.’
‘They were shown the importance of staying off trails and given an understanding of how different terrain can impact not only the speed at which troops can move but how well they can approach a position undetected. They learnt key navigational skills such as how to use prominent features and hand railing techniques and ‘aiming off’ to a destination.’
JUO Carr,
University of East Anglia,
A (Kimberly) Company
‘After many of us forgetting dust covers, accidently pulling out the back pin too far and sending springs across the room, by lunch we had all succeeded in passing the test and performing all the procedures correctly. The practise period before the test was great fun.’
‘On Sunday we had our first navigation
JUOs Fonseka and Heward
14 THE LIGHT BLUE VOLUNTEER