Page 74 - The Cormorant Issue 14

Realities of Conflict
By Wg Cdr Jamie Osborne
On the 31st May 2011, ACSC 14 students began their week of lectures pertaining to the Realities of Conflict. The stage was set for what, it was hoped, would be a scintillating and eye-opening perspective from those who had partaken in previous conflicts, predominantly the Falklands campaign. We were not to be dis- appointed! Having opened the week’s lectures with a thought provoking and in depth analysis of the human dimensions of conflict, Major General (Retired) Julian Thompson, paved the way for an excellent set of lectures. He took us on an insightful tour through the American civil war and then onwards through the tribulations of a teenage naval officer during the First World War who had informed his grandmother that his ship had been torpe- doed, he had been rescued, torpedoed and then rescued once again, all in the space of twenty four hours. Despite the tone of his note, which was similar to that which one would expect after an adventurous school trip, the vast differences between experi- ences of conflict was ably demonstrated.
The following lectures from retired officers, Brigadier Ian Gar- diner, Captains Chris Wreford-Brown RN and Nicholas Tobin RN brought the course into the heart of the Falklands Conflict. The obvious comparisons of distance and logistical requirements were made to the current operations in Afghanistan and Libya, but the truly joint nature of Land, Sea and Air coming together gave us a prism through which to view war. Having become accustomed to operations which take place under friendly air superiority, it was sobering to hear from Captain Tobin and the unenviable situation which faced him with an unexploded 1000lb bomb coming to rest deep inside his ship. This experience con- trasted starkly with those of Captain Wreford-Brown and Briga- dier Gardiner, who commanded submarines and Royal Marine units respectively, in the Falklands. Frustration, ambiguity and a need for realistic and relevant training were the common themes
The Purple Ball 2011
By Wg Cdr Sue Jarvis
When the opportunity to run the Purple Ball 2011 was offered only 2 weeks into the course, I thought that it looked like a fun project to take on in my spare time on the course. As I had organised many military events before, including 3 Summer Balls it seemed fairly straight forward, just on a slightly larger
that served as useful handholds for the audience to draw out their own experiences in contemporary operations.
But perhaps the most poignant and significant lecture was deliv- ered by Major Peter Norton who survived after stepping on an IED in Iraq. His completely honest appraisal of everything from the initial heat and noise of the blast, his loss of memory thereafter and the process of rehabilitation after his arm and leg were ampu- tated, brought home to all of us the battle that is faced by many once hostilities have ended. Major Norton’s elegant explanation of his feelings of isolation from his home unit following his injuries sharply focused our attention, as future commanders, on ensur- ing that we care for those who are temporarily part of non-formed units on operations. Although the previous speakers had cov- ered the harsh, and hugely varied, experiences of the battle itself, Major Norton’s talk also highlighted the turbulence that can be felt by families of servicemen who are uprooted from their own sup- port networks in order to satisfy housing regulations. As future commanders, the message was clear. In some circumstances the rule book doesn’t make any sense and it is, therefore, our irrefutable duty to ensure that the needs of our subordinates, and their families, are taken into account intelligently.
The Realities of Conflict phase highlighted to all of the students present, that despite our collective experiences in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, we have not been exposed to every facet of war and never will be. Conflict is a human, and therefore entirely personal, experience for every indi- vidual involved. Listening to and empathising with the experi- ences of other veterans provided a valuable lesson: we must prepare as well as we can for conflict while simultaneously put- ting in place contingency measures for our people to recover from the effects of war.
scale with 1250 guests and a budget of nearly £150K. I was duly selected for the post and my Executive Officer, Commander Steve Moorhouse, was selected at the same time. We were left to choose our committee from the spreadsheet of volunteers for our posts and after wading through a long list of what appeared
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