Page 89 - Wish Stream Year of 2017

You’ll hear lots of ‘gen’ about EX SLIM’S STAND. It’s an exercise that fills officer cadets with equal parts anticipation, excitement, and dread. It’s a rite of passage since completing it is a significant hurdle in the Commissioning Course, so obviously people are keen to make the most of it; but I know everyone in 8 Platoon was at least a little apprehensive as we set off late on Saturday night.
We had heard all the stories from the seniors: you’ll dig until you fall asleep standing up, they gas you on the extraction TAB, and you’ll start hallucinating after the second day. Well, I’m happy to report – for any juniors
But it wasn’t all digging and sleep deprivation. Morale was sky high during a raid when we were provided with a chinook as transport for the insertion. Words like ‘loadmaster’ and ‘down- draft’ were getting thrown around in our ROC drills, and even the most tired among us was wide awake with excitement during the flight.
We came down to earth with something of a bump, as the next day the platoon completed its extraction TAB in full CBRN kit. It was one of the most physically demanding things I have ever done at Sandhurst. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one reminding myself of the words that our OC Maj
reading this - that it’s all true. Noth- ing at Sandhurst quite prepared me for the sight of a Colour Sergeant charging towards our trenches in four romeo carrying a gas canister destined to be sprayed in to the faces of any unsuspecting officer cadets. EX SLIM’S STAND really is an experience like nothing else.
Teamwork counts for a lot in that kind of environment.
Wendover tells us before every TAB on Barossa: ‘Everything comes to an end’. The extraction isn’t just a test of physi- cal endurance; it also tests skills and drills. If your CBRN kit isn’t correctly worn it’s all too easy to get a lung full of gas. It’s here that the buddy-buddy sys- tem we had practiced in lessons came in to play. You simply must be able to
Exercise SLIM’S STAND
Determination is a huge part of SLIM’S; the ability to keep working even when you’re tired, cold and sleep deprived is no small thing. It is designed to test us, and it did. I can think of no other exercise that has challenged my pla- toon like those 5 days in Norfolk. Put simply, it’s tough. You will have to dig deep, both liter- ally and metaphorically. We had to work harder than we ever had before, and I know we all had moments where the only thing that kept us going was the support of those around us. Adversity brings people together, and although it was hard work SLIM’S brought out the best in many of us.
The officer cadets of Commissioning Course 172 made the transition from Junior to Intermediate Term this autumn, and it brought with it more challenges, late nights and memories.
rely on each other to get your kit right. Teamwork counts for a lot in that kind of environment.
The key lessons learnt from SLIM’S are that individual effort is no substitute for good team- work, and that good administration in the field is a vital part of setting yourself up for success. Getting the little things right or wrong sets you up for success or failure. On a personal level I also learnt that the limits of my endurance go much further than I ever realised. Post ALLEN- BY’S it was clear that our level of individual skill had improved, but following SLIM’S it’s clear that those skills have enabled us to succeed as a team in demanding circumstances.
Inkerman Company
OCdt Smith
The term started with a busy exercise period that refreshed cadets on the lessons learnt from the Junior Term before moving to more complex scenarios that tested officer cadets’ knowledge on Offensive Action. This culminated
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