Page 72 - QDG Volume 9 No. 2 2021

70 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
Warfare Branch – Doctrine
‘The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears’ Gen James Mattis.
A posting to work in the doctrine engine of the army is, on the face of it a hard sell, it was to me. Four months into the job and I would recommend working in Warfare Development Doctrine to allcomers, it has proved an excellent place through which to develop professional knowl- edge, influence force development and is a place from which one can add real value to the Field Army and its soldiers. Coupled with an interesting job, Warmin- ster and the Land Warfare Centre remain a hub of activity with critical organisations such as Junior Staff College (now also owning JCSC(L)), Combined Arms Staff Trainer, Combined Staff Tactical Training Group and Directorate Land Warfare to name but a few. Warminster is also a great place to be, good phys options, great mess (the Infantry Mess is of a high standard (both in terms of service and infrastructure)), sadly now in the minority in the Army.
As with many areas the WARDEV doctrine branch is a relative shadow of its former self composed of a relatively small team of regular and FTRS personnel and a number of gaps. As SO2 Command (a typically nondescript title) I have the genuine privilege of being the custo- dian of the Planning and Execution Handbook, Staff Officers’ Handbook, Standard Orders Cards, Slate Cards and various other command related docu- ments as well as some ‘cutting edge’ doctrine notes. This gives a real sense of purpose to the job knowing that the things you write and how you write them may be someone’s lynchpin when they are under pressure be it in contact or as staff in a HQ. Doctrine is about what can be done ‘here and now’ with our current capabilities and, not the ‘jam (capability) of tomorrow’ which lies firmly in concepts arena, an issue that is misunderstood across the army. From this perspective it is good to be at the doctrine coal face as the Field Army focuses on Combined Arms Manoeuvre helping maximise the
Challenging but rewarding sir!
capabilities it has now.
A lot of work goes into producing
the good doctrine we have, I can only encourage you to read it, remembering that it is a handrail for the way we do business and if you have improvements or suggestions then get in touch.
Watch out in 2022 for the new ADP series, C2 Resilience Doctrine Note, a refreshed Planning and Execution Handbook, refreshed Slate Cards and Standard Orders Cards, and a replace- ment/update to the Staff Officers’ Handbook.
BCJM
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS)
Having come to the end of my second term as an instructor at RMAS, the novelty and feeling of privilege still very much remains. From a personal point of view, the ability to work with the quality of SNCO that this place attracts has taught me a great deal. Thankfully the relation- ship I have with my current CSgt differs significantly from the one I had as an OCdt 6 years ago.
With the Regiment in mind, it has been fantastic to entice/snare/educate some of the brilliant talent that would perhaps
have been tempted to look elsewhere, and encourage them to consider the QDG as a Choice of Arm – although with the work that the Regiment is doing in Mali this has not been too onerous.
rewarding for both the OCdts and Staff. Now sport is back up and running, and as one of the Rugby coaches, I have absolutely used this time as an influ- ence opportunity and to ensure that the
It has been somewhat of a relief, now that the Academy is operating as normal following the constraints on training arising from C-19 which affected PT, lessons, sport and in particular exer- cises are now infinitely more
with the work that the Regiment
is doing in Mali this has not been too onerous
Regiment’s team remains strong (and the Officers Mess remains victorious on Waterloo Dinner night).
I have been fortunate enough to be posted to Marne Coy within RMAS. Marne Coy is responsible for the Academy’s Defence Engagement and delivers elements of the Regular Commissioning Course abroad using RMAS instruc- tors. Frustratingly our deployment to Iraq has been postponed until the New Year, however the Company has recently returned from
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WS
Belize and Jamaica and has completed recces in Oman and Saudi Arabia.
RMAS needs a greater RAC influence, Light Cavalry in particular. I would thor- oughly recommend a posting here to both SNCOs and Officers so please do get in touch if you have any questions.