Page 78 - Mercian Eagle 2016

Regimental Support Team (RST) Sgt Phil Hornsby, RST, RHQ Mercian
The RST has seen a very busy year with the shift of recruiting style being now in full effect, comprising of 4 bespoke teams and operating in attract, educate, nurture and cadet teams. This has allowed us
to maximise our productivity and enable
the teams to bed Into their respective
tasks, this year has seen myself (Sgt Phil Hornsby) taking over the reins from Sgt Brian Chadbourne and I have hit the ground running over a very busy period planning for some big events and also the planning of the pilot Mercian county visits.
Joining the RST, I wasn’t expecting
the pace and complexity of the job and
it definitely was not what I expected after hearing “the job is a gift” and “it’s buckshee” from fellow mess members who have previously held the position, to which I think their comments may have been slightly sugar coated. After a month or so and a bit of direction from Capt Maddock I have got this new challenge firmly in hand and I can honestly say I am enjoying it.
The year has been all about us changing the way we operate as an RST; especially
in the format of our recruiting teams, we
are still driven by Recruiting Group (RG) events to a certain extent simply because of their budget and their ability to book large scale events, but the year has also seen us creating a lot of big events ourselves.
We are also concentrating on making valuable contacts and building relationships that we can utilise to fully unlock our recruiting potential.
The RST has recently seen a large turnaround of manning not only with a
new RST Sgt but also with a number of the team recently returning to unit in order to prepare for up and coming operational commitments. However these have now replaced by a number of fresh faced individuals from the 1st and 2nd Battalions which make the RST Sgt look even older!
Pte Derby has had a busy year and Cpl Philip Thornton and Pte Stuart Mclean have had numerous high profile appearances with various public events and meetings; also they have had a television appearance on the one and only “Bargain Hunt!”; where Pte Derby XXXI stole the show looking his best in his ceremonial uniform sporting his medals and as always his freshly groomed and pristine turnout (a tick in the box for this year’s SJAR).
We are now busy planning for the summer (our busy period) and a number
of up and coming events which include Mercian County visits; this enables potential Mercian soldiers and their parents to visit us on a regular basis at advertised locations. They can do some military activities and fitness sessions and it also enables us
to guide and mentor them through the application process. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all three Battalions for their continued support with weapons, vehicles, kit and equipment and manpower; without which we would have difficulty fulfilling our commitments.
Stand Firm Strike Hard
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Band of the Mercian Regiment, DMS Whittington Pass of Parade, 11 Aug 16
Band of the Mercian Regiment, St James’s Park London, 9 Aug 16 Band of the Mercian Regiment, Stoke Military Tattoo Finale, 7 May 16
of the Welsh Guards in Wellington Barracks, London. As part of the ADE, we performed a concert on the band stand in St James’s Park in central London, an opportunity to play to a large and appreciative audience
in the height of the summer tourist season. There was also plenty of intense musical training, conducting training and baton drill skills lessons, which it’s not as easy as it looks! We also visited Kneller Hall, home to
the Military School of Music, to watch the final performance from this year’s Summer Academy Course, and to talk to potential recruits about the role of the Reserve Forces musicians. This was particularly poignant
for some band members, as it gave them the opportunity to watch family members perform on ‘The Rock’ (the famous Kneller Hall bandstand) and maybe begin their own journey into the world of military music. The
Band also provided the musical ceremony for a pass-out parade at DMS Whittington, in Lichfield, to celebrate the completion
of Phase 2 training for tri-service combat medics, dental nurses and health care assistants. A trip down memory lane for some of the band, who were stationed there as junior soldiers!
THE MERCIAN EAGLE