Page 91 - MERCIAN Eagle 2015

Three Peaks Challenge
When the warm weather of the UK arrived, we found ourselves taking part in the Three Peaks Challenge in order raise funds for the Mercian Benevolent Fund. The Friday evening began, as would be expected, with the long drive up to Scotland where the first of the climbs (Ben Nevis) would begin the next day. After arriving at the base of the mountain a prediction of what was to come was provided by one of the locals. ‘What would you want to climb that for?
Its constantly raining and the winds are supposedly 50 mph tomorrow’. Fortunately the long drive had removed any of our interest at this point so we simply ignored the comments and settled down for the evening.
The climb the next day began at 07:50hrs and it didn’t take long before the competitive edge started to take over and the climb to the top steadily picked up pace. As the company began to spread itself across the mountain and for the very keen members running ahead, passing members of the public and trying their best not to look too competitive with one another, the summit eventually came
into view. Thankfully as we reached it the predicted 50mph winds turned out not to be true. Time for a few pictures and the then back down, or at least it would have been if anyone had managed to charge their phone/camera from the night before. Lesson learnt and the descent began.
It seemed to be worse coming down as
Three Peaks Challenge - Mercian Eagle
now the mountain had began to fill with the general public and the enthusiastic company (myself included) raced to the bottom. I would like to say that it was due to the competitiveness, as it had been going up, but it more stemmed from the thought ‘get me off of this mountain!’ Once at the bottom, after a period of 3hrs and 27mins the company set off to the next mountain (Scarfell Pike) and then the next (Snowdon), which in true loyalty to the country from where it resided had the rain and fog beating down on us almost the entire way. Members of the company completed the challenge in a total time of 19 hrs and 28mins.
Lt Jones, Pte Legge, L/Cpl Sparks, Peak of Snowdon, 07/15
Joining the Army Reserve and my path to becoming a fully trained soldier Pte Claire Rutter
My name is Pte Claire Rutter, I am 19-years old, and in early 2014 I applied to enlist into the Army Reserve. I first became interested in joining the Service whilst at college studying Public Services. There, we were visited by the D Company Recruit Retention and Mentoring Team (RRMT) who delivered an interesting and informative recruiting brief to all on my course. I became interested and decided to look at what I wanted to
do should I join the Army Reserve. Having examined my options, I felt that I would be well suited to becoming a Combat Medical Technician (CMT). I had really enjoyed the presentation that D Company had given, so having decided to join; I again visited
D Company to meet up with the RRMT. Since that time, the rest is history!
I was attested in July 2014 and since then my life has become incredibly hectic, balancing my commitments towards my studies, whilst preparing myself for the rigours of Phase 1 training. Within a month of being attested I attended a consolidated Phase 1 Alpha course at Donnington. I
found this training to be immensely enjoyable and challenging. I particularly enjoyed meeting new people and sharing the experience of team building that only basic training can bring. Being mid- summer, the overnight field exercises were especially memorable and I surprised myself in how I performed and enjoyed what was for me a completely new experience.
In November 2014 I found myself at Grantham, ready to take on my Phase 1 Bravo course. The training was rigorous, both mentally and physically. The skills I learned were many, passing a number of MATTs in the process, with the final exercise set to challenge us all. Finally, to become
a fully trained reservist, I was now looking forward to attending my CMT course.
As things transpired, I never did train as a CMT. Whilst attending at the ARC, I found that I also enjoyed assisting Sgt Preece,
the Battalion Master Chef. It did not take too much arm twisting for Sgt Preece
to promote the advantages and career opportunities in becoming a trained Chef.
Pte Claire Rutter, newly trained D Company RLC Chef
Having considered this for some time, I agreed to be trained as a Class 3 Chef, and attended another two-week course held at Grantham. I completed my training in May 2015 and have since managed to build upon these skills gained. With the assistance of Sgt Preece, I’m finding that my catering prowess is developing and I’m looking forward to providing future support to D Company and the Battalion as a whole, both in barracks and in the field.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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