Page 107 - Mercian Eagle 2013

This has, as always, been a busy year for the Permanent Staff (PS) at ITC Catterick. With many new PS arriving straight from operations there has been little respite
as our training teams have run at near
full capacity through the year, despite the reduction in the size of the Division and Army. The Training Teams have had to keep pace with significant improvements made to the course that have had a positive impact for recruits, PS and ultimately the Field Army, alike. Despite this busy time we have still managed to get five PS away on PSBC and 20 on CLM education. We have still got PS away skiing, on a Canadian rugby tour, as well as all having opportunities for mid-week surfing and more conventional sports participation.
The changes to the course structure have been implemented to improve training and address high wastage that in early 2012 was 50% over target in some companies (though not Prince of Wales’s Coy!). The re-structuring has aimed to de-heat the front end of the course with a ‘crawl, walk, run’ philosophy to allow recruits to adjust
to Army life rather than suffer the traditional ‘shock of capture’ in the first few weeks.
Some of the more surprising changes have included: recruits being allowed to go home at week three for a weekend; recruits having time every evening to use welfare facilities and additional evening training being limited to two nights a week. For many of you who know the ITC from old, either as a recruit or instructor, I can hear gasps of ‘we are going soft’ being expelled; but this is far from true.
have created a well motivated and positive training environment that produces higher standards from the recruits and a reduced wastage rate. Reduced wastage does not mean lower quality passing out. All recruits identified as below standard by the PS at Platoon Reviews are monitored, re-trained and if they still fail to meet the standards they will not pass out.
Platoon Commander View of ITC By Capt Jonny Davis MERCIAN, OC 7 Platoon, PoW Company
Whilst at Regimental Duty I received a steady stream of brand new recruits, fresh out of training, reporting for duty with my platoon. Although they would arrive fairly frequently, I never really knew much about their training and what they had achieved prior to walking through my office door.
All I knew is that the product produced
by the ITC was largely fit for purpose and well prepared for life in a regular infantry battalion.
I had heard stories about ITC from other officers who had worked there in the previous years and as a result I was intrigued. Training brand new recruits was something that appealed to me along with having the chance to influence the quality of private soldiers arriving at the
battalions of the Prince of Wales’ Division (POW Div). Therefore I was glad to find out that immediately upon my return from Afghanistan I would be posted to ITC as a platoon commander.
With two years experience, I thought
that I had seen it all, heard every private soldier story and excuse in the book. However, platoon commanding at ITC
is quite different to battalion. First of all, everything is much more structured. No longer would I find myself on the receiving end of “fast balls” such as RAAT taskings, instead the programme is set in stone for the entire 26 week course. This allows Permanent Staff to easily forecast their time, in terms of both leave and individual career courses. Indeed, CO 1ITB lists permanent
P6 Warcop
Although the front
end of the course has
been ‘de-heated’,
pressure is increasingly
applied through the
course with exercises
getting progressively
harder. This culminates
in a two week
deployment with a live and dry fire final exercise in the Contemporary Operating Environment that really tests the recruits. By de-heating the front end of the course both recruits and instructors are still fresh after the first seven weeks before they get into the meat of the training. Key to the success of the Training Team is the attitude of the PS and those that have applied Values Based Leadership (VBL)
This makes the
ITC a rewarding
posting as the Training Teams know they are responsible for ensuring recruits are to the appropriate standard before they pass out. The ITC is still seen as postings, especially for
Reduced wastage does not mean lower quality passing out.
a career enhancing
JNCOs, with a third of those promoted to Sgt within the Prince of Wales’s Division having had a report from ITC Catterick in the last twelve months. The instructors have to work hard for these reports but there are opportunities at ITC for some much needed stability and the social aspects make it a quality posting for all.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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