Page 28 - Mercian Eagle 2013

1 MERCIAN Catering Platoon
RCWO WO2 S Barton UCM Sgt M Nicholson
freedom parades and various functions held to celebrate the Battalion’s return. Sgt Nicholson quickly returned to the triathlon circuit and since returning has competed
in sprint and Olympic distance triathlon. This sporting ethos has started to rub off with other members of the department who are now taking up the sports of triathlon or cycling. The department
has taken the opportunity to sign up for several new NVQs, with many individuals working towards customer service, catering, hospitality, facilities management and teaching qualifications. Some chefs have now been posted on to pastures
It has been a very busy year for the catering department which began with
Pre Deployment Training (PDT) for OP HERRICK 17. Normally a catering department would skim through the essentials due to other commitments, however the decision was made to not only support the Battalion’s catering requirements but to go above and beyond and get really stuck into PDT. This decision paid dividends for the chefs and the team not only attempted all the Operational Fitness Tests but did well and this was recognised at battalion level and cemented our already excellent reputation.
On deployment to Afghanistan we became a Brigade asset to be disseminated throughout all Patrol Bases (PB), Forward Operating Base (FOB) and Main Operating Base (MOB) locations. The CO made a very strong case to Brigade to deploy the 1 Mercian chefs within the Battalions locations and as a result we were situated within the Nad-e-Ali area with our own troops. We
fed between 30 and 700 soldiers and the feed back from everyone was that the food was of good quality and quantity and really made a difference to morale. Once caterers became settled in locations they began
to spice up the menus with theme nights, man v food competitions, restaurant nights and various other delights. FOB Shawqat
in particular run by Cpl Daz “sheeps teeth” Antanelis became famous for its standard of food with word spreading across the whole of Afghanistan, his ‘Chilli Tuesday’ became an ongoing man test with dishes becoming
hotter and spicier. Not only did chefs cater in these environments but they also played an integral role in the security and other logistical tasks. Sanger duties became
a daily commitment as did other tasks during the closedown of many of these bases during our tenure. Two of the junior members of the team were singled out for their determination and efforts during the tour and were awarded the ‘Commanders Coin’, well done to Pte “Ginge” Handley and Pte “Baby Face” Townsend. NVQ achievements within 4 Brigade have always been of a very high standard and this was to continue on HERRICK 17. Sgt Nicholson, the Internal Quality Assurer for the caterers, spent the last third of the tour FOB hopping in order
new where they will
no doubt become key members of their new units. The department also welcomes in WO2 Sam Barton who has taken up the position of RCWO and is looking forward to her new appointment. Caterers throughout the Army are undergoing a
to provide support to assessors and learners alike and these became welcome visits for those individuals out
on the ground knowing they were to be given such a high level of support. As a result
Some chefs have now been posted on to pastures new where they will no doubt become key members
of their new units.
of this learning and
support experience,
HERRICK 17 caterers achieved over 90 completed NVQ units on tour and received high accolades from the catering school.
On return from tour the catering department went straight back into feeding at the home base and the chefs soon settled back into the normal routine. Once back from leave, we supported all the
difficult time with redundancy; however the individuals we have recently lost have all moved straight into employment whilst those that remain will continue the day to day business of catering for the troops, ensuring they receive three good meals a day every single day of the year.
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and reporting minor faults before they became major ones. Special mention needs to go to the Mastiff group led by Lt. “Geof” Nichols and CSgt “Norm” Bates as they travelled in excess of 5000kms throughout the tour and were never recovered through mechanical failure, and
this was as a result of
excellent vehicle and
equipment husbandry.
A few recoveries were
however carried out
due to unforeseen
issues such as the RSM
carrying out his route/
IED finding skills and
drills leading to a very
interesting recovery
task. On a few occasions the recovery
team did have to go fishing for Mastiffs in the Nahr-e-Bughra Canal (NEB) when lack of visibility led to drivers putting the vehicle into the canal. On a couple of instances
this meant difficult recovery tasks with the vehicle actually being on its roof in the water. Thankfully after a few snapped winch cables and sense of humours, a civilian crane lift and a bit of thinking outside the box all recoveries were brought to a successful conclusion. Every tradesman from every
trade group performed to such a high standard that sometimes the impossible was expected but through, their ingenuity, skill and hard work they made it happen.
Rear Operations Group (ROG) maintained all the equipment left back within the
unit lines and the
team commanded
by Sgt “Dave” Baird performed admirably. They still had all the normal inspections and maintenance tasks to contend with and also an ECI that required many late hours to complete. They still managed
to carry out a very strenuous Physical Training regime that helped bring some
of the less fit members up to a decent standard of fitness. Now we are all back and have quickly adapted back into Marne Barracks but unfortunately we have had
to say goodbye to a few members of the LAD. Captain Andy Peters has moved on promotion to Major to the Defence Driving School in Leconsfield where he has taken over a workshop that has had no OC for many years (enjoy your first ECI Boss!).
WO2 (AQMS) Guthrie MBE moves on promotion to WO1 (ASM) to sunny Cyprus for two years. Sgt Dave Baird has finally left after accepting redundancy over 18 months ago and he plans to open his own gym and train civilians (luckily no tabbing involved). Cpl Veitch is off on promotion to Sgt but will not be going far as he is going to 5 Regt Royal Artillery on the other side of the hanger. LCpl “lobster hand” Cater is off to1 Bn REME and Cpl “Greeny” Green is off to Army Training Regiment Winchester (ATR (W)) as an instructor.
As a look forward we have numerous exercises to plan for including France and Cyprus. We have a Falklands tour to cover which will be an excellent experience for two of the younger Craftsmen. We will also cover Brigade tasks in Canada for winter repair which will mean a long and extremely busy absence for two more tradesmen. The year will then culminate in the move to Bulford which means more preparation. It has been a pleasure working with some
of the best tradesmen, I have ever had the pleasure to work with and each and every one of them should be proud of the reputation they have earned within the Battalion, that we are in the fortunate position to support.
On a couple of instances this meant difficult recovery tasks with the vehicle actually being on its roof in the water.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE