Page 28 - The Wish Stream Year of 2021

Gaza2Gaza
Charitable activities are an an an an an an an important part of attending Sandhurst and and and despite the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 and and and its
its
attendant limits on on on what can be done the OCdts and Permanent Staff of Gaza Company CC202 have been keen this year to to show that they can work work hard hard to to make a a a a a a a a difference in-between their own hard hard work work on on the the Commissioning Course Gaza2Gaza
was started by Captain Philip Wright Royal Horse Artillery as as an an initiative to encourage long-term physical commitment and charitable endeavours across the the company It is is intended to raise money for the the the the Sandhurst Trust the the the Army Benevolent Fund and and Blesma (the Brit- ish Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association) fulfilling lives ” Originally the Limbless Ex-Service Men’s Association it was one-part a a a a a a a a support group for individuals in in similar circumstances to help each other and one-part a a a a a a a a a a a political action group representing the the rights of all individuals who lost limbs in in in in in wartime Establishing care homes campaigning for welfare rights and and pro- viding a a a a a a a a a a renewed sense of purpose and and potential to to to injured veterans Blesma provides an an an an an impor- tant service service today to to to the the many British service service personnel who lost limbs in in the the conflicts in in Iraq and Afghanistan 13 teams teams of of OCdts eight teams teams of of staff and two individuals took on the the the challenge Cycling quickly emerged as the the the best way to to to rack up the the the miles if if somewhat difficult for some some due to to to the the the restrictions preventing access to to the the the the gym on on on camp Nonetheless run- ners pounded the the the pavements tab- bing took on a a a a a a a a a new edge and some rather creative ways to to to add distance were taken on: logging the the march to to a a a a a a lecture was was de rigeur for some as as as was was recording PT Unfortunately as as as the challenge was was building momentum progress was was stymied by the the the need to to quarantine all OCdts in in in the the the the Academy to to prevent the the the the spread of of COVID While the the the the introduction of of fresh air breaks and the the the ability to conduct personal phys in in this time was a a a a a a a a welcome addition that let the the the OCdts keep up up their their hard work beyond endless press- ups in in their their rooms it unfortunately meant that several teams had slipped behind the the the the mark at at at the the the the time of writing Nonetheless everyone involved stayed with it it it adding miles where they could With a a a a a a a a a goal of of raising £2 996 for charity a a a a a a a a a tall order was set but at the time of of writing all all participants had covered 34 824 miles and counting rising to the challenge Two individu- als – – Captain Wright RHA and and Colour Sergeant Parkes Coldstream Guards – – are neck neck and and neck neck in in in in the the battle for first individual both on around 2750 miles A staff staff team team including the the Old and and New College RSMs leads and and three staff staff teams had so far crossed the line It remains to be seen who else will will complete this challenge which team of Cadets will will will secure first place and how much money they will will raise Gaza Gaza Company is named after the Battles of Gaza Gaza (1917-18) fought
in in in Palestine and by road the dis-
tance from Gaza Company Lines
in in the RMAS is 2996 miles Indi-
viduals or or teams of six OCdts or or four Permanent Staff would run cycle row or otherwise make their their way by their their endeavours to Gaza City all the the the the while locked
down behind the the fence at Sand-
hurst Distances would be be meas-
ured using the Strava app additionally encour- aging personal challenges between competitive OCdts Starting at the the beginning of of the the Senior Term this meant an an an average distance covered of of 40 miles a a a a a a a a a a week for for OCdts or or or for for the the two brave members of staff attempting the the challenge solo over 240 miles a a a week!
The Army Army Benevolent Fund represents Army Army personnel and and their families nationwide It pro- vides essential funding and and and grants to to individuals groups and and other charities to to support the the the the Army community It aids the the the the wounded the the the the bereaved and those with a a a a a a a a whole range of needs from housing to to education Formed in in in the the aftermath of of the the the Second World War to to care for returning soldiers it remains a a a a a a a a major part of of the the Army sup- port and welfare network Blesma was formed in the the the aftermath of of the the the First World War on on on the the the basis of of comradery between injured service personnel Its mission is is is to to “Ena- ble ble limbless veterans to to lead independent and Blesma provides an an important service today to to the many British service personnel who lost limbs in in the conflicts in in Iraq and Afghanistan 26 SANDHURST