Page 108 - Mind, Body and Spirit No. 105 2021/22

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www.raptcassociation.org.uk
ARMY FOUNDATION COLLEGE (HARROGATE) - FOX (PD) COY
Aturbulent year here at ‘the Military Academy of the North’ – The Army Foundation College (Harrogate), driven by the ever-changing decisions made by number 10 surrounding COVID-19 and the effects downstream, we were able to return to a semi-normal jogging pace by once again facilitating all things PD for our 1300 Junior Soldiers (JS) and 300 permeant staff members.
The year has involved the reinvigoration of our RAPTC Selection pipeline driven by Sgt Tash, which has seen an unprecedented 10 AAPTIs attend and pass the selection process. The administration of numerous sporting competitions, including Army rowing, 4 Bde Cross-country, squash, JS Inter Coy Athletics; OiC’d by Sgt Peel and we also managed to win the Army Minor Units Basketball Championships 2022. AT delivery is back in full swing, with JS earning the coveted Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award; championed by the Leadership and Initiative Training team (SSgt Kerr and Sgts Crosbie, Peel and Jennings). Our staff also found time to complete the National 3-Peaks Challenge and Race the World events raising money for the ABF driven by WO2 (QMSI) G Baily RAPTC. Oh, and we managed to persuade the SMAA and CRSM to pop-up north of the Aldershot wall for a brew, courtesy of Yorkshire Tea.
Not resting on our laurels; we used the COVID period to self-improve, this came in the way of Sgt Carlin’s review and development of the Physical Training Programme for CMS 18 to 21, which further aligned our tactical S&C portfolio with the APTS and Phase 2 training, Project Athena (female JS support initiative) assisted by SSgt Spencer and Sgt Robson providing coaching in the physiological and psych-social spaces. Op Achilles (Para JS support initiative) assisted by Sgt Lancelles with preparing our recruits aiming for a career with the Parachute Regiment and our onsite PCRF with SSgt Charlton, working tirelessly to ensure JS and PS are rehabilitated back to a highly trained state whilst minimising any reversibility of training. We also found time to champion the Army’s inaugural Pre-AAPTI Female support network event supporting our future female AAPTIs and RAPTCIs.
Please take the time to read the following articles from some of our aforementioned RAPTCIs.
Sgt (SI) Tash RAPTC. Upon being assigned to the AFC(H) in Mar 21, I took over the RAPTC Selection Pipeline as a secondary role. As the most recently qualified RAPTCI within Fox Coy it provided a fantastic opportunity to share my recent experiences and develop a large group of aspiring RAPTCIs. With 2021 being such a challenging year due to COVID-19, Fox Coy still aimed to offer our
Junior Soldiers Deadlift Wave Loading
AAPTIs exposure to all the relevant tasks and serials they would encounter on RAPTC Selection. AFC(H) delivered 2 UK North RAPTC Selection Development Courses (SDC) which consisted of interview techniques, gym-based testing, academic assessment and lesson delivery. The Pipeline process has (to date) had a 100% hit rate of AFC(H) candidates passing RAPTC Selection (must be something in the Harrogate water). Additionally, we administered and executed the Army’s inaugural Pre-AAPTI Female support network event, which was engineered to support aspiring females attending the AAPTI course.
SSgt (SSI) Kerr RAPTC. The Leadership and Initiative Training (L&IT) department is responsible for the planning, delivery, and execution of four main packages: Mental resilience training, navigation, multi-activity AT and the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) bronze award. With obvious challenges we have faced over the past couple of years, the L&IT department have been forced to adjust training. Unfortunately for the JS of AFC(H), the multi-activity aspect has not been delivered due to local and governmental guidelines; therefore, the main effort has been the preparation and delivery of the DofE, which also contributes to the JS attaining a level 3 qualification from the Institute of Leadership and Management.
The required standard to achieve DofE bronze is to plan and complete a two-day, one-night expedition in small groups;
WO1 (SMI) D Brown MSc RAPTC
Fox Coy Staff