Page 167 - Mind, Body and Spirit No. 105 2021/22

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ARMY SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL TRAINING ARMY RESERVE (BASIC) PTI MODULAR COURSE
WO2 (QMSI) R D Bell RAPTC
The ASPT trialled an AR (B) PTI modular course at the Army Training Unit (ATU), in Exeter delivered by WO2 (QMSI) Bell, Sgt (SI) Posey RAPTC and Sgt (RM) Brimacombe. The ATUs are located in Northern Ireland, Exeter, Cardiff, Strensall, Altcar and Scotland. The reason for the trial was to establish whether the modular course could be successfully delivered within the ATUs. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the course whilst maintaining standards and outputs. The pilot course consisted of 13 days split over 3 x weekends and a final 7-day week at the ASPT.
The course loaded 15 students, however only 13 students commenced training. The first weekend started early on the Saturday morning with an arrivals brief followed by the Interim Physical Training Instructor Fitness Test (IPTI FT), 2 of which failed to make the broad jump standard. As the ATU does not have a swimming pool, the course travelled to Lympstone to conduct the Military Swim Test (MST), a fantastic facility and all the students passed.
Due to a Reservists work commitments, the IPTI FT retest was conducted the following Saturday, this is clearly a disadvantage of this course. The retest was conducted by the ATU FTRS RAPTCI WO2 (QMSI) Beresford who did an excellent job supporting the course throughout the weekends. Both students passed the retest.
The second weekend started with the RFT (S), all students completed the test successfully and the rest of the weekend involved various presentations before concluding on the Sunday afternoon. The last weekend consisted of a mixture of presentations and practical lessons before finishing the final week at the ASPT with the PT theory exam, 2 x Instructional Practices per student and the Pass Off Parade.
The course was a success and whilst trying to fit in the retests for the fitness tests was difficult, everything else ran smoothly. The feedback from the students that completed the course was all positive, they thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to other Reservists. An advantage for course attendees is that they can reduce their days commitment, reducing it to 5 working days, rather than 10 with the current residential course. We will have to wait for the outcome of the review to find out if the ASPT will deliver AR (B) PTI courses externally in the future.
Army Reserve (Basic) PTI Course conduct RFT(S)
Army Reserve PTI Courses Pass Off Parade