Page 89 - Mind, Body and Spirit No. 105 2021/22

2021 saw the 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh endure a difficult and tough period due to the COVID pandemic, as did many other battalions. Adapting to new work environments and
schedules however, remaining diligent and operationally effective for the battalions FoE. The battalion returned to work in Jan 21 post-Christmas leave and from the get-go the AAPTIs were busy delivering virtual PT to comply with the Force Health Protection Instruction (FHPI) as well as adopting to the new Physical Training Leader qualification trial, which saw challenging and new ways of delivering PT yet still managing to follow the Army Physical Training System (APTS).
During the pandemic 1 Royal Welsh soldiers were clearly struggling with trying to adjust to the new way of living and not having a clear routine dramatically affected Service Personnel’s (SP’s) mental health therefore, in order to raise money and awareness, on 21 Feb a team of 4 members from the Welsh Warrior Gym Staff (SSgt (SSI) Smith RAPTCI and AAPTIs Cpl Smith, LCpls Rees-Davies and Davies) stepped up to a gruelling challenge which would see them conduct 5 various distance-based fitness challenges over 5 days. The challenge consisted of; Day 1 - 40 miles on the assault bike (the distance of mount Everest climb), Day 2 - 90 miles of running combined, 22.5 miles each (the distance of Hadrian’s wall), Day 3 - 21 miles of rowing (the distance of the English Channel), Day 4 - 46 miles on the Ski-Erg as a pair, 23 miles each (distance of the Giza Pyramids) and Day 5 - 280 miles on the Watt bike combined as a team, 70 miles each (distance of the Grand Canyon). A tough challenge to say the least, both physically and mentally, however the team successfully completed all events in outstanding times and remained injury free throughout, but most importantly a sum of £1,732 was raised for ABF and Minds Charities.
As a department our big aim was to maintain fitness levels but also keep the Welsh Warrior spirit and morale high throughout
1 R WELSH Charity Fundraiser
SSgt (SSI) S Smith RAPTC
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1ST BATTALION THE ROYAL WELSH
the pandemic. As an annual affair the Battle of Rorke’s Drift is remembered by 1 R Welsh and to honour all the fallen soldiers a PT event is laid on to start the day off. Due to restrictions this year this had to be done via virtual means and individual efforts. This consisted of a 5.5km Battle of Rorke’s Drift time trial run, recorded on Strava. The top ten runners were identified and earnt points towards the CO’s Cup whilst all competitors that took part received a bespoke medal to mark the occasion. It was great to once again see the Welsh promote a healthy competition between sub-units and enjoying physical activity. Although times are still hard and we are at long last coming out of a very difficult and tough year for the battalion, the PD department has maintained the troops operational effectiveness for various taskings and trawls and now, fully prepared, the 1 Royal Welsh BG depart for Op CABRIT 10 in Estonia which will bring a lot of new challenges and opportunities for the lead British Armoured Infantry unit. Watch this space.
Getting ready for PT