Page 6 - Mind, Body and Spirit 2016/17

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EDITORIAL
Lt Col (Retd) G B Jones
RAPTC Association Regimental Secretary
We are constantly dealing with
change in our lives but some
things are enduring and as
this is the 100th edition of the RAPTC
Journal (Mind, Body and Spirit
(MBS)) I think it de nitely sits under
the enduring heading. Past journals
re ect the changes in the Corps
over the decades but I also see a
great deal of enduring aspects in the
articles and photos submitted by the
Of cers and Instructors throughout
the ages. The montage of front
covers from the past on the inside
back cover clearly demonstrates the
changing face of the Corps whilst retaining an enduring image. The journals also help to create an impression of what life in the Corps was like at different times throughout history. It articulates how the Corps has adapted, managed change and moved with the times whilst retaining those enduring elements that make the Corps unique. The MBS has been essential in recording these events and changes for the past 100 and more years.
When drafting articles and submitting them with their photos for the MBS you may wonder what is it all for? Well, the historical perspective is very important but I witnessed a positive personal effect that an old journal can have when I met a couple visiting the RAPTC Museum. They had come to see what had changed since the lady was a child growing up with her father who was serving in the Corps as an instructor at the ASPT. On searching the digitised Journals she found a full page article in the 1959 edition of the MBS with photos of her father (WO1 (SMI) Kennedy APTC) and her mother; she had not seen the article before and her obvious joy at nding this information made me appreciate how important the Journal is, particularly for future generations; even for those who did not serve in the Corps but are connected in some way.
We may not always see the bene ts of our labours but the individual who took the time and made the effort to submit an article for the MBS in 1959 made a lady and her family very happy 58 years after the event.
As the Editor for this 100th edition I really do appreciate and, I am sure the readers value the articles and photographs that re ect life in the Corps. So I will take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed now, in the past and the future for taking the time and making the effort to record the history of the Corps as it happens here in the MBS.
I do hope the MBS will endure for another 100 years and you never know, it may be one of your relatives that has the pleasure of nding you in the 2016 / 2017 edition of the MBS.
COMMANDANT ROYAL ARMY PHYSICAL TRAINING CORPS
Brigadier P Cain MBChB MMedSci MSc DAvMed MFOM, Senior Health Adviser (Army)
Assumed the appointment of Commandant Royal Army Physical Training Corps on 4 January 2017.
Paul Cain was born in Liverpool, the eldest of three sons. After graduating in Medicine and
Surgery from the University of Bristol in 1985 he combined his work in the National Health Service with a spell in the Territorial Army and together these convinced him to apply for a Regular Commission.
The early years of his military career
were spent with airborne forces,
rst as a Troop Commander in 23
Parachute Field Ambulance and then
as the Regimental Medical Of cer
for 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment, deploying to Northern Ireland. Not content with jumping out of planes he chose to pursue a career in Aviation Medicine and after training on the Gazelle helicopter he returned to Northern Ireland. Before going back to clinical medicine he studied with the Royal Air Force for a Diploma in Aviation Medicine and then served with the Army Air Corps as a doctor and a pilot until 2003.
This period included studying for a Masters Degree in Occupational Health from the University of Birmingham, quali cation as a Consultant in Occupational Medicine, time at regimental duty with both the 1st and 4th Regiment Army Air Corps and staff posts in Aviation Branch and the newly formed Joint Helicopter Command. A tour as the Divisional Surgeon in Bosnia was followed in 2000 by a posting to the US Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory in Alabama. Here he led the medical effort to improve crash survivability of military and civilian helicopters for which he was made an Honorary Member of the US Army Medical Department Regiment.
Returning to the United Kingdom in 2003 involved a solo ight in a single engine Piper Comanche via Canada, Greenland, Iceland and Scotland. Shortly after this he took command of 22 Field Hospital and three months later deployed to Iraq on Operation TELIC 3. Commanding soldiers, sailors and airmen on operations stands out as a real highlight but this was in sharp contrast to the experiences of assisting with the rebuild of a devastated Iraqi health service. Together these shaped his future career choice. Staff training nally caught up with him in 2006 and he attended the Advanced Command and Staff Course but he was fortunate enough to be able to return to the US, this time leading NATO medical capability development at Supreme Allied Command Transformation and completing a second Masters, this time in Health Care Policy and Management. After an assignment as Commander Medical in 3rd (UK) Division responsible for the training of the deploying Medical Regiments he found himself commanding those same troops but this time as the Commander Medical for Joint Force Support (Afghanistan) 14.
On promotion to Brigadier he spent a short while in the post of Director BFG Health Services before moving on to be Commander, Defence Primary Healthcare where he was focussed on making sure the military healthcare system meets the needs of individual patients as well as Defence. He has recently assumed the appointment of Senior Health Adviser (Army) which has been
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