Page 85 - Mind, Body and Spirit 2016/17

Team 14, the rst thing I have noticed since taking up the appointment here at Larkhill is the Gunners huge drive in sport and in turn the Commanding Of cer’s drive to win, in the form of “Team 14”. The home of Gunner rugby, football and hockey plus hosting a majority of the Victor and Victrix Ludorum (to the Winner the Spoils) sporting competitions. This means the gym is a melting pot of sports men and women all descending upon an old gym that constantly needs the loving care and daily maintenance of AAPTI’s to ensure it is capable of withstanding the demand from the Gunners.
Within a few weeks of my new appointment I found myself thrown to wolves on the hockey pitch and somehow “padding up” to stand in the goal and let everyone take pot shots at me in an attempt to improve my goalkeeping skills. Anyone who plays hockey knows that although the keeper gets to wear some nice big pads, it still doesn’t detract from the fact that the balls are solid and most players love nothing better than to smash it full force at the goal. That’s exactly where I now nd myself, trying to throw this aging carcass of a body towards a ball capable of smashing my teeth out if wasn’t for the full face helmet. Surprisingly, not many of the young Gunners are willing to replace me and I nd padding up is more of a regular thing. I am now the unof cial Regimental Keeper, “QMSI, welcome to team 14!”
Those serving in Artillery units will know all about the Victor and Victrix Ludorum sports comp, a Corps sporting event held over the year comprising of nine events over the calendar year which accumulates with the Boxing. One of the Army’s biggest boxing events, prelims held over 3 days with over 100 boxers competing for the chance to ght in the nals on the fourth day. With every Commanding Of cer and RSM in attendance the event has a reputation for its magnitude. As I write this article, the boxing event is looming and my young SI (Sgt Wilcox RAPTC) is in the mix of it all organising the administration to ensure a smooth
QMSI Whiting centre, Team 14
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14 REGIMENT ROYAL ARTILLERY
WO2 (QMSI) JJ Whiting RAPTC
THE ARMY TRAINING CENTRE (PIRBRIGHT)
Capt (MAA) J Murdoch RAPTC
“The BAD NEWS IS, time ies – THE GOOD NEWS IS, you’re the pilot...” MiChAel Altshuler
When drafting these notes, I’ve been re ecting back to my hand-over with Capt Windard in October 2015, and one thing I can say is that: “Richie, you were absolutely right...” It’s certainly been a 17-month ride attempting to prioritise those equally competitive G7 tasking’s; achieve the MS needs of department whilst managing expectations across the board; as well as positively inhibiting the many ‘good ideas’ from various ranks and appointments within the centre. However, now that my Pirbright journey is about to reach its climax, I nd it dif cult to comprehend just how quickly time has passed; especially as I’m due to assume my next appointment in about 8 weeks’ time... That said, before I go on I’d like to start by passing on my sincere thanks to the Pirbright team [past and present] as it’s been an absolute privilege to have been the Master At Arms serving alongside you all; in the words of David Schwimmer:
“You’re only as good as the sum of your parts, and one person can’t be a team...”
There’s no question that Pirbright has been a hugely positive experience—and is one that I’ll cherish in the years to come— and although there’s a common observation that the Phase 1 training machine is a ‘conveyor belt’ organisation [which I’d have to concur from a process point of view], the ATC(P) is a place
Left to right: Sgt Tatton, WO2 McKenzie, Capt Murdoch, Sgt Sargent, Sgt Grose
where you can have a tremendously positive impact from a human perspective; after all, the most important commodity of today’s Army is it’s ‘people’. With a team comprising: a MAA, a QMSI, 3 Sgts, 36 Cpls and 6 Band D Civil Servants, we’re one of the single largest cohorts of PT staff in the Army, which brings something new on a daily basis. However, things will be even more interesting as Project JUNO unfolds, where we will see the
competition. In re ection the team I have inherited for this event are top rate, Sgt Wilcox although in his rst post is already proving his worth and the SIOPT’s are adding valuable experience which only makes my life that much better and stress free (to a point).
Looking beyond the sporting activities of “Team 14” we are still delivering the CMS daily to 200 recruits and with manpower restraints coupled with instructor injuries, I again nd myself on the shop oor every day taking lessons. A skill that as WO2’s we sometimes neglect and suddenly being thrust into the daily instructor cohort I nd a strange sense of enjoyment in my trade. Where as in previous jobs I was able to step back and allow the AAPTI’s to conduct the lessons, only really getting involved in validation and the occasional week when instructor ratios’ where low. I am again able to expand and develop my instructional capabilities in a large group format and more noticeable within the staff, I am leading by example. Even when my manpower issues are resolved and the injuries heal I will still nd time to get on the shop oor to deliver.