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JOINT SERVICE MOUNTAIN TRAINING CENTRE
Major (MAA) R Reid RAPTC, Training Of cer , JSMTC
This is my second submission for MBS whilst in the post of OC Training (I think I have 2 more to go) and I am very happy to inform you all that JSMTC has continued to develop in all areas. As an organisation we have analyzed all that we do with the intent of continuous improvement, be it course loading to delivering the best possible training possible and a whole bunch of detail in between. There are however, 3 areas of focus that I would like to share with you in this submission, they are:
• Assurance.
• Instructor development.
• The key to what we deliver; the link between AT and operational
capability.
Firstly the assurance pieces, as an organisation, JSMTC are market leaders in AT delivery and we remain very keen to ensure that we are operating at the appropriate levels in all disciplines delivered. Therefore and in the absence of appropriate 3rd Party assurance (DSA have now lled this void) JSMTC invited external NGBs to assure our canoeing, alpine skiing, ski touring, caving, alpine mountaineering and paragliding schemes. On the whole the feedback has been extremely positive and any recommendations made by the NGBs have been tweaks rather than monumental changes.
In regard to instructional development, JSMTC have invested heavily in all our instructional staff, we have optimized opportunities to develop in most areas but in particular the Scottish winter environment. Such investment is showing its rewards as we plan our instructional deployments, which means that we now have a greater capability to deliver our courses and deploy our staff to other Wings and Concentrations. For the RAPTC ATI, this development will have greater rewards as ATIs progress through the rank structure and ll key ATI appointments as WO2s and ultimately commissioned of cers within the AT specialization. My only request is that future incumbents of this post continue with such development for the greater good of JSMTC, the RAPTC and Defence.
Lastly and by no means least is the link between AT and operational capability, I will not speak further on this as the articles listed below from our Wings have all captured the importance of this element of our course delivery. I hope you enjoy reading about JSMTC and the great people (support staff and the instructional team) that make it such a great organisation to be associated with.
JOINT SERVICE MOUNTAIN TRAINING WING – RIPON
Capt (MAA) W Wilson RAPTC OC JSMTW(R)
As a de nite non-ATI it was a great pleasure for me to accept the post of OC JSMTW Ripon and, after a comprehensive hand over from Capt (MAA) Steve Chappell, it was straight into high tempo Adventurous Training delivery. Ripon is the lead for Joint Service Caving and has some of the highest quali ed and quality cavers in the UK and the Wing continues to be the source of advice and guidance for all cavers in the UK.
As mentioned in the past MBS the long-term strategic positioning of the Wing remains unclear, but all the staff continue to deliver and support high quality instruction in caving, climbing, mountaineering and paddling activities. The Wing is also the lead for the highly
successful Ex Spanrock and Ex Spancave concentrations and also supports all other JSMTC concentrations with instructors.
I have personally attended Ex Span Rock as OC, JSMTC staff training in Norway, gaining NF2 and Scotland for my WMF and also been OC for Ex Norski, all this in the rst 5 months of my post. This post is high tempo but highly enjoyable and I am looking forward to both the potential move of the Wing in my tenure and assisting in delivering high quality training across the Services. As a closing thought, I have always been a rm believer that the airborne tempo was dif cult; I am now discovering that AT is probably harder!!
Working at Deverall Barracks in Ripon the Yorkshire Dales is just a short step, but the lesser known North Yorkshire Moors offers a less travelled alternative. If you’re already a rock climber holding a basic quali cation like Rock Climbing Single Pitch Foundation (RSF), there are a number of excellent crags, mostly sandstone but also a couple of limestone options in the North York Moors. The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) provides the most up-to-date information as well as general advice on climbing, safety and good practice in the outdoors. North York Moors is found under the North East area rather than Yorkshire. For those in the know, there are some exciting crags and tough bouldering challenges around, all in fantastic settings. Popular spots include the Wainstones (a ‘must visit’ crag and good for a bit of scrambling too), Raven’s Scar, Scugdale and Highcliffe Nab.
Having seen a decline in traf c in recent years, the Wainstones has arguably the best climbing in the area. With a southerly aspect and
PCBC Students on the nal leg of Ex Fan Dance with the stretcher
Rock Climbing In The North York Moors
Sgt (SI) W Houston RAPTC