Page 78 - The Bugle Autumn 2016 Issue 12

WHILST SPENDING MOST OF THEIR DAYS IN THE LECTURE HALL GAPS WERE FILLED WITH RIGOROUS PHYSICAL TRAINING
IPJNCO Cadre
On Monday the 6th of June 2016 one hundred and ten eager and hopeful Ri emen from across the regiment formed up on the parade square at Dreghorn Barracks. Lt Colonel Richard Smith addressed the men and told them that they, as the most junior members of the chain of command were where the rubber met the road. These words summed up what the Infantry Potential Junior Non Commissioned Of cer Cadre (IPJNCO) is all about: Junior Leadership.
The Ri emen boarded a bus for Barry Buddon training camp near Dundee and began in earnest a three week battle camp with activities coving a broad spectrum of military skills. These ranged from training in Command Leadership and Management (CLM) to navigation exercises by day and night to days of section attacks.
The rst week of the Cadre revolved around the conceptual and moral elements of becoming a Lance Corporal, with the candidates learning about Values and Standards, the Army Leadership Code and military discipline. These universal skills build the foundations for a long and prosperous career and transcend rank or title, hence why they were hammered home so early in the course. Whilst spending most of their days in the lecture hall gaps were lled with rigorous physical training, with LCpl Body making the most of the nearby Barry sand beach to add variety to the sessions.
The second week of the battle camp built on the conceptual base of the rst, but added the physical elements. These included practical skills like navigation, eldcraft and tactical actions. The students learnt rst in the class room, then through practical instruction from their corporal instructors, and nally were tested. The rst individual event of the cadre was the day navigation exercise, in which the Ri emen had to navigate between nine different check points over a ten kilometre course in less than two hours and thirty minutes. Rfn Edwards from the Second Battalion won the event with a time of one hour and thirty minutes.
During the third week the Ri emen were tested in tactical command appointments for the rst time. Each student went through a section attack as both a section second-in-command and as a section commander, under the eternally scrupulous eyes of their corporal instructors. Of particular note were performances by Rfn Sparks and Rfn Pollard who impressed as section commanders despite having no experience in the role.
Having been taught all of the skills they would
require in their new role as Section 2IC the men of the IPJNCO Cadre deployed to Otterburn Training Area for the nal exercise and summative test phase of the cadre. The exercise began with a ten kilometre tactical insertion across the impact area. The men were tested in command appointments throughout the week, with the complexity of the serials increasing as the week went on. By the time of the nal attack the men were taking part in compa- ny-level deliberate attacks. The two top students from the exercise Rfn Calaway and Rfn Hindmarch
HRH Princess Alexandra takes the salute
76 THIRD BATTALION
THE RIFLES