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www.raptcassociation.org.uk
ROYAL ARMY PHYSICAL TRAINING CORPS SERGEANT MAJOR’S COIN – 2016
It is well-known that numerous serving RAPTCIs frequently
go above and beyond the call of duty and their everyday
role, often volunteering for and taking on, additional responsibilities both internally within the Army and the
Corps (Corps Sports Secretaries are an example of this)
and externally as part of wider community engagement activities. In doing so, the enthusiasm, drive and dedication displayed by those individuals encapsulates
the very essence of what the RAPTC stands for whilst at
the same time ensuring they stand out from the crowd.
Such professionalism and the high standards attained are what we have come to expect of our RAPTC Instructors.
As you are all aware the Army Leadership Code consists of seven leadership behaviours and these are much more than words written at the bottom of your ‘signature block’, they are what the British Army stands for, they must be lived and breathed, forming the fabric of our working life; they are what sets us apart from society. The ‘A’ contained within the mnemonic L-E-A-D-E-R-S, is Apply reward and discipline – so the aim of the Corps SM’s COIN is to ‘Apply Reward and Discipline’ by highlighting and recognising those individuals who stand out from what is a very high quality cohort of professional RAPTCIs.
The ‘COIN’ nomination process represents a function of ‘Leadership’ and encapsulates the three concepts within the
‘Army Leadership Code’, which are Vision-Support- Challenge; it is human nature to enjoy being praised, and reward recognises effort, inspiring further endeavour and motivation to do even better.
Any Regular Serving member of the RAPTC WOs’ & Sgts’ Mess can be nominated for a Corps SM’s ‘COIN’. This is not an annual award and nominations can be submitted for individual cases or long term commitments at any time and there is no limit to the number of nominations for an individual.
The COIN is awarded to recognise those individuals who
stand out from the high quality RAPTCI cohort. Nominations are to be submitted to the Corps SM who is the sole arbitrator for the presentation of the award.
In closing, I would like to personally thank all RAPTCIs for the tremendous support and professionalism shown throughout the year and I look forward to presenting more COINs throughout my tenure.
“Mens Sana in Corpore Sano”
RAPTC SERGEANT MAJOR
WO1 (Corps SM) C Burnett RAPTC
REDUCING MUSCULAR SKELETAL INJURIES THE RAPTC CONTRIBUTION
Lt Col Brian Dupree RAPTC
Introduction
After 2 years at Army HQ as SO1 Army Health I handed over the role to Lt Col Bob Taylor in Feb 16. Huge congratulations to Bob and best of luck in this busy and varied role. As many of you will know Bob is not one those people that operates just to survive and keep his head above water - he jogs along the surface and I am certain he will continue to make a difference.
As I entered my 38th and nal year of service and started to think about resettlement I was asked if I would consider staying on for a few more years. So after 38 years’ service and 32 years in the Corps I agreed to sign on for another 2.5 years to run a project with a mandate to reduce the number and incidence of muscular skeletal injuries (MSKI) across the Army.
Whether you are relatively new to the Corps or are an aged veteran you will know that MSKI has always been and will continue to be an occupational hazard for soldiers. The military is a demanding occupation and requires soldiers to have above average tness levels to cope with the demands of military life. Either in barracks or on operations. So we have to accept an irreducible minimum, but we can and should do better and the Corps can make an enormous difference.
The scale of the MSKI problem
MSKI was the principle cause of medical discharge of 4397 Army personnel over the period 2010/11 to 2014/15. This represents 61% of all Army medical discharges. When contributory causes for medical discharge are included, MSKI accounts for 70% of all discharges (5,083).
At present the Army has no mechanism for reliably reporting numbers of personnel on temporary restrictions of duty. Therefore, there may be an unquanti able number of personnel who, for a period of 56 days, are restricted from undertaking their full duties on account of MSKI.
Causes of MSKI There is much evidence to suggest that many of the typical injuries seen in military personnel are caused by overuse. To avoid injury it is essential that the body is adequately conditioned to meet the physical demands of the role. Lack of physical activity also increases the risk of MSKI. The cause of injury is always dif cult to determine and is sensitive to the clinician recording it and the patient reporting it. In addition, an overuse injury may present during sport but be the accumulation of training injuries over a period of time. RAPTCIs clearly lead in both of these areas.
Costs Lower limb injuries cost HQ ARTD £13.5m during 12/13. HQ Army Medical Services calculated that MSKI cost an estimated £100m per annum. A MAS (A) report estimated that MSKI will cost 1.20Bn over the next 15 years. The data provided did not allow for the identi cation of costs arising from personal liability common law claims, diagnostic and treatment or medical overhead costs. The report concluded that the costs are likely to be considerably higher as the management information is limited.
Co-morbidity: mental health. People with chronic MSKI commonly have co-morbid mental health problems particularly depression. The impact of these co-morbid problems can be poorer prognosis of the physical injury and increased healthcare