Page 13 - RADC 2023

Mission Commission
Capt Laura Pearson, Capt Katy Meldrum, Capt Hannah Jones, Capt Georgia Simpson
It was midday on the 30th of September 2023 when Officer Cadets from all corners of the world and professional backgrounds filed into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS). Ironing boards in hand, we all shared a sense of eager anticipation - and mild trepidation - about what the next 8 weeks would hold. Commissioning Course Short (CCS) 233 was about to begin and we four dentists were in attendance, having temporarily hung up our high speeds to
be put through our paces with the goal of earning our commissions.
Divided into our respective platoons, we soon learned that the pace of life at RMAS is faster than an NHS check-up as we immediately got stuck into training. Module A was an opportunity to learn and hone basic soldiering skills. Starting the morning early by singing a loud rendition of the National Anthem, we were then marched around the parade square in attractive boiler suits, drilled in weapons handling, put through our paces in physical training (who knew the biggest panic on the lines would be, “what colour of issue socks to wear?!”) and taught basic field craft which would soon be put to the test in our end of module exercise, Ex AKEHURST EDGE. Excited by the opportunity to apply our newly acquired skills and experience the field, we set off
to Barossa; ration packs, compasses and freshly fablonned maps at the ready.
Ex AKEHURST EDGE vigorously tested our navigation skills and allowed us to demonstrate our ability to handrail off the infamous (and helpful!) pylons and even gave several of us the opportunity to practise our wet dry drills on the hunt for some extremely well disguised waypoints under the Wishstream bridge on the night nav! We soon discovered which snacks in the ration packs were worth hanging onto (chocolate orange cookies are great for morale), how
to live in and blend into the landscape, and enjoyed firing our weapon systems for the first time as we learned how to conduct fire
and manoeuvres drills in our sections.
Still in the early stages of our training, our enthusiasm for our dental profession proved
difficult to readily put aside! OCdt Jones delivered an oral health education brief in the field which was very well received and encouraged a lot of discussion amongst
the platoons about the risks field life can pose to dental health. A culture of sharing helpful knowledge or experience amongst our platoons was being carefully fostered. Key lessons learned were generously shared, with a particularly memorable moment being when one of our colleagues demonstrated their ‘new method’ for beret moulding... by putting it in the washing machine! Discovering it was missing when asked to present it on parade, they showed the platoon that a quick spin alongside muddy PT kit is survivable (although maybe not advisable for those who don’t wish to
spend an afternoon in class trying to stretch it back to size!).
Module B brought in a whole new set of lessons and command opportunities which we were all keen to experience. Moving on from the drill square to the classroom, we were schooled in tactics, radio operations and were introduced to the trusty Combat Estimate with our ability to plan and deliver orders put to the test in the PRACTAC exam. Fortunately for us dentists, our inventive request for a “battle bus” was agreed to be acceptable when the specific APC name proved elusive during the test, and later became a term affectionately adopted amongst our platoons in future orders!
Enthusiastically exchanging our spoon excavators for entrenching tools, we soon ventured back out onto our boggy yet beloved Barossa to establish our own harbour areas and write our first orders
RADC BULLETIN 2023 11