Page 32 - AGC-Journal-2016

AGC JOURNAL 2016

2nd Battalion

Parachute Regiment

By Sergeant Henry Owens and Corporal Christopher Davidson

The regiment has had a very Giving Back to Society
enjoyable and successful

year, despite the challenges of As a member of the regiment, one can
feel the airborne ethos and culture begin
being a part of 16 Air Assault to take effect. The question was: what
Brigade and its commitment challenge can the detachment take up that
will involve all its members. It was decided
to the Army’s high readiness that a select few will tab the 2016 Virgin
status. Morale has been London Marathon carrying Corps weight.
high with a busy and very The beneficiary from this arduous task was
The Children’s Trust, who are the leading
demanding forecast of events. providers for children with brain injuries. Henry Owens, Dulcie Speer, Richard Holmes and Asongafac Asong,
after crossing the finish line at the London Marathon
During the lead up to the event we took the Cadets Centre in Blackheath. It was an
Regimental Commitments part in a number of fundraising activities, early rise for Captain Asongafac Asong,
ranging from car boot sales to cake sales Warrant Officer Class Two Richard Holmes,
The year has been divided between two in the regiment. The most significant of Sergeant Henry Owens and Sergeant
very significant events in the operational the fundraising activities has been the Dulcie Speer, the 4 individuals doing the
commitment of the Brigade. Coming to the numerous half marathons and 10 mile race.
end of the unit’s commitment to the United tabs, which not only served as build up
Kingdom Air Manoeuvre Battle Group, we training, but ways of generating funds to We got to the starting area in plenty of
handed over the mantle to 3rd Battalion reach our monetary target. The group took time, carried out a few personal admin
Parachute Regiment in April 2016. The part in the Wimbledon half marathon, the and waited for the race to start. The race
Battalion reverted back to a 12 month Olympic 10 km run, the AGC cross country started at 1000 hrs. There were well wishers
training cycle, which saw all members race and the Fleet half marathon. everywhere, racers and spectators alike.
of the detachment being put through The most captivating part of the race was
their paces, emotionally physically and The London Marathon the roar of the crowd lined up throughout
mentally. The degree of professionalism the entire course. In what seemed like no
exercised by everyone is nothing short of Sunday 24 April 2016 was race day. The time at all, we were approaching Tower
exceptional. whole detachment was accommodated in Bridge. This stage is recognised as the
halfway point, but it isn’t quite, it’s a bit
short of it. It would be easy to get a bit
emotional at this point, with thousands
of spectators roaring their lungs out. We
even stopped to be interviewed by the BBC.
All four finished the race and crossing the
finish line felt like the most rewarding
thing achieved this year.

Three months after completing the race,
a representative of the Children’s Trust
was invited to the regiment and a cheque
for £5,414.43 was presented by the
Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel
Duncan Mann.

The detachment taken a few days after the London Marathon

32

*2016 J Layout.indd 32 10/01/2017 15:32