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THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF MILITARY ENGINEERING

1 RSME REGT – CHATHAM

“ENGINEERING CHANGE”

WO2 (QMSI) S Green RAPTC

T
he Brompton Barracks Gymnasium is the second oldest All course graduates obtain a military engineering qualiication
Gymnasia in the British Army having been designed by the however some also gain recognised civilian qualiications ranging
pioneer of gymnasia Mr Archibald Maclaren in 1863. When from a NVQ for some artisan trades to a Master of Science for

it was opened it was the largest and most advanced in the country professional engineering training.
it now has the privilege of being since 1998 a listed building.
This diversity of training, the instructors’ experience and subject
Firstly I would like to say a huge Thank You to my predecessor knowledge and the quality of training output all combine to make

WO2 (QMSI) Kev Haley who is reaping the rewards of 1 RSME the RSME a highly regarded & renowned military engineering
Regt by sunning himself in Dhekelia. hard life.
training establishment. However, in common with other military
training establishments, there is an urgent need and considerable
Having spent the previous 3 years in the RAPTC Training scope to develop better and more eficient training to ensure that
Development Team, to get a posting to an ARTD Establishment training delivery remains cost effective and operationally relevant

and with a Corps that I hadn’t worked with before illed me with both now and well into the future.
both excitement and anticipation..
The London Olympics provided an amazing opportunity for
It all started with my irst brief from the Commanding Oficer which everyone to prove what is “Great” about Great Britain and

was “Find your feet and I don’t want you to implement any change Chatham was no exception, the region was fortunate enough to
for 2 months”, as an RAPTCI this was obviously dificult as we all have a young man selected to carry the Olympic Torch through the
want to add our little legacy to a unit. Well I can safely say that 2 Kent Region and he stopped off at Brompton Barracks to share
months has just passed...
his experiences with the Regiment.

So what is 1 RSME Regt? It’s Mission is to: “deliver appropriately In Sept 2012 the Regt celebrated both its 200th Anniversary in
trained and motivated personnel in construction, engineering and Chatham and the delights of the Corps Memorial Weekend. This
watermanship in order to meet the requirements of Defence”.
brought colour and impressive parades and displays to Chatham,

as well as providing a relection and commemoration of Engineers
1 RSME Regt is aided in the delivery of training by the Holdfast lost on active service during the year. The weekend also saw the
Group, approximately 50% of the training is delivered by almost opening of the RSME Bicentenary Bridge, designed and built by
200 Holdfast instructors. Between them, the instructors deliver the RSME and opened by the Chief of the General Staff General
over 350,000 training days per annum across a spectrum of ages, Sir Peter Wall (Late RE).

ranks, abilities and course types from those aimed at Sappers
just embarking on their military careers to oficers, senior and With 1 RSME Regt being the home of the “Engineers” the majority
junior non-commissioned oficers at later stages of their careers. of Royal Engineer Championships occur here ranging from
Holdfast also supports and delivers specialist training to other Regimental and Engineer Boxing Championships in Feb and Apr

Arms and Services of the Army, and the other Armed Forces. All respectively to the newly reformed RE Athletics Championships in
courses are focused on the operational requirements of the Royal May. The Regt is renowned for its sporting prowess and has had
Engineers, wider Army and Defence and have the lexibility to a successful season in all entered Competitions both at Support
change to meet their emerging needs.
Command South and Army level.

Commanding Oficer Mayor
and Olympic lame runner