Page 73 - RAPTC Mind, Body & Spirit

Just when you believe you’re well and truly settled in, along comes change. With the departure of SSgt (SSI) McMullen and WO2 (QMSI) Allen, MoD Stafford welcomed SSgt (SSI) ‘Watty’ Watson and SSgt (SSI) ‘Coach’ Carter to the fold in their respective Units which all share the same facilities. Both arrived guns blazing with various ideas from their previous Units. This quickly settled down and after many extended Costa stops we agreed what was viable and what was desirable considering the amount of moving parts involved with 4 Major Units, when their PD facilities are controlled by MoD Stafford Station.
I’m sure all Corps Instructors have used the phrase ‘busy’ when asked about their job or role within a Unit and at 16th Signal Regiment my answer has been no different! With so much going on I’ve nothing but admiration for the Soldiers and Officers who continually put a shift in, competing in sport and attending AT as and when the ‘busy’ forecast of events allow.
One of the highlights of my year was a fastball. Having answered my phone late on a Friday afternoon one of the Troop Commanders was on the other end. “Hi Staff how are you. How is the training going, are you feeling fit?”..... Hmmm, suspicions were HIGH!!! It turned out 16 Signal Regiment were invited to attend the Raid Sportif in Rennes, France. This is a French Signals multi-sport competition in which a team of three not only participate in 15 various events, but navigate unsupported across the region by foot and mountain bike to each event over three days. With no preparation training we loaded the transport with a bike each, plenty of phys kit and an admin instruction loosely translated via Google translate.
SSgt (SSI) Stoby and two troop commanders on day two realising we were in first place
After two days of open water swimming, kayaking, orienteering, mountain biking and an obstacle course to name a few of the events, we were informed via the French WO PD that much to our surprise we were sitting in 1st position. However, this wasn’t to last and we finished the whole competition a respectable 3rd. This was mainly due to hefty penalty points incurred on memory orienteering, with a limited French vocabulary the translation barrier was too tough to overcome.
As ever, another great year in the Corps. With a Bde Festival of Sport on the horizon, the Unit PDA, a Regimental battle camp and Sqn AT packages to deliver on. As well as various RAPTC Squash events to organise, I do not anticipate the tempo of life to slow down anytime soon. #BUSY!!!
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MSKI injured or downgraded SP to take part and challenge themselves physically and mentally.
DSU also hosted the 2017 11 Sig & WM Bde Regional Programme THOR Study Period. The new skills learned proved invaluable to myself and AAPTI’s within 174 Provost Company in the planning and development of lessons, remodelling current circuits to better
suit the needs of all abilities. This is a challenge when catering for the wide ranging needs of staff of differing ability, age, gender and medical categories from the HQ 11 Sig & WM Bde. Overall I have immensely enjoyed my time in post here at DSU. It is in a prime location in the West Midlands and I would commend it to any Sgt RAPTCI looking to refine their skillset in a unique but challenging environment co-located with a 1* HQ.
16TH SIGNAL REGIMENT
SSgt (SSI) Stoby and two troop commanders carrying their burdens
SSgt (SSI) Stoby on French Signals obstacle course
SSgt (SSI) A Stoby RAPTC