Page 75 - RADC 2020

Maj K Blyth
slopes spent bruising my ego, I could retreat back to our quaint chalet for some fine dining usually cooked up by our volunteer ‘personal chef’ Capt. Craig Parry (AKA SDO of DC Weeton). The rest of us took it in turns to play sous-chef, prepare lunches, set the table and do the washing up. The best part about having a nominated chef in the chalet is having someone to blame if Brigadier Beardmore does not enjoy the food when he visits for dinner!
Over our time at Serre Chevalier AMS members became a close-knit team
or family if you like, especially amongst individual chalets which was one of my favourite parts of the experience. We had 12 people of all different backgrounds, age groups, ranks, occupations, and skillsets sit down to dinner and share stories
from their day. Dinner was often followed by participating in some less physical competition, thanks to Capt. Oliver Jest, by playing some fun board games.
Meanwhile back on the slopes, we were piecing together all the newly learnt skills we had acquired, and people having a not so quiet word with their own self-confidence
in order to convince themselves that they are more than capable of plummeting down what seems likes the steepest slope in NATO, for the novice slalom race they will be participating in during week two of the exercise.
A truly enjoyable experience, that doesn’t occur in everyday working life back at individual units, and one of my most memorable in my military career. I would recommend anyone who has the opportunity to attend AMS skiing to do so. I had a great time, with great people, and thanks to all those who put time and effort into the organisation and execution of the exercise it almost felt like a holiday! This exercise is both physically and mentally challenging but so much fun and the views are amazing.”
A resoundingly positive experience for Cpl Kingsbury which is echoed by LCpl Banks, from a different chalet and region, in the following testimonial.
LCpl Banks
“As a beginner skier I felt I was in for a very exciting time. As soon as I heard about this opportunity, I made sure I wasn’t going to miss it. I had heard that you wouldn’t get better training/lessons than in the Army, and Ex Proton Serpent 2020 seemed to be one of those opportunities.
The two weeks didn’t disappoint it was full of Alpine and Nordic skiing, split in half every day, with planned rest to recover and prepare before events.
My favourite part was the alpine lessons from the French instructors, they were so thorough and patient especially when to begin with I was falling over every 5 minutes!
It was such fun being part of a big group in the chalet; everyone was at different skiing abilities so we all helped each other out where and when we could.
It was very physically demanding but I can’t wait to get back skiing again and would highly recommend it to everyone, especially beginners.”
From hearing and reading both NCO’s accounts of their experience, it is excellent yet unsurprising to see the consistent theme of teamwork and handwork described.
In my opinion, there is no aspect of the Exercise which showcases and applies these essential military and life skills more than the Patrol Race. The race is seen as the culminating event of the Exercise in which, predominantly, an individual’s Nordic Ski ability but all-round alpine environment skills are put to the test.
Teams of 4 set out together to tackle a 17km course; each member carried a
minimum weight of 10kg which included specific items of equipment that would be of use when operating in a winter alpine environment. Command tasks dotted around the course added to the already demanding nature of the event, allowing patrol commanders to apply leadership
and utilise their knowledge of the individual team members to complete the tasks. This made for a real sense of camaraderie, as the competitive element sparked in such a challenging yet rewarding environment. The support from those not directly competing was incredible, as they manoeuvred around the course to catch us at suspiciously well- planned points, either hanging out up the steep hills or at the likely pileup points on the descents. This encouragement went a long way to help secure a respectable 14th place, out of 39 teams, for DPHC (SN) B team, considering many of the lead teams had instructors and Army Divisional athletes in their ranks.
However, before we could even get to the start line a huge amount of organisation and effort went in from a few key RADC players, and it would be unfair to give a round up
of the Exercise without mentioning their contributions.
A thank you to Maj. Verity Brown for
her leadership and direction as our overall DPHC team captain and also Captain Oliver Richards and Captain Deiniol Prowse-Jones as regional DPHC team captains. Although, I’m sure they would join me in saying the true stars of the show were those beginners who strapped on the kit for the first time and gave it everything out there on the snow! Let that be you next year.
RADC BULLETIN 2020 73