Page 109 - RAPTC Year of 2019

1Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment (1 RSME) has a wealth of gymnasium and sporting facilities which supports any ideas or aspirations for the delivery of PT and sport. The
chain of command is also fully supportive of any ideas for making improvements. With two large gymnasiums, which are in separate areas of the camp, the soldiers at 1 RSME are spoilt for choice with PT equipment and sporting arenas. The facilities contain two basketball courts, a dedicated strength and conditioning area, a climbing wall and an extremely generous outside grassed area, which contains two beaver fit rigs. The Brompton Fitness Centre facility contains over 45 pieces of cardio vascular equipment with an additional area containing over 40 pieces of strength and conditioning apparatus, which supports the APTS and Army powerlifting teams who train at 1 RSME.
With such a wealth of infrastructure and so many sporting events taking place, the 14 AAPTIs are thriving to take on the responsibilities to support these tasks. AAPTIs have the opportunity to organise and deliver an event throughout their time at 1 RSME Regiment and it is a great opportunity for the whole team to work together.
Every Wednesday afternoon on Sports Parade, the local leisure centre facilitates sessions in the swimming pool, basketball and badminton courts, judo centre and athletics track. This is an overwhelming success and a great opportunity for 400 soldiers and it also allows us to conduct over 20 sports concurrently. 1 RSME also pay for the use of a local tennis centre and martial arts academy that organise various training sessions. This is all integrated within a scheme for our soldiers under trade training called the ‘Sports Passport’, which aims to deliver a rotational eight weeks programme of sports which trainees actively participate in when they first arrive at 1 RSME Regiment.
During the training year we organise various Inter Sqn Competitions. The Military Skills Competition is always a fantastic event to organise as we have the use of a large training area. The event involves 8 teams from each Sqn completing an endurance event involving a Land Rover pull, equipment carries as well as command tasks, military knowledge, first aid and memory games. The first aid stand is always a shock to the trainees with a company contracted in to offer life-like scenarios using amputees as casualties and they use a professional makeup artist to make it look as realistic as possible.
1 RSME Regiment took part in the Royal Engineer Games this year, which took place at 42 Engr Regt, RAF Wyton. The games consisted of 27 different sports and were played over three consecutive days. This allowed around 116 soldiers from 1 RSME to stop training and take part in a sporting event. 1 RSME spent
WO2 Read Skiing
107
1 ROYAL SCHOOL OF MILITARY ENGINEERING
WO2 (QMSI) D Read RAPTC
7 weeks training for the RE Games with Sports Officers using Wednesday afternoons as dedicated training time. All of the hard work paid off with the Regiment finishing 2nd overall from a total of 27 different Royal Engineers units.
Adventurous Training is always on offer at 1 RSME with a skiing package planned in the next couple of months to Les Deux Alpes in France with 21 personnel from 1 RSME taking part. This package is aimed at training personnel at SF1 and SF2 and will be an excellent opportunity for members of permanent staff to get away and conduct some good quality training. Earlier in the year we also travelled to Chamonix and conducted a Mountain Bike Foundation Course using the terrain around the mountainous areas. The trails were perfect for beginners with lots of soft flowing blue and green routes enabling lower level riders to develop their basic skills. Recently, the Royal Engineers conducted their annual Snowboarding Championships in France which also gave the opportunity for members of 1 RSME to go and spend 4 weeks learning how to snowboard before entering various races against personnel of the same ability.
The 1 RSME RHQ recently organised a visit to the Royal Hospital Chelsea which allowed 30 personnel to escape the routine of work and have a day visiting the 66-acre site. This is the first time I have been to the Royal Hospital Chelsea and it was a very enjoyable experience having the guided tour around the retirement and nursing home. Following the visit in the morning to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, we spent the afternoon looking around National Army Museum which reopened in March 2017 following a major £23.75 million re-development project, so this is a highly recommended visit for anyone who has not been.
WO2 Read at the Royal Chelsea Hospital
WO2 Read Military Skills Event