Page 30 - RAPTC Year of 2019

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1ST BATTALION THE MERCIAN REGIMENT
Sgt (SI) Charlton RAPTC
Having spent the last 3 years working in a small team at ITC PCRF rehabilitating injured recruits and putting my trade into
practice whilst also concentrating on my own
physical fitness, I was given a great opportunity to move on to a major infantry unit; the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment, something that was totally different to what I have experienced in my time at the PCRF and an offer I couldn’t refuse. I was unsure of what was expected of me prior to arriving, however after receiving my initial welcome and arrival interview with the CO, I was even more excited and keen to get started in my new job role, as the Unit RI implementing THOR and as directed by the CO my sole purpose was to get as many boots
back on the ground as possible.
As the first couple of weeks started to unfold, I knew I had my hands full but was still eager to get started and bring ideas across from ITC. The Battalion had already created a Coy dedicated to those who required rehabilitation, instantly this was half the battle won and my next task was to ensure all injured personnel were taken in the right direction with the aim to of
leaving C Company fully fit.
Although I am employed under the THOR role alongside the mainstream RAPTCI but unfortunately the
mainstream post had been gapped for the last 5 months. So, the extra roles and responsibilities were turned
to me, this for me was going from one extreme to another as I now have all
1 Mercian Inter-Coy Boxing
1 Mercian Christmas PT
Sgt Charlton
the responsibilities for both appointments. So, not only having all my rehab work I’m now guiding the battalion through a PDA and other mainstream tasks, I was also assisted with a huge and successful inter-company boxing night.
The 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment have got a very busy period ahead; deploying to Canada August 2020 and over 400+ being deployed on OP Toral in April 2021, it is imperative that I continue enhancing the deployability status and ensuring The unit is more operationally effective.
I strongly feel that The 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment are very welcoming nature, and this has made a positive impact on my working life in an infantry battalion. I am learning and growing my skills each day and although I have a very busy daily diary, I look forward to seeing what new avenues are in store for me bearing in mind the Battalion’s motto ‘Stand Firm, Strike Hard’.