Page 72 - RAPTC Year of 2019

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Office of the ‘Beast with 3 heads
Royal Colonel, the Duchess of Cornwall presents medals to 4 RIFLES
You may ask, was there any rest-bite? Well the Battalion definitely puts time into its busy programme for multiple dine outs for long serving members, a father-son weekend and then there was the Christmas to remember, or not, depending on the consumption of alcohol on the 4 out of 6 days drinking! The year finished with a winter AT skiing package to Kapaonik, Serbia where at the end of snowy day nothing warms you up more than a shot of Rakija.
And what will your next round be? Well Barman, my drinking partner SSgt (SSI) Syrett has arrived so we’ll stick to the shandy!
Cooking homemade pizza with A Coy in Camp Hume, Iraq
Barman, I’d like something from the top-shelf. Give me a 4 RIFLES RAPTCI...the ingredients? sure...1 ERI(Forward) with 4 shots of mainstream topped with some 11X taskings.
Add in a dash of SPEC INF Group HQ PT and a pinch of RC(S) Cross Country Secretary for good measure.
Probably a normal year for most troops here as the SPEC INF moniker has gained traction over the last few years but needless to say it was a year where Sgt (SI) Caine has been kept busy.
Arriving at the start of the year to take on the challenge of establishing rehab as Part 3 of the Programme THOR initiative, I was looking forward to running my own diary. Fixing people was on the cards too, as was minimising the mileage needed to be travelled in commuting from New Normandy Barracks to PCRF (Aldershot). So, I set about acquiring kit to make the unit more self-sustainable with the aim of improving engagement of rehab. This was going well until his mainstream counterpart had to leave, handing Sgt Caine the reigns in addition to my day job. The foray into the world of APTS was something the traditional ‘old-school’ infanteers took time to warm to but PT became more varied and progressive and everyone was brought on board by the end of the year.
Meanwhile back in Sgt Caine’s office the beast with 2 heads grew a third as the Cross-Country season started, which although he ‘looks like a runner’ was a branch of sport he had never really delved into. It turned out to be a busy but ultimately rewarding secretary’s job in what turned out to be a competitive season, with 10/11 winners decided on the final day.
Throughout all of this the Unit were themselves kept busy with A Coy deployed to Ex Askari Spear. The Battalion hosted the latest SPEC INF Cadre, determining the next ‘Chosen Men’ to be put to task on Op TORAL & Op SHADER where a gruelling 8-month PDT ensues. R Coy received their rewards for their last rotation by way of a visit from the Royal Colonel, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. The shooting team also put in an excellent show coming 2nd in the Army Operational Shooting Competition.
4th BATTALION THE RIFLES
Sgt (SI) S Caine RAPTC
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