Page 52 - AGC Journal 2018
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AGC JOURNAL 2018



              North Atlantic Treaty                                                                                                   Service Custody



              Organisation                                                                                                            Facility




              Headquarters                                                                                                            Northern Ireland







              By Warrant Officer Class 1 Woody Woodruff and Staff Sergeant Izzy Qalo                                                      By Sergeant Catherine Wear

              From the old to the new Headquarters                                                                                    Events and Activities in Service Custody Facility Northern Ireland

              All Change                                     Structure of the building: eight long wings and four short               Staffi  ng                                        Deep River Rock Belfast Marathon on 7th May 2018 in an
                                                             wings.                                                                                                                   impressive time of 3 Hours 54 minutes 17 seconds.  This is a

              Timeline – January 2018. No other Unit, Brigade or Division                                                             Currently sitting at eight staff we have three Corporals who   brave soldier that deliberately decides to run through the
              Headquarters is a match in size or strength to NATO   Agora, a central hallway linking all wings.                       are studying degrees, one who is on a long-term Gas and   streets of Belfast.  
              Headquarters. Percentage wise, there are more civilians                                                                 Engineering course and four who regularly take short term

              than military personnel. Whilst we were still getting used   Seven floors in the long wings, four in the short wings.    training opportunities.                         Corporal Marc Walkington took part in the Triple Crown,

              to the size of the building and our new roles, only to be                                                                                                               his team finished 11th. Corporal Jack Calver took part in
              told that we were going to be moving to the New NATO   Eighteen conference rooms.                                       Courses                                         the Nijmegen Marches, but due to injury he was unable to

              Headquarters across the road soon.                                                                                                                                      finish, he worked hard and is to be congratulated on his

                                                                                                                                      The unit has a healthy balance of Personal Development   efforts.
              Building Work                                                                                                           versus Custody Training. Throughout the year the team
                                                                                                                                      has been steadily striving to improve as Custodians.    Corporal Kafoa Fatiaki and Corporal Jone Leweni
              Since NATO’s inception in 1952 the number of members has                                                                Although our manning has been better, we managed to   represented the Regiment at the Inter Services Rugby
              nearly doubled, hence the need for a new Headquarters, and                                                              attend the study days at the Military Corrective Training   Sevens, by all accounts they were not to be messed with on

              in December 2010 construction began. Just over seven years                                                              Centre in Colchester. For the first time we have Corporal   the pitch.
              later the building had its first occupants.                                                                              Tankabahadur Tembe and Corporal Jone Leweni qualified as


                                                                                                                                      Assistant Equality Diversity and Inclusion Advisors.   Visits
              The Move


                                                                                                                                      Activities                                      We hosted the new Officer Commanding, Captain Nathan

              To help facilitate such a grand move, Sergeant Liam                                                                                                                     Marsom and Staff Sergeant Robert Bainbridge; the team
              Grimmer, Sergeant Antony Smith and us were volunteered                                                                  Corporal Tankabahadur Tembe successfully completed the   enjoyed the visit and the day was completed with some
              to be Movement Coordinators, there to help facilitate                                                                                                                   wonderful Nepalese food.
              the smooth transition from the old to the new. Our
              administrative experience helped in ensuring all the
              Departments and Personnel were transitioned over to the
              new Headquarters during April and May 2018 in good order
              with minimum disruption.
              A Green Building
              The new Headquarters has been designed and built with
              the environment in mind. It reduces energy use thanks to
              extensive thermal insulation, solar-glazing protection and
              advanced lighting systems. The windows installed in the
              building allow it to take maximum advantage of natural
              light, reducing consumption of electricity. State of the art
              cogeneration units provide most of the electricity and
              heating used on site. A geothermal heating and cooling
              system uses the constant temperature beneath the surface
              of the ground to provide heat during the winter and to cool
              the building in summer. A system of rainwater collection
              and storage supplies 90% percent of the water needed for
              the bathrooms, cleaning and landscaping.

              Facts and figures
              Gross surface area: over 254,000 m2 of floor space - 80%                                                                    Fakoa Fatiaki at the                           Tankabahadur

              bigger than the old Headquarters.                                                                                          Inter Service Rugby                            Tembe at the
                                                                                                                                         Sevens                                         Belfast Marathon
              Glass surface area: 72,000 m2






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