9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2003 - Page 0052
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
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50 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) sible enough to make on the spot decisions. The ability to deploy separately also allows for the team members to have a quality of life and soldiers and can work from ‘front of house’ and ‘behind the scenes’ - smiling all day is hard work. RRTs just turning up at a show with a tracked vehicle and expect the general public to be interested in the Army is not going to happen, any more than visiting ACIF detachments and expect- ing to recruit cadets into our Regiment. The public and chil- dren want to ‘watch and do’ not ‘listen and see’. Hands-on activities, activities that allow the team to engage with the pub- lic are essential, crowds waiting to get on the tank need to be ‘worked’ and not just wait for ten minutes for their turn. To walk up to a soldier on a tank dressed in combats is very intim- idating for some children - Inspire not recruit. Regiments that are regional recruiters, and draw a high percent- age of Regimental personnel out of the same towns, estates, pub and clubs, will find difficulty in recruiting if their retention is poor, Regimental recruiting activities can, and will be neu- tralised at source by ex-dissatisfied soldiers. It is critical that soldiers returning to civilian life are re-introduced into society as satisfied ex-soldiers. -Termination of service is not criminal offence. Children and young adults who eventually join the Army will have been hit many times by marketing and advertising before they make their decision to join the Army. They will have prob- ably have had friends or family in the Army, and 20% of them will have been in the ACE So that aside, why do we need RRTs and where do they fit in. Of the 1800 children recruited this year in the Bde area, they will join the Army, but which cap-badge will they choose? It is at this point that the RRT needs to be. Most children when it comes to a choice of career in the Army are a blank sheet ofpaper. A potential recruit who is interested in working on engines, could find himself/herself just as easily channelled into the RLC, REME or RAC, and will probablybe influenced by the last person they spoke too. - This is where we need to be. The RAC compared to some Corps are amateurs in comparison. When we are not visiting our cadets, they are. When we are not conducting curriculum support activities in schools, they are. When we are not in our local press they are. The world of Regimental recruiting is a competitive world and every units gain is possibly our loss. - Recruit smart. The close-battle in recruiting is retention, all successfiJl recruit- ing activities target the medium and deep - battle, this ensures that potential recruits join the correct regiment for the right rea- sons, and are not just put there by the S02 Manning. The flash to bang time in recruiting a soldier is approximately a year and possibly 18 -months for AFC soldiers. This will not meet the short-term needs of Regiments and CO’s. In turn soldiers recruited through the long to medium-term are likely to serve longer and therefore it addresses the retention problem. Most battles are won at the strategic level, it’s the close battle where heroes are found. - Be brave. RAC Training Squadron raining Squadron is based at Allenby Barracks, Bovington and is responsible for the training of RAC Phase 2 recruits. In essence this means turning recruits who have completed the Common Military Syllabus into Troopers who are RAC Crewmen. The number of recruits in the squadron varies from 250 to 350 plus 40 staff. The staff include Sgt Major, Cpl Hall and Cpl Hudson. Most people at Regimental Duty are probably unaware of what actually goes on in Phase 2 training. When recruits arrive at Bovington from Phase 1, they have a week’s induction including command tasks, BPFA, log runs and briefings on life in Trg Sqn. If the recruit does not have his driving licence he will then be taught to drive and take his driving test. The next stage is Phase 1 Signals, which lasts for two weeks and provides the recruit’s first RAC trade. Recruits then receive the largest part of their training package which is the D&M course. On this they learn the ins and outs of driving and maintaining Challenger 2 or CVR(T). Finally all recruits complete the RAC Dismounted Skills Course. This new course covers dismounted GPMG, grenades, hides and patrol skills and aims to send a better- rounded crewman to Regiments. Assuming that they have passed all of their courses, recruits finish with a week ofbriefin- gs ranging from insurance to NVQ’s. In a perfect world, the time taken from a recruit arriving at Bovington to arrival at Regimental Duty would be as little as three months. However, in reality, the average time at Bovington is 20 weeks, due to vehicle availability, the number that can be loaded onto a course at any one time, injury and or other recruit related dramas. To keep the recruits occupied whilst they are awaiting courses, they undergo training such as ITD’s, European Computer Driving Licence and good old guard duty. I have been OC Training Sqn for5 months. The job is good fun and it is a challenge to balance the welfare and discipline of the largest Sqn in the RAC at any one time. Dramas present them- selves nearly every day. Only the darkest of imaginations can envisage the sort of scrapes hormonally charged 17 and 18 year olds get into. Despite this the job is very rewarding and the most capable NCOs are always encouraged to come here and bring on the next generation. S/mpson and Major at tram/Hg W/ng , responsm/e for the future |
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