Sam's Army Adventure

  On Monday we began learning CBRN (Chemical/Biological/ Radiological/Nuclear) information and drills. We were taught how to react to situations in which we would be exposed to any CBRN attacks. It’s something that every soldier has to know, but I hope I never find myself in that type of situation. It’s rats. You have to wear a full suit, which is meant to protect you from all contaminants in the atmosphere/environment. We wear a heavy jacket and trousers, rubber boots and rubber gloves, which all go over top of the uniform that we already wear. When there is a CBRN threat expected, then we must wear all that kit. If/when attacked with CBRN weapons, there are alarms that sound, and anyone who notices the signs of a CBRN attack, for example, aircraft overhead and then gas in the air, or the smell of fresh-cut hay, geraniums, fish, garlic, or almonds, must yell “GAS GAS GAS!”   When someone yells “GAS GAS GAS!” you have maybe 10 seconds to get your respirator on. On the outside of that s

  On Monday we were taken to Wales for SDW (Soldier Development Week) to practise our MRT (Mental Resilience Training) and develop core values of the Army (CDRILS: Courage, Discipline, Respect for Others, Integrity, Loyalty, Selfless Commitment).  Sennybridge is a small village home to one of the largest military training areas in the UK. It’s right above the Brecon Beacons, a mountain range in south Wales. We stayed in the training camp, which apparently was used as a camp for Italian POWs during WWII. Just small buildings with rickety bed frames and buildings for showers, toilets, etc. I don’t think there have been any renovations to it since the POWs were here.  On day 1, we put our kit away and immediately got amongst it on the high ropes course. The course is a series of feats that we had to complete either individually or as a team of 4. The first one for our group was to scale a narrow ladder about 15 m (50 ft) high and stand on a small platform, from which we had to jump across

  We were taught a lot of theory this week, meaning a lot of classroom learning and not so much “exciting” stuff.   CEOT (Counter Explosive Ordnance Training) was about types of explosives and information on how to be on the lookout for locations where there would be explosives planted in the field and how to react if you come into contact with mines or IEDs. Basically signs to look for in the ground and also to avoid locations where there are choke points in a path or disturbances in the sand, etc. It's important enough that we had a test about it on Friday, but everyone passed and a lot of people got 100% on it so it wasn't that bad really. We learned some basic first aid as well, a.k.a. Battlefield Casualty Drills. That was interesting as that is what I’ll be learning more in-depth down the line as a medic. We learned basic procedures of how to deal with soldiers that get injured in battle. For example, we learned how to apply CATs (Combat Application Tourniquet) and ECBs (E

We started Battle Camp on Monday. Battle camp is an exercise in which we get taught fieldcraft skills and also learn how to engage in combat if attacked. All we take with us is a bergen (a large backpack) stuffed with everything we will need for the exercise: sleeping gear, spare boots, all the clothing we will need, and other bits of equipment.     On Monday, we started by learning some things like how to camouflage and hand signals. They told us briefly how to apply camouflage cream and put leaves and foliage in our helmets and webbing to blend in to the environment. They gave us 5 minutes to get that all done so I got a fingertip full of green cam cream and smeared it over my face. Immediately I knew I’d made a mistake as it spreads quite a lot and is very thick so as I spread it across my face it became solid green and shiny, so I frantically tried removing it with leaves around me but unfortunately that left bits of leaves all over my face as well without really removing it. And b

  We started live firing on the ranges this week, all of us having passed our weapons handling assessment last week. We spent a lot of time at the ranges, live and simulated (DCCT). We did practice sessions at the simulated range (DCCT it’s called) before doing the live firing session the next day. So last Saturday we simulated what we would be doing on Monday. On Monday we got our webbing and day sacks all packed and then headed to the armoury to pick up our weapons. We took a coach to a range about 30 min away.     Monday was one of my favourite days being here. We practised firing from the prone position, which is lying down on your front with the rifle propped up by having your elbows on the ground. It’s one of the most stable positions and therefore the easiest to fire accurately. I didn’t do too bad considering it was the first time having fired the rifle. We shot from 25 metres in prone unsupported and prone supported (magazine of the rifle rests on the ground) and the corporal

  This week was very academic. There were a lot of theory classes and lessons, so it wasn’t all that “exciting.” Not in terms of being a soldier anyway. But all of it important nonetheless. We had classes on international relations, weapons handling, diversity & inclusion, country code (how to behave in the countryside—one of the “rules” is to enjoy yourself), navigation, and operational law (laws of armed conflict). It was extremely difficult to stay awake during some of the classes due to getting around 5-6 hours of sleep a night and the information being very dry. And no, we are not allowed to fall asleep, so I ended up standing up for probably 60% of the time in classes.   We still have regular room and locker inspections almost every day. That means all of our “free” time in the evenings is spent ironing and polishing and tidying so that all of our kit and bedspace is presentable. During one of our locker/room inspections this week I had a water bottle that I hadn’t emptied fr