What an amazing week at Longmoor ! See the ‘official’ report on our training here: www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-events/rn-live/all-news/sailors-train-for-afghanistan/*/changeNav/6568
And watch it on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x8KkHd7vlE
Senior Officers from PJHQ who visited us during the training dubbed us ‘Combat Clankys’ as many of the team are from my branch - the Marine Engineering Branch - and one of the slang names for our branch are ‘Clankys’ !
The week started quite slowly with map reading and a NavEx (navigation exercise) around the camp to familiarise ourselves with the terrain. I had been nominated as the Section Commander - responsiible for the 2 fire teams under by Command. At each RV point there were training stances to teach us more skills we may need when we deploy. These included patrols, observation, reporting and judgement training to name but a few. After setting up our bivvy for the night, we then had a ‘light and sound’ show to demonstrate how much light and sound travels at night, and how to minimise this when operating tactically. With the whole course bedding down for the night at the bivvy site, we set up watches as sentries and settled in for a night under the stars.
This photo was taken the next morning as we prepared to step up a gear and start the ’sand’ phase of the training working in the affectionately known ’sand pit’. As the name suggests this is a huge sand pit in the midddle of Longmoor camp.
