RAOC Gazette - page 10
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1981 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | No |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1981 |
| Late date | 1981 |
| Transcription |
Aircraft operating costs are high. Using the new ground r.d airborne electronic training equipment, better gunners are sruduced and the cost is lower because less time is spent in the ,ir and fewer missiles are needed. On the ground a classroom trainer allows an instructor and tudent lo practise realistic attacks. In the air the TOWAT TOW Airborne Trainer) can be used without actually firing a nissile. I had a video camera attached to the gyro-stabilised right with a video display and cassette recorder in the back of he Lynx, with which the instructor can monitor the accuracy sf the gunner student's tracking of the target and his aptitude— ur lack of it—for the job. With an action replay of the cassette on the ground, the instructor can show a student how to improve his aim. The three-week air gunners course includes an hour learn- ing lo use the TOWAT equipment before five hours practice in the air with the 300 mph-plus missiles. The Lynx/TOW system is replacing the ageing Scout helicopter/SSI 1 missile system in the anti-tank role through- out BAOR, and the new classroom trainer is described as 4 * one hundred per cent better than the old SSI 1 one with a good saving in actual flying time that will save thousands of pounds." TOW has earned a reputation for reliability, accuracy and cost effectiveness as a system that is both easy to fire and steer. It is entirely self-contained and cheaper than the system it replaces. RAOC AWARDS FOR ACHIEVEMENT TWO Corps members serving in Rhine Area were recently honoured at a Corps evening at Viersen by the presentation of Awards for Achievement, Major Graham MacDonald, the judo expert, of Ordnance 1 Depot Viersen and Staff Sergeant 'Robbie Robinson, the squash player, from Headquarters BAOR received the award— a silver medallion, — from the Director General Ordnance Services, Major General Brown. The object of the award, which was instigated in 1977, is to recognise k notable and meritorious achievements ' by Corps members outside their normal military duties. Only five have previously been awarded. Major MacDonald has been actively involved in inter- national judo since 1956 when he won the Kure Hiroshima Championship and was awarded the second Dan Black belt. He is a founder member of the Army Judo Association and Technical Panel and has been involved since 1962 in the organisa- tion and development of the sport from unit to Combined Services level. PORTRAIT OF * CUTTERS » PRESENTED TO HQ OFFICERS MESS AT a champagne lunch at Headquarters Officers Mess recently Lady Cutforth very generously presented the Mess with a portrait of her late husband, Major General Sir Lancelot Cutforth KBE, CB t Director of Ordnance Services for three years from 21st April 1955, who died last year. Lady Cutforth who was in great form after her recent visit to one of her daughters in Zimbabwe, made the presentation to the DGOS in the Hilsea Room. She said how fitting she thought it was that the Mess should have the portrait and how grateful she was for the lunch arrangements. The DGOS presents Corps Awards for Achievement in BAOR. Lady Cutforth presents the portrait to the DGOS at Headquarters Mess. In replying, the DGOS thanked Lady Cutforth and said he was honoured to accept the portrait on behalf of the Mess and the Corps. Major General Brown mentioned the affectionate memories he has of * Cutters' and how valuable some of his precepts still are. He recalled one particular bit of advice he received on joining the War Office after a tour in the Middle East. On his initial interview with * Cutters * he was told that the pace of life in London would be slower than that to which he had been accustomed in Cyprus. This the DGOS said had been sound advice and was still relevant in MOD today. The occasion was attended by a representative gathering of Mess Members and their wives and was much enjoyed by everyone present j . A. W. An international referee, Major MacDonald has officiated all over the world and has attended eight International Referee Congresses as a United Kingdom representative. He is also a member of the Army small-bore shooting team and a qualified fixed wing private pilot and a gliding instructor. Staff Sergeant Robinson was first introduced to squash rackets when he joined the Junior Leaders Battalion RAOC in 1967. His progress in the game was rapid and his first major success came in 1971 when he won the Army under nineteen championship. He represented the Corps while still a junior soldier and became RAOC champion for the first time in 1972. Staff Robinson has represented both the Army and the Combined Services every season since the mid-1970's, in recent years as number one. In 1979 he became the first-ever member of the RAOC to win the Army Championship, a feat he repeated in 19SO. He won a full England cap the same year and won both his matches in the European Team Championship in Helsinki. VISUAL HISTORY THE Trustees of the Corps Museum have agreed that we should start a new field of historical acquisition, the collection and storage of video tapes. Our successors will be grateful if they have, in the future, the means to see events of Corps interest actually taking place. The Curator would therefore like Units, where possible, to record events of Corps historical interest and to forward the tapes to the Museum for storage and play-back, when museum facilities become available. |
| Book number | R0250 |