RAOC Gazette - page 43
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1979 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | No |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1979 |
| Late date | 1979 |
| Transcription |
DULMEN DOES IT OUR AGAIN ^SO DULMELN, having qualified by winning the Rhine Area Vfnor Units) section of the Cross Country Championships, iook part in the BAOR Championships which were this year jield at Verden, The BAOR Championship is made up of ten major and ten minor Units together with approximately twenty individuals giving a total field of two hundred runners. The course took in six and a half miles of flat but sandy tracks. The weather on the day of the race was kind and the conditions could only be described as excellent. Dulmen started as favourites and confirmed this by win- ning the minor Units section of the competition with a total of thirty four points, the second team having scored one hundred and seventeen points. Special mention must be made of Corporal Mick Binks from SSD Dulmen who confirmed his form by winning the race overall, and becoming BAOR Cross Country Champion for the 1978/79 season, also Sergeant Bill Wreyford for being seventh overall; a fine achievement by both runners. Dulmens other star runner Lance Corporal Andy Fox ran but unfortunately was not one hundred per cent fit The teams (Minor Units) positions were as follows:—First, Corporal Mick Binks; third, Sergeant Bill Wreyford; sixth, Corporal John Hladkij; seventh, Lance Corporal Dave James; eighth, Lance Corporal Andy Fox; ninth, Captain Andy Jelly; thirteenth, Lance Corporal Steve Lonnen; fourteenth, Staff Sergeant Dave Towers-Clark. The team is now looking forward to the Army Champion- ships which are held at Tweseldown. TARGET RIFLE COACHING COURSE THE next target rifle coaching course for regional coaches is to fee held at Bisley over the weekends 3rd/4th and 24th/25th March 1979. Instruction is under the guidance of Lieutenant Colonel H. J. Orpen-SmeUie PARA. Nominations should be made direct to the Secretary NRA, Bisjey Camp, Brookwood, Surrey. Copy to Secretary ARA. Animal Burner aito Reunion THE ANNUAL DINNER is to be held at Blackdown Barracks, on Saturday, 28th April, 1979. It will be followed by activities extending into Sunday, 29th April Limited overnight accommodation will be available to those members who travel from a distance. The Programme for the weekend will be: Saturday 28th April Annual General Meeting Annual Dinner 6.00 pm 7.30 pm Sunday 29th April Breakfast 8.45 am Items of Corps Interest 9,15 am—I LOO am Church service and parade 11.00 am Lunch , 1.00 pm The Dress for dinner will be lounge suit. Dinner tickets will cost £3.50, tickets for breakfast 40p and lunch 60p. They may be obtained from Branch Secretaries or direct from the RAOC Secretariat, Deepcut, Camberley, Surrey:. Telephone: Aldershot 24431 extension 650. Applications to be submitted by 23rd March 1979. All cheques/postal orders should be made payable to " The RAOC Association." MAN IN BAD TOLZ BAD TOLZ is a small town about forty kilometres south of Miinclien. It is the home of the 1th US Army NCO Academy. Our man Corporal Dave Garlside, of the Stores Platoon, 28 Amphibious Engineer Regiment Workshop, has been there and passed the long one month course. After volunteering for the course Corporal Gariside was selected and so with a big smile and his boots gleaming, off he went. He arrived on a Saturday. It was Friday actually when I arrived and I was not over impressed at first but my views changed as the weeks went by. I was allocated a bed space in a four man bunk and I was soon chatting away to the Americans also installed therein. Rude awakening number one. 0430 hours rise and shine, clean rooms do block jobs and fall in, or was it out, for breakfast at 0545 hours. Breakfast over fall in, or was it out again, back to block tidy up, 0700 hours classroom. Wham! Said my left foot to my right—do you know what you're doing? Rude awakening number two. After lunch 1330 hours fall in or out for inspection of best kit—A doddle me thinks, Wham! These instructors know more about the British umform and customs than 1 do! First day over—phew! Start the academics tomorrow. General subjects quite good, covered career development personal affairs and others such as military justice and the like. Drug abuse is another subject covered; the American Army has a drug problem and are rigorously attempting to stamp it out, Management, this was good; taught me quite a lot and since I have been back from the course I have had chance to put it to good use, not only at work but in my spare time activity as the Hameln Garrison youth leader. Leadership was brilliant, the best part of the course. All would be Napoleons would do well to attend this course. I know that Napoleon was defeated but he wouldn't have been v had he attended. I am not sure if Wellington did, but he might well have. The leadership instruction has also been put into good use at work and again in the Youth Club. The course was very much like a British Cadre Course or RFC Course. There were lesson plans and the like but it was run on a more relaxed lines. The instructors were first class—I have not seen better. There is a students council for organising parties and outings and for buying polish and cleaning materials in bulk. Came the day before graduating and the customary drill competition. There we were, all of the Third Platoon Drill Squad, standing watching as the others came out and did their thing. Secretly we had been practising for twelve days. What a surprise when we marched out and started to drill British style! Even the judges were surprised. Alas we did not walk away with it as expected; two of the Squad were out of step for some twenty paces. We came second. The following morning it was clean the rooms and get ready for the graduation ceremony, A very formal occasion but it was worth it to get that piece of paper saying that I had graduated from the best NCO Academy in the US Army. Then it was outside back to the block for the results. Student 139 (that's me) thirty sixth overall (not bad out of one hundred and ninety seven starters) and seventh overall in the Third Platoon (not bad out of fifty starters). Then the mad rush to get out of uniform, into civvies and the long trek home—farewell Bad Tblz. I advise those interested to get down to the orderly room and volunteer for this course. It is not as bad as it first seems and believe me, you will definitely benefit from it—and enjoy yourself as I did. By the way single lads, there are about twenty girls on the course! All the facilities on the camp were marvellous—the dining room and the food. There is also a snack bar and a restaurant on camp and not expensive. The NCO Club is open every night and on Fridays they have a disco and on Saturday a live gToup. There is also a cinema on camp with very up-to-date films. Weekends are relatively free and on one such weekend I went mountain walking with five of my fellow students (two were female). Yes a worthwhile course enjoyed by me and the other students, that is after you have mastered the language. My advice?—get on the course and find out for yourself. — 261 — |
| Book number | R0247a |