G And D May 06

Alnwick Detachment, Northumbria ACF

The George and Dragon The newsletter everyone is talking about.

Northumbria Special points of interest: • W Company Weekend. • Cadet Vocational Qualifications and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. • Latest from the County, Company and Detachment. • Alnwick in Action: Fieldcraft Afternoon. • Royal Engineers. • Forecast of Events.

Inside this issue: Cadet Vocational Qualifications.

2

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.

2

News from Around the Company.

2

Army in Focus: Royal Engineers.

3

Forecast of Events.

3

News from Around the County.

3

Alnwick in Action: Fieldcraft Afternoon.

4

15th May 2006

Volume 1, Issue 5

W Coy Weekend, May 2006 W Company held an expedition weekend on 12-14 May. Two expeditions took place: 2-star on the Pennine Way and Upper Coquet Valley and 3-star on St Cuthbert’s Way in NorthNorthumberland. The 1-star training group worked out of Cottonshope Head on ATE Otterburn. The 2-stars had a productive weekend: 26 cadets and 26 2-star expedition passes. As for the 3-stars, who knows? Things got off to a worrying start when a cadet from Rothbury (no names, no pack drill) came a cropper halfway up Byrness Hill. There was another near

death experience when several cadets ended up past their knees in very soft mud. The stench was more terrifying than the prospect of being swallowed alive in the festering detritus.

lads and Cdts James Henderson (Berwick), Michael Sargent and Alex Mallaburn (Alnwick) were straight in the icy River Coquet for a rinse down after the 18 km trek that day.

It never fails to amaze me what female cadets pack in their bergans on an expedition. Two such dippy cadets, Marshall and Nicholson of Amble, came equipped with the entire Boots make-up counter, hairdryers and straighteners, The thought of using the toilet outside and washing in cold water was also too much to bare.

A humorous event also happened to me. Confident of the crystal clear purity of the Coquet tributaries I was straight in to demonstrate how safe it was to drink. A few moments later I hear the sniggering of Cdt Kyle Dytrych from Broomhill as he points out the corpse of a sheep lying in the shallows about 5 yards further upstream. Whoops I thought. Still here though.

No such nonsense from the

Alnwick Detachment Website The Detachment has signed up for some free web space at: www.freewebs.com/ alnwickdetachment I hope to be able to put something on there very shortly. My knowledge of such things is very basic so it will probably be limited to some text, links and a couple of images. Don’t expect complicated javascript and

frames! In the meantime I have started to upload our photos to the web via Photobox. We have three galleries at the moment: www.photobox.co.uk/ albums/3002364 and 3002436 and 3003061. These will be linked to by the website when I get it going. If you buy any photos we will be rewarded with

extra web space to upload more. If you have any photos for the galleries please forward them to me (no bigger than 3MP resolution). I really need someone with a little bit of web knowledge to look after the website for me. Any volunteers (don’t all rush at once) please come and speak to me.

Cadet Vocational Qualifications Senior cadets (2 star, aged 16 years or older) can obtain a BTEC First Diploma in Public Services alongside their APC training. The diploma, the vocational equivalent of 4 GCSE grades A-C, is achieved by completing 6 out of 7 units:

* The first three units are compulsory.

• Public Services* • Public Services Skills* • Public Service Fitness* • Outdoor Activities • Land Navigation • Expedition Skills • Nautical Skills

For an ACF cadet, completion of the units will involve leadership tasks, a small project, a short presentation, map read-

ing, expeditions, first aid training and completion of the CVQO resource book. You may have even already completed some of these units through your APC or D of E training. Participation in the scheme is free of charge to cadets.

obtain a BTEC First

For more information check out the Army Cadet magazine or the Cadet Vocational Qualification Office website: www.cqvo.co.uk

equivalent to 4

tary to the APC: you can gain a D of E award by very little extra effort on top of your ACF training. The Award can be achieved at three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each level includes four sections: Service, Skills, Physical Recreation and Expeditions. Additionally, at Gold level, participants complete a residential project. You can start working towards Bronze

at the age of 14 years, Silver at 15 years and Gold at 16 years. The upper age limit for completion of any level of the award is 25 years. To enroll on the scheme you need to buy a record book (~£8) and fill in a form. Further details from the DC, or check out the website: www.theaward.org

Cpl Chris Braithwaite (Amble) receives trophy. the North of England Reserve Forces and Cadets Association (RFCA) presented to trophy. We’ve had a good perform-

Diploma in Public Services….

GCSE grades A-C.”

“Learn new skills, help other people and experience adventure…. Employers and universities take a good view .”

News from Around the Company It has been a tremendously successful month for W Coy. Not only did we come out on top in the County Athletics (cover story last month) by we won Exercise Magpie Flutter. The competition was run by 101 (V) Regiment Royal Artillery. A team from Amble Detachment, led by Cpl Chris Braithwaite, romped home in the competition which is very similar to the annual Colts Canter competition. Brigadier N. Hepworth, the secretary of

“Senior cadets can

To participate speak to the DC.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme (D of E) is a challenging programme of activities which will help you to learn new skills, help others, experience adventure and gain a great sense of achievement. What’s more, many organisations such as employers and universities take a good view of the Award and the person who has achieved it. The award is complimen-

Volume 1, Issue 5

Contacts

ance on the County Clay Pigeon competition too. Sgt Stephen Allan and LCpl Chris Dunn represent Alnwick on the team.

If you have not already done so please give your email address and mobile number to the DC.

The Company Commander also held a Holland training day up at Rothbury, Cdts Alex Mallaburn and Michael Sargent represented Alnwick.

This newsletter will be emailed every month.

It’s been a month of goodbyes too. PI Alan Gibson of Rothbury Detachment has decided to leave us.

Email and text message updates will be sent to you in future.

Thank you.

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Army In Focus: Royal Engineers Engineering in the Army is the job of two of the technical Corps: the Royal Engineers (RE) and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). The RE is a fighting Corps that supports the Army wherever it is in the world. Trained as soldiers and engineers, its men and women rise to some of the toughest challenges military life can bring, whether in conflict or peacetime. All soldiers in the Corps train as a combat engineer before undergoing specialist training for their particular trade. The combat engineer’s job is to provide engineering expertise on the battlefield. Specialist trades in the Corps include:

• Commando Engineers

Prepare landing sites, repair runways and establish fuel points for Army and RAF aircraft.

• Technicians

• Amphibious Engineers

Bricklayers, electricians, carpenters, plumbers and similar roles.

Build bridges so our soldiers and equipment can get to the heart of the battle.

• Parachute Engineers

• Divers

Deliver a wide range of light engineering skills after being parachuted or flown in.

Provide underwater reconnaissance, demolition and construction.

• Armoured Engineers Use big kit to breach obstacles in the way of our armour.

Members of the RE also gain many useful skills and qualifications for future life.

• EOD Engineers

More info:

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) engineers clear unexploded mines and shells from the battlefield, as well as from civilian areas.

•

12th-14th May: W Coy Weekend: CTC Otterburn: MAX ATTENDANCE (all cadets)

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Sat 21st May: Regional Target Rifle: CTC Strensall (selected cadets only)

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27th-28th May: W Coy First Aid: Alnwick TAC (selected cadets only)

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29th May (Bank holiday): Alnwick Fieldcraft Training: Meet at Alnwick TAC at 1400 hrs

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2nd-4th June: County Cadre Training: CTC Otterburn (selected cadets only)

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4th June: Regional Athletics: Venue tbc (selected cadets only)

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8th-11th June: London Visit (selected cadets only)

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9th-11th June: Officer Training: CTC Otterburn: MAX ATTENDANCE (Officers only)

•

16th-18th June: W Coy Weekend: CTC Otterburn: MAX ATTENDANCE (all cadets)

If you want more information about any event ask the DC.

Still no news on the next amendment to the list of pressure wash users. As soon as I get the memo you’ll hear it.

women of the Royal Engineers face some of the toughest challenges military life can bring.”

Corrections In last month’s issue it was incorrectly stated the PI Alan Gibson (Rothbury) and PI Wendy Aitchison (Belford) attended the Easter ITC up at CTC Otterburn. In fact only PI Billy Hall (Berwick) and PI Kirsty Perry (Amble) completed the ITC. We warmly welcome the two new qualified SIs to W Company and wish them much success in the future.

Good Luck

News from Around the County He was DC Rothbury Detachment in the then A Company. He was later 2ic A Coy before moving to County HQ as the ACFATO.

“The men and

www.army.mod.uk

Forecast for the Next Few Weeks

Continuing the goodbye theme the County bids farewell to long-serving and experienced Captain Andy Jerdan, the County First Aid Training Officer (CFATO). Andy has been with the ACF for 18 years, before which he was in W Coy 6RRF.

Volume 1, Issue 5

• Air Support Engineers

Train with the Royal Marines and become specialists in waterborne assaults, cliff climbing and jungle warfare.

It is fair to say that our newsletter continues to have a ‘popular’ following around the County.

Good luck to everyone doing exams at the moment (Amy Waters, Chris Dunn and Kevin McNab). Keep up the good work. Your hard efforts now will be worth it in the future.

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Volume 1, Issue 5

Alnwick in Action: Fieldcraft Afternoon On the afternoon of Bank Holiday Monday 1st May the cadets of Alnwick Detachment (+ LCpl Lucy Cowell, Amble Detachment) hit Cawledge Dean a couple of kilometres to the south-east of the town. On the agenda was an afternoon of campcraft and fieldcraft training. The weather looked ominous as black clouds hung low in the sky, but luckily the rain help off all afternoon. First off was a quick recce of the area to select a suitable campsite close to the track for access, water for drinking and washing but far enough into the foliage not to be seen. Half the cadets had a hour long lesson in radio voice procedure and ambushes with 2Lt. Barry Lister (DC Rothbury Detachment) while the other half had a crash course in shelter building off the Alnwick DC, Lt. Tom Jackson. After the first lessons the cadets were beginning to feel slightly peckish and the breeze was getting slightly chilly. Now was the ideal opportunity for a group get together round the fire, kettle boiling and a quick demo of cooking in the field. LCpl Dunn showed the other cadets how to prepare their rations for cooking, while Cdts Michael Sargent, Liam Warren and Jack Sturdy had a crash course in vegetable chopping under the beady eye of domestic goddess, LCpl Amy Waters. The all-in-one stew, a concoction of onions, carrots, potatoes and wild garlic, went down surprisingly well with even the most squeamish of cadets. Just in case nerves got the better of the tasters it was subsidised by a few sausages freshly purchased

LCpl Dunn on the ropes.

Cdt Sargent plunge.

that morning. After lunch it was all change on the lessons. Those who were on the radios and ambushes went to the shelter building and vice versa. The second group of shelter builders, ably assisted by shelter building veteran Sgt Stephen Allan, managed to produce a very effective lean to, weaved with bracken and wild garlic for extra waterproofing. It would have kept the rain off, but the occupants may well have succumbed to the garlicky fumes in the middle of the night! The afternoon was getting on by now so we headed off back towards the minibus. On the way there was just enough time for a spot of obstacle crossing. I don’t know what it is with cadets and water, but they are attracted in much the same way as iron filings and a magnet. As the more confident cadets strode out across the rope bridge the remainder headed straight for the shallows for a mini water fight. As much as LCpl Waters protested she wanted to stay dry, she was the first in the stream! A good afternoon had by all and the promise that we’ll do it again shortly.

Cdt Allan relaxes by the fire side.

Cdt Sargent works on his voice procedure.

LCpl Dunn introduces the cadets to their lunch.

LCpl Dunn gives a cooking demostration. Keeping warm and toasty.

Next fieldcraft afternoon: End of May Bank Holiday: Monday, 29 May 2006 Meet at TA Centre, 1400 hrs. Dress is combats. Bring a packed meal and waterproof jacket.

Warren and Mowbray sample the grub.

LCpl Waters isn’t too sure about eating the stew.

takes

the

Lt. Jackson tests the bridge strength!

Anyone wanting copies of these photos please provide the DC with a CD-R and he’ll be happy to oblige.

Page 4

May’s Review 1 MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 Cert: 12A, Dir: J. J. Abrams Duration: 125 mins

Alnwick Detachment, Northumbria ACF TA Centre, Lisburn Terrace, ALNWICK, NE66 1XQ Monday Evenings: 7-9.30 pm Det Mobile: 07776 475089 Email: [email protected]

Inspiring to Achieve

WE’RE ON THE WEB: W WW.NACF.ORG.UK

Disclaimer This document is not an official publication of Northumbria ACF. It is produced for the guidance of Alnwick Detachment cadets only. Any opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Northumbria ACF or the Army.

Submissions Deadline for June 2006 edition: Monday, 12th June 2006

Publication of May 2006 edition: Monday, 19th June 2006

The following items can be published: Personal notices and announcements, adult & cadet profiles, reviews of weekend camps, photos. Items do not have to be ACF related. All items will be vetted and may be edited.

With the pungent whiff of familiarity, the beautiful and buff members of the I.M.F. return in the third and most coherent mission so far, gallivanting from home turf to Berlin, Rome and Shanghai. Action set pieces are spectacular, beginning with an almighty bang as the team storms a heavily guarded warehouse, before Edge of seat stuff in the newly various pyrotechnic-laden showdowns by land, sea and air, in- released MI3. cluding a helicopter chase that almost results in the untimely demise of a flock of innocent sheep. During a daring break and enter in the Far East, Luther (Ving Rhames) admonishes Ethan (Tom Cruise): 'There's a point where bold becomes stupid...' For the most part, the three screenwriters listen to their own advice, keeping the hairpin twists to a minimum and concentrating on characterization. Cruise slips effortlessly back into the black togs of special operative Ethan Hunt, who has retired from active duty, and now restricts himself to training new agents, like his most recent protegee Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell). Instead, Ethan is happily building a life with his fiancee Julia (Michelle Monaghan), dreaming of happy families and pretending to be a researcher in traffic patterns. That dream is put on hold when Musgrave (Billy Crudup) gets in touch: 'Farris has been off the grid for 11 hours. I'm sending in search and rescue. I hoped you'd want it.' And so Ethan teams up with three fellow I.M.F. agents - Luther, transportation expert Declan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and the beautiful yet deadly Zhen (Maggie Q) - to save the Lindsey from international weapons trader Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The mission uncovers an even greater threat: Davian is attempting to sell something called The Rabbit's Foot for $850 million. The team must recover The Rabbit's Foot - whatever that may be - before a rogue state acquires it. Cruise performs many of his own stunts, adding to the authenticity and also gets to show some emotion in the romantic sub-plot, which errs on the saccharine towards the end. Indeed, the climactic action sequence is the possibly the film's weak point, with moments of unintentional hilarity, including a time check to doomsday, delivered gleefully by Hoffman's terrifically menacing baddie, that the film then willfully ignores. Tut tut.

May’s Review 2 THE DA VINCI CODE Cert: 12A, Dir: Ron Howard Released: 19th May Duration: 149 mins Film version of Dan Brown's international bestseller, from a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind). Harvard professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned to the Louvre in Paris where the elderly curator, Jacques Sauniere, has been brutally Audrey Tautou and Tom Hanks star in slain. The dead man's final act, in his death throes, is a the film version of Dan Brown’s bestseries of baffling codes and riddles. Working alongside seller, The Da Vinci Code. plucky French cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), Robert begins to solve the devilish conundrums and realises that the secret lies in the magnificent works of Leonardo Da Vinci. On the run from a clandestine sect known as Opus Dei, Robert and Sophie quickly assemble the pieces of an elaborate puzzle, pointing to the location of an important religious relic, hidden for many years by the centuries-old Priory of Sion. However, the treasure hunters face many perils, not least greedy aristocrat Sir Leigh Teabing (Sir Ian McKellen) and albino assassin Silas (Paul Bettany), who is charged with killing anyone who opposes Opus Dei.

Also available in paperback.

Neveu (Tautou) and Langdon (Hanks) in a close encounter.