The Volunteer - NWRFCA - Northwest Reserve Forces & Cadets ...

MANCHESTER AND SALFORD UNIVERSITY
OTC
awesome. I felt like a British
Tank Commander circa 1945.
With these we spied the enemy
lurking in the woodline, these
were two Figure 11 targets,
each of which represented a
fire team in a trench. We then
wrote our estimate, considering
the position of our sections, 2
Platoon and the M.F.C. These
factors, along with other
considerations, were the basis
of our Estimate. Timings were
a factor and we had to come up
with a realistic timeline and
sequence of events leading up
to H-hour, as well as mapping
what effects we wanted to have
on the enemy. Buzz words such
as Destroy, Isolate and Suppress
needed to be used to grab any
marks. With this done we laid
out our 7 Question Combat
Estimate to our examiners
so they could criticise and
comment on our plans and
mark our efforts.
After this we were allocated
45 minutes preparation time to
organise our notes and write
our Orders for the big delivery.
This was nerve-wracking
stuff, but when it all got a bit
stressful our training kicked in
and the game faces were back
on. We were then taken over to
the orders delivery stand and
taken away by our individual
examiners - crunch time! We
were told to annotate our model
with our model kits and then
deliver our orders.
We followed the TAM,
starting with the Prelims,
Situation and Mission. It
was when we arrived at
the Execution section that
we realised that flair and
personality were needed to
succeed. The tactics behind the
orders were not as important
as how we delivered them
and the leadership skills we
had acquired through our
year’s training paid dividends
on this stand. The Scheme of
Manoeuvre, Main Effort and
Intent were all of our own
design and these needed to
be delivered confidently and
concisely to receive top marks.
Although my recollection of
my own delivery was hazy
due to the massive amounts of
adrenaline coursing through
my body, I do remember
hearing OCdt Fawcett’s stirring
summary - this guy was literally
taking no prisoners.
The orders test
was abruptly
over at the end
of the Summary,
after which we
were given some
constructive
feedback and sent
on our way.
That was it, the
big test was over!
We wouldn’t find
out the results
however until
7 o’clock - four
agonising hours
away! From there
we had a talk about AOSB in
the Officers’ Mess, followed by
our results. Manchester were
rolling in the accolades by the
end of the night; not only did we
win the best OTC but OCdt Vicki
Usher pinged the competition
to win Best Officer Cadet. She
was followed extremely closely
by OCdt Alex Woods and OCdt
Tom Matthews. There were big
claps all round and Manchester
was very proud of the victory. All
in all, Manchester got the first,
second, third and fourth highest
places (OCdt Mindy Kraunsoe was
the cat among the pigeons) out
of all the Officer Cadets. A proud
and well-earned achievement for
MSUOTC.
In the morning it was bright
and early at 6am for a tour of
the camp, which turned out to
be a AFT! The unit set off in high
spirits, but it wasn’t long before
people’s shins started burning.
The worst of it was soon out the
way though and after the first
lap it was plain sailing. MSUOTC
dug deep and crossed the finish
line like heroes. After this the last
hurdle of the weekend was over
and it was back to Manchester.
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