Issue 87 - NWRFCA - Northwest Reserve Forces & Cadets Association

manchester and salford university
Otc
Cadets set sail on Ex Northern Sealion
by OCdt Harriet Bailey
A select group of eight MSUOTC cadets,
along with AQMS Rumis, were given the
opportunity to sail around the Channel on a 55
foot Nicholson yacht.
The crew consisted of a regular army
Skipper, a First Mate from London UOTC, and
us (some of whom were apparently ‘Competent
Crew’ members, though this is debateable).
As our skills picked up, so did the sea state,
and by the middle of the week we were doing
‘proper’ sailing, regularly tacking and jibing,
hoisting main sails and putting up and taking
down headsails. We felt like proper sailors, and
Blue and Red Watch soon developed a friendly
rivalry! We were ‘on watch’ every four hours,
sometimes setting sail as early as 4am and not
finishing until 3am!
Our first port of call, after setting off from
Gosport, was Cowes, where we managed to
grab a shower and a drink. After this, we tried
to set down in Alderney, but the harbour was
full, so we had to sail another few hours to get
to St. Peter Port, in Guernsey. Our late arrival
meant that we were given a ‘morning off’ the
next day. We left St. Peter Port accompanied
by a few tunes from the First Mates bagpipes,
which added a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the
whole affair.
We set sail for St Malo, on the north coast of
France. Our Skipper liked this place so much
that he allowed us an entire day here to enjoy
ourselves, and we all agreed that it was the
best day of an overall amazing trip. Whilst
here, we enjoyed a group meal of that typical
French seaside fayre: ‘Moules Frites’, with a
cheeky glass of wine or French ‘Cidre’ on the
side.
The next day dawned bright and early, and
we navigated our way to St. Helier on the
island of Jersey. This took the entire day, so
we had only the evening to explore before
we would leave again the next morning,
again heading for France. Getting round the
northwest corner of France was treacherous
stuff, as the wind had really picked up by this
point in the week, and we were sailing against
the tide and against the wind, but eventually
we made it, in time for a very late ‘farewell
meet’ at the Yacht Club.
We had a few hours the next morning to
have a look around Cherbourg, but as the
weather had taken a slight turn for the worse,
it was no great shame when we had to leave!
This was to be our final leg, and would turn
out to be the longest – it certainly wasn’t all
‘plain sailing’! The tide and wind were against
us as we sailed nearer to the English coast,
and we began to lose hope that we would ever
make it, as the wind was making the yacht list
horrendously. Eventually, after our final ‘All
hands on deck’ call, we swung into port and
were finally back on English soil.
After a solid three hours sleep, we awoke at
6am to clean the boat before our lunchtime
handover. My watch was literally ‘scrubbing
the decks’ and after we had everything ‘shipshape
and Bristol fashion’, we had to say
goodbye to our fantastic Skipper Andy Fearnie,
and First Mate Charlie Bradford. A huge ‘thank
you’ must go to them and the AQ for providing
an excellent week’s sailing, which perfectly
combined theory, practical skills and, most
importantly, fun!
Exercise can be fun...
by JUO James Radford
After two days of ranges and an enjoyable
AT phase at Dunkeld ACF Camp, we returned
to Barry Buddon with some trepidation.
What would the FTX hold for us? What
would happen from here?
Most of us were slightly wary as we
ominously began the safety aspect of blank
firing and the use of pyrotechnics. The day
started, as was usual, with rain, as well
as some valuable lessons, such as how to
control minor aggro from civilians and carry
out a Vehicle Checkpoint. We would also
learn how to find IEDs (Improvised Explosive
Devices) with the Army’s new-fangled
Valons.
Fresh from our single day of invaluable
training, we set off out of Barry Buddon to
patrol up to the FOB. This took a surprising
amount of time, not least for those that
kept the Valons switched on, which were as
sensitive as one would imagine a common
metal detector to be. Still, the FTX also threw
up some positives; the QUICK Reaction Force
certainly lived up to its name... based on the
fact that they never had to walk very far
across the postage stamp training area.
And so, after three long days of patrolling
and guarding, we moved on to the final
attack. The moment most first years had
been waiting for and what was to prove to be
a momentous occasion, though perhaps for
not entirely the right reasons...
“The year was 1911 and the Manchester
Rifles (complete with Red Coats) were
awaiting H-Hour in their FRV. With no
cover from the rain, most were shivering,
though at least this kept them alert (or
so we thought). As H-Hour approached,
they moved off to the LOD and fanned out
into line, although no rehearsals had been
done for forming square in case of infantry
attack, and they set off to engage the enemy.
Heading east (or south east depending
on your compass) off they went, ready to
face their enemy, with their fire support
(cannons) making use of the open road to
provide good arcs on this not so one-way
range. And off into the history books they
marched...”
I’m sure that would have appeared in ‘The
Times’ in 1911, but in actuality it was 2011,
and we were still advancing in a line. A bold
tactic probably not often seen on the modern
battlefield; but at least we had the element
of surprise. And on that day there were many
contacts with the enemy and I think what
has now really been driven home to the first
years is that ‘no plan survives contact with
the enemy’.
This is the first time I or I think any other
member currently serving as a cadet at
MSUOTC will have heard the words “STOP,
STOP, STOP!” during an attack. But then to
have to count the people in each multiple as
a certain Pl Sgt had neglected to wake the
last man in his section was nothing other
than hilarious.
On a more serious note as I draw this
article to a close, I would like to thank all
the members of staff who gave up so much
of their time to make the final exercise
work. Without their enthusiasm, time and
energy we would not be able to have an
FTX and they certainly used every inch of
training area they had at their disposal. It
must be said that people enjoyed the final
exercise and it was good to be able to meet
new people and build on knowledge gained
throughout the year.
www.nwrfca.org.uk the volunteer 59