THE NAVAL ENGINEER

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international military
operations.
• Learn about the typical
organisation structure of an
operational NATO unit.
• Be able to communicate
logically and clearly with
superiors, peers and
subordinates though interaction
with serving members of
NATO’s armed forces.
• Develop the preparation
and delivery of effective
presentations.
• Participate in events of an
unfamiliar nature.
Activities
The group attended Morning
Commander’s awareness briefs
and briefs on HQ departments and
activities, and on operations in
Kosovo. At the end of the visit, they
gave a well-received presentation
to Admiral Westbrook and other
senior officers at British Community
Centre, with a social in the evening
providing excellent networking
opportunities.
The cultural component was
not neglected, with a visit to the
monastery of Monte Cassino, the
site of an important battle in the
Second World War, ending at the
war memorial to reflect on the
sacrifices of those who have gone
before, as well as climbing Mount
Vesuvius and visiting the preserved
Roman town of Herculaneum.
Benefits
The exercise was extremely
beneficial for all the bursars who
participated. The insight into
Operational
and Strategic
Command is
unparalleled
throughout
the available
opportunities in
DTUS. There
are relatively few
opportunities in
DTUS to interface
with senior
officers and open
dialogue with
very senior staff such as Lieutenant
General Haynes, Admiral Westbrook
and CSM Jarebek will not be
repeated in any of the bursars’
careers for a very long time.
Equally important was the
opportunity to mix with officers
from the international NATO
community. With the increased
focus on international cooperation
in the UK military the opportunity
to experience how these other
militaries operate and how a
multinational base functions will be
invaluable.
The bursars outside JFC Naples
Exercise Typhoon River Wild –
an exhilarating morning of white
water rafting at the National
Water Sports Centre.
Midshipman Marr reported: “On a
relatively early Saturday morning
on 10 November 2012, Typhoon
bursars were given a fantastic
opportunity to head out to the
National Water Sports Centre for a
day of white water rafting.
As it was a first for nearly all of us,
we didn’t know what to expect. The
main thing on everyone’s mind,
on a November morning, was the
cold. However, we were pleasantly
surprised as we were quite warm
once we got into it.
After a safety brief, and a quick
paddle in the pond learning the
various commands, we were
straight onto our first bit of white
water. The aim of the first part
seemed just to get us soaked.
Jump to
Contents
We would slowly paddle towards
the drop from the bottom end and
then just as the water got close,
hunker down on the bottom and
lean forwards. The water piled in
over your head as the raft went
nose down and almost vertical and
if the instructor had lined it up right,
you even stayed the right way up
afterwards.
We had a
few runs on
the rapids,
with lots of
‘unintentional’
inverting,
before
heading
back to the
pond, where
most people
found
themselves
swimming
back to the
pontoon.
It was a exhilarating introduction to
challenging pursuits which allowed
most of the new intake to become
better acquainted with other
members of the Squadron. It also
exposed the bursars to the wider
aims of Adventurous Training within
the military. It was a hard but truly
worthwhile day.”
Some bursars about to take the plunge...