Update on the sale of DSG

campaign medals
Medal recognition for civilians
Andy Mappelbeck Christopher Clark Dave McCabe Edward Holloway Josh McCormick Louisa Griffiths
Mike Bean Paul Harley Rob Butler Rob Jarvis Steve Blackburn Tom Williams
Archie Hughes, DSG Chief Executive,
recently presented campaign medals
at various DSG sites across the UK.
Family members were in attendance
to witness the employees receiving
their well deserved medals.
In Catterick, recipient Andy Mappelbeck
deployed for a year as an ADR Inspector
and mechanic. He was responsible for the
ADR inspection and testing of fuel tankers
and equipment used for carrying
explosives. Andy was a soldier for 13 years
and served in other operational tours.
Fellow co-workers, Michael Bean and Steve
Blackburn received an Accumulated
Service Medal in recognition of their
repeat operational service deployments
totalling more than 720 days. Michael
spent his second tour of 14 months as a
Vehicle mechanic working on the MAN
vehicles. Steve deployed for a second time
as a Vehicle mechanic and spent 12 months
working on the repair and maintenance of
Mastiff, Ridgeback and Wolfhound vehicles.
At the presentation in Donnington, medal
recipients from the site and Sealand jointly
celebrated the occasion. Edward Holloway
deployed for 12 months as an Electrical
engineer working on the Mastiff vehicle
and the Field Electric Power Systems
(FEPS). In his spare time, Edward spent a
lot of time in the gym and was a member
of the DSG Strongman team. Louisa
Griffiths spent 12 months as a Vehicle
mechanic carrying out overhaul, servicing
and road testing of quad bikes. Father of
twin boys, Rob Jarvis was also a Vehicle
mechanic working on plant and fuel
equipment transporters. Rob said of the
people he worked with, “Great bunch of
boys and girls out there.”
Although only 23, Tom Williams has
recently returned from his second
deployment. At the presentation he
received an Accumulated Service Medal in
recognition of his repeat operational
service deployment. Tom spent 12 months
as a Vehicle mechanic working on the
repair and modification of Mastiff,
Ridgeback and Wolfhound vehicles.
Reflecting on his experience he said, “I
found my time in Bastion useful as I gained
new skills and experience on different
platforms.”
Five medal recipients from Sealand
included Christopher Clark who deployed
for over 13 months as an Electro optic
technician working on Intelligence,
Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and
Reconnaissance equipment and Electronic
Counter Measures (ECM). Reflecting back
he said, “I enjoyed my time in Bastion and
would do it all over again.” Dave McCabe
spent 12 months away from his family to
work as a Vehicle mechanic. Josh
McCormick spent 12 months in Bastion in
the role of Progressor for the Jackal,
Coyote and Husky team. His role involved
a great deal of planning and organisation to
provide the relevant service kits and
spares required for the vehicle
regeneration. He said of his tour, “It was
an amazing experience and I learnt a great
deal, it was very hard at times being away
from family and friends for so long and I
was so happy to return home, but glad I’d
completed my tour.” Rob Butler spent 6
months away from his three year old
daughter to take on the role of Team
leader working in the Royal Logistic Corps
Stores Troop. During his free time Rob
spent more time with his military
Medal Recipients
Andy Mappelbeck
Michael Bean
Steve Blackburn
Edward Holloway
Louisa Griffiths
Rob Jarvis
Tom Williams
Christopher Clark
Dave McCabe
Josh McCormick
Rob Butler
Paul Harley
Site
Catterick
Catterick
Catterick
Donnington
Donnington
Donnington
Donnington
Sealand
Sealand
Sealand
Sealand
Sealand
colleagues doing fitness training. Paul
Harley deployed for 12 months as an
Electro optic technician working on the
ECM and Bowman on Mastiff, Ridgeback
and Wolfhound. He also serviced and
repaired the FEPS and worked on the plant
section.
Archie Hughes, DSG Chief Executive said,
“DSG employees who have deployed to
Bastion are great ambassadors not only for
our business but for the wider civilian
workforce who are providing essential
support to the forces at the front line.
Our workforce all willingly deploy despite
the potentially dangerous working
environment with some deploying for a
second tour.
“We also need to thank everyone from
across the sites who may have taken on
additional roles and duties whilst their
colleagues are on deployment. Support
functions such as Finance and HR also play
an important role in supporting our
operations in Bastion.”
8
DIGEST August/September 2013 www.dsg.mod.uk

news
Business
as usual
at DVD
Archie Hughes,
DSG’s Chief
Executive and
members of the
Strategy and
Account
Management
teams represented
DSG at the DVD
event at Millbrook
near Bedford in
June. The event
The DSG team
brings together
Industry and Defence in the land equipment sector to
develop ideas and generate greater understanding of
technologies, capabilities and requirements. For the first
time, the Army and Defence Equipment and Support
jointly sponsored DVD, recognising the new capability role
taken on by the Army as part of Defence Transformation.
Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and
Technology; Lt General Chris Deverell, Chief of Materiel (Land)
and Major General Carew Wilks, Director Land Equipment as well
as senior figures from the defence industry were amongst the
visitors to DSG’s stand, who held meetings with senior DSG
officials over the two days. MOD’s DSG Sale team also used the
event to confirm their intentions to sell DSG and update industry
on their plans.
Commenting on the event, Archie told Digest, “It is important for
us to continue having a presence at events such as DVD and
reinforce the message that the sale of DSG does not impact on
our day to day business. For all of us it’s business as usual. Events
and exhibitions are useful forums and provide a unique, networking
platform enabling the team and I to conduct various face to face
meetings, which otherwise may be hard to organise because of
clashes in diaries.”
L-R, Archie Hughes with Philip Dunne,
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
Archie Hughes in a meeting with
Lt General Chris Deverell, Chief of Materiel (Land)
The DSG team hosting guests
www.dsg.mod.uk August/September 2013 DIGEST
9

Type 45 Destroyer
HMS Dauntless
11
© Photographer Jenny Lodge Royal Navy MOD Crown Copyright 2013

news
Successful end to the year
DSG’s 2012/13 financial year ended
with yet another profitable result. The
good news was part of Archie Hughes,
DSG’s Chief Executive (CE) corporate
briefing presentation to all employees
summarising DSG’s end of year
business and financial performance.
DSG’s flag ship workshop in Bastion remains
profitable and continues to receive high
praise. Archie explained that its success has
led to DSG securing further work in Bastion
by operating the Equipment Redeployment
Hub Forward, which manages Vehicles and
Major Equipment (VAME) and the associated
Complete Equipment Schedules (CES), and
all those assets identified for redeployment
back to the UK. Continuing with the
management of equipment from Operation
HERRICK when they arrive back in the UK,
DSG received a further contract from Army
HQ to manage the HERRICK Exchange
Point (HXP) in Warminster, which conducts
and provides a co-ordinated and controlled
method of receipt, account, inspection and
repair of the VAME and CES from Operation
HERRICK.
Archie said, “We re-commissioned and
upgraded the 1A workshop onsite at
Warminster to accommodate the Interim
Operating Capability phase. The investment
in the facilities was necessary to expand our
capability offering and ensure we could
deliver the requirement.”
He thanked the workforce for remaining
focussed and maintaining output, enabling
DSG to meet all its four internal business
measures for quality, delivery, efficiency and
financial performance used by Ministers and
Parliament to assess DSG’s overall business
performance.
As the sale of DSG remains a concern for
many, updates on sale is now a regular
feature in the CE briefings. Archie outlined
MOD’s timetable for key milestones in the
DSG sale process and explained that work
Corporate briefing at Colchester
was ongoing in MOD to determine what is
within scope for sale. He reiterated that he
remains committed to keeping everyone as
fully informed as possible on progress and
developments.
He also focussed on the Total Support Force
(TSF) concept, a major factor in Army 2020.
He said that DSG management endorses the
emerging TSF work strands and is now
working to identify, as a priority, those DSG
employees serving as reservists as well as
introducing a new HR policy that is fully
supportive of reservists.
Geraint Spearing, DSG’s Chief Operating
Officer then took the floor and highlighted
the superb output by the various sites in the
delivery of major programmes. He also
explained that improvements and efficiencies
across the sites has led to improved Direct
Labour Utilisation output. With the
importance of good health and safety
practices, Donnington in particular has
delivered 25% improvements in its Reporting
of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous
Occurrences Regulations.
Concluding the briefing Archie said, “Every
time I finish the briefing I always seem to say
that this was our hardest year ever. It
Corporate briefing at Stafford
“
Irrespective of
future ownership
arrangements, our
role first and
foremost is to
support our Armed
Forces so we all need
to continue
maintaining and
enhancing our
customer
relationships by
providing our
customers with a
world class service.
”
doesn’t necessarily mean that the year
before wasn’t as hard but the changes to the
defence environment, our customer’s
changing and evolving requirements and the
closer we get to sale makes everything more
challenging. However, the good financial and
operational performance of 2012/13 and
meeting all our targets is a testament to the
commitment of everyone. We will see
greater activity surrounding sale in the next
12 months but we need to continue doing
what we do best so it’s business as usual.
Irrespective of future ownership
arrangements, our role first and foremost is
to support our Armed Forces so we all need
to continue maintaining and enhancing our
customer relationships by providing our
customers with a world class service.”
12
DIGEST August/September 2013 www.dsg.mod.uk

In June, DSG Warminster hosted a visit
by Col Jang Jungeun, Director of Total
Life Cycle Management and Dr Lee
Doo-Hee from The Korean Ministry of
National Defence.
The purpose of their visit was to assess the
feasibility and benefits of introducing a
contracted defence support solution similar
to DSG to support their vast army. Whilst
their support requirement is primarily
operationally focused for an Army under
constant threat, the support they provide to
their equipment is very similar to DSG.
A presentation from Keith Norris, DSG
Strategy Director; Andy Hursey, Head of
Colchester and Warminster Operating Units
and Lt Col Neil Stace, DSG’s Military Advisor
explained the Trading Fund concept,
Governance structure, how DSG is
contracted to deliver support and how the
working relationship at the tactical level
works between the Army and DSG.
After the briefing, Mat Havery, Land Training
Fleet Warminster (LTF (W)) manager and
Matt Akers, Lead Supply planner gave the
visitors a tour of the workshop, enabling
them to gain an in-sight into the practicalities
of how the contract is implemented. WO2
Stan Still from LTF (W) rounded off the visit
with an equipment brief followed by a trip in
a Mastiff, Foxhound and Jackal.
Lt Col Neil Stace said, “They were most
news
DSG Warminster hosts
visitors from Korea
The Korean visitors with the various hosts
They were most
impressed with the
facilities in
Warminster, the
range of equipment
we support, the
depth of repair and
the level of expertise.
They were also very
interested in the
flexibility of the
contract and the
strength of the
partnership between
customer and
contractor.
“
”
impressed with the facilities in Warminster,
the range of equipment we support, the
depth of repair and the level of expertise.
They were also very interested in the
flexibility of the contract and the strength of
the partnership between customer and
contractor. Col Jang Jungeun was most
enthusiastic and grateful for all the
information he received and passed his
thanks to everyone at Warminster.”
WO2 Stan Still showcasing the equipment
www.dsg.mod.uk August/September 2013 DIGEST
13

three of the best
Three of the best
Sarah Middleton, Admin, Aldershot
With an admin background in a service industry and retail, Sarah joined DSG in 2008 as a temp and
offered a permanent position later in the year as an Admin Support Officer at the In-Barracks
Equipment Support site in Aldershot, affiliated to the Colchester main site.
My favourite place in the world is… lounging by a pool anywhere hot, sipping a cocktail and enjoying a good book,
obviously I would need a tall, dark, handsome man to rub in some sun cream for me!
The most extravagant thing I have ever bought… would be my jewellery. I am a girl after all that can't resist diamonds.
I have to try and avoid jewellery shops now as I think three watches are sufficient, I mean I only have two wrists! As for
earrings, I suppose I could always have more of them, just best win the lotto first!
In moments of weakness… I always give in to my son. I try and tell him he can cook for himself now at 17 and walk to work, but he knows
he just has to look at me with those puppy dog eyes and I cave! I suppose that’s what us mums are for, spoiling the kids. He better look after
me in my old age!
If I was immortal for a day, I would… ride in the Grand National. I love my horses and riding but that race is just plain scary, bet the adrenalin
rush is the best though.
The three things I’d want on a desert island, apart from family are… well I would need a sea plane with a pilot as I don't think I would be any
good at flying one so I could escape; sun tan lotion, I'm sensible and wouldn't want to get burnt and a good supply of books.
Ross Cormack, Sales Ledger supervisor, Andover
After leaving university, Ross spent eight months in Orlando as a voluntary Youth and Student Support
worker for a local church. He then worked for a couple of call centres before moving to Andover and
joining DSG in 2011 as a temp, before securing the permanent position of Purchase Ledger assistant.
Ross is currently on temporary promotion as Sales Ledger supervisor.
I am not a politician but if I was… I’d campaign for Fife to be made into a glorious Kingdom once again. I’d probably run
for King as well. In the Kingdom there would be no grey squirrels, limousines or French mustard.
I won… a crossword competition and second prize in a beauty contest. I took away about £110 for it and my parking
was free at the same time – and that was all in one evening.
I'm very bad at… keeping things non-competitive. Whether it is a quiz question, a work task or sporting event, if there is even a hint of a
game involved then I’ll make it into one. I just lost THE GAME.
If I could choose to stay a certain age forever, I would choose… probably my current age, 24, because I hope I’ve improved every year so this
is my best year so far! Ask me next year and it might be 25.
If I had to appear in a reality TV show, I would appear in… Come Dine with Me. We’re currently doing one between colleagues in the office
where I hosted Burns Night in January. It is now July and there have been no dinners since. At least if I went on the one on the telly I would
get invited for dinner!
Hazel Jones, HR Support, Donnington
Hazel started her MOD career in 1993 as an admin assistant before promotion to admin officer in 1995
whilst working in the DSDA Training and Development department. She continued working for the
department for 12 years. In 2007, Hazel joined the DSG Donnington HR team as admin support
carrying out payroll duties for Donnington, LSBU and Ashchurch.
My proudest moment is… watching my two boys; Matthew who is 13 and Ashley who is 9, grow up and achieve things
like taking off their arm bands for the first time, swimming their first width, and then a length. They would probably say I
embarrass them by always wanting to take a picture or by getting over excited but that’s what parents are for!
The thing I miss most about being a kid… is going to the sweet shop and handing over my 10p and coming out with a bag full of sweets!
A shop I cant walk past without buying something is… I would love to give a cool answer but honestly with two boys always hungry it has to
be ASDA, which is our local corner shop - there is always something to fetch.
The best day of my life was… truthfully I am torn between seeing Robbie Williams live at Milton Keynes or Take That live at the NEC in
Birmingham.
My fantasy dinner party guests would be… Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams for a one to one rendition of songs. Peter Kay for the fun and
laughter and Gaby Logan to entertain my husband, purely for the football chit chat!
14
DIGEST August/September 2013 www.dsg.mod.uk

Simpler standardised
contracting helping
out SMEs
In financial year 2012/13, 81% of new
contracts placed by MOD were below
£5M. In order to streamline and
standardise contract documents for
contracts under £5M, the Standardised
Contracting team in Abbey Wood
developed, in consultation with MOD
Central Legal Services and Industry, a
method of using templates of nonnegotiable
narrative terms and
conditions.
The roll out of Standardised Contracting is
welcome news for many Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs), who have expressed
concern that the previous Defence Condition
(DEFCON) based approach to contracting,
even for low value requirements, is difficult
for them to understand and affects their
ability or confidence to deal with MOD.
Standardised Contracting also ensures greater
consistency of approach and reduces the
potential for disputes to arise.
Traditionally, DSG’s Land Supply Business Unit
(LSBU) has placed large numbers of low value
contracts in order to meet ad hoc demands
for a variety of items not readily available on
longer term arrangements using the Purchase
to Management System (PUMAS).
L-R, Julie Gardner and Rob Fisher
To radically reduce the number of one off low
value requirements, LSBU recently developed
an in-house Electronic Purchasing Process
(EPP), which not only makes better use of
established contracts but has also facilitated
the introduction of the new Standardised
Contracting templates, an option which was
not possible on PUMAS. The EPP system
streamlines the procurement process in
order to meet the Cabinet Office’s pledge
that all but the most complex of
requirements is completed within 120 days.
Rob Fisher, LSBU Procurement Officer, is one
of the first to trial the new way of working
using Standardised Contracting.
Rob who has adapted to the new system said,
“While it is still in the early stages of
implementation, the new template has so far
proved easy to follow, quick to administer and
is understood by Industry. The rules and
regulations that apply in respect of advertising
and transparency are in no way affected but
complement the standardised procedure. The
team at Abbey Wood centrally manage and
maintain the online Standardised Contracting
documentation so there is never any risk of
using the incorrect version. From my
experience so far it seems to be extremely
low maintenance. Although there are a
“
news
While it is still in
the early stages of
implementation, the
new template has so
far proved easy to
follow, quick to
administer and is
understood by
Industry.
”
number of cases where there is a need for an
exemption to this procedure, I would
recommend using this system to anyone in
the procurement discipline, especially those
new into the business. We have also passed
on our experiences to the Standardised
Contracting team who are appreciative of the
feedback.”
Rob’s colleague, Julie Gardner, who was
instrumental in introducing the new template
into LSBU working practices, went on to say,
“The new system is flexible depending on the
procurement strategy selected, with separate
Invitation to Tender templates for non
competitive or competitive requirements. In
addition, special notices and instructions to
tenderers are added using the Defform 47,
this is important as it provides the
opportunity to advise of local requirements
such as delivery booking in arrangements.
“The new system also provides the valuable
opportunity to further roll out the MOD
Electronic Purchase to Payment (P2P) system.
Some suppliers would not accept MOD terms
and conditions in their previous format but
the simpler standardised contracting template
is more transparent and considered a
welcome alternative for low value
requirements.”
As part of the trial, LSBU is keeping a log of
suppliers issued with the standardised terms
and conditions and will track the first
contracts placed through to successful
delivery.
A further series of templates are under
development and will be introduced in due
course. LSBU will look to make use of these
where appropriate over the coming months.
www.dsg.mod.uk August/September 2013 DIGEST
15

news
Warminster employees’
qualification success
Paul Grearson, Production manager
and Dan Rogers, Compliance Officer
from DSG Warminster recently
obtained their National Examination
Board in Occupational Safety and
Health (NEBOSH) certificate with
credits.
Paul and Dan underwent the 13 week
course, which was split into three areas;
NGC 1 Management of H&S covered the
legal requirements of H&S at work; NGC 2
General Workplace Hazards, looked into the
physical aspects of controlling risks within
the workplace; and NG3 Practical
Assessment was an observation of the
workshops followed by a full report of the
findings. The course concluded with three
two-hour exams.
Paul said, “This course was very challenging
but it gives me an excellent insight into H&S
at work, which I can now use in my role.”
Dan added, “H&S is highly misperceived.
Most see it as a boring subject or a morale
killer because some people enforcing H&S
believe it’s a simple case of wrapping
everyone in cotton wool. They only see the
tip of the iceberg. The course was
thoroughly interesting and gave me a clear
understanding of what H&S is really about
including the legal aspects and taking every
L-R, Dan Rogers and Paul Grearson
condition into account to get the job done
efficiently.”
Further outstanding achievements came
from three other employees at Warminster.
Linsey Grearson, Planning Support and
Change manager; Ben Courage, Production
planner and Richard Woodham, Team leader
have recently completed a Level 3 certificate
in Leadership and Management accredited
to the Institute of Leadership and
Management.
The trio had expressed interest in gaining a
management qualification and when the
opportunity arose they were pleased to give
it a go. The seven-week course took place
L-R, Ben Courage, Linsey Grearson
and Richard Woodham
at Lackham College. They spent one day a
week covering subjects such as Quality,
Performance Management, Conflict
Management and Understanding Leadership.
Linsey said, “As it was only seven weeks the
work was quite intense and required a lot of
focus and time management at home as well
as juggling the family. It was also good
working on it with other colleagues as at
least we could discuss it and help each
other through it. The course definitely gave
us a better understanding of all the key
subjects in first line management; and it is a
qualification that will put us all in good stead
as we progress through our careers.”
Uniform to work day
Dave Brand in the centre in his unform
At DSG Colchester, most people know him as Dave Brand,
Team leader General Engineering, Special Projects and
Paint Shop but outside work Dave is a reservist with the
REME Territorial Army (TA).
Dave told Digest, “I joined the TA in 2000 and completed the basic
recruit course in 2001. I am a Corporal in the 71st Yeomanry Signal
Regiment, Light Aid Detachment (LAD) REME.
“It was something I always thought about doing and when I met
some that were already reservists I gave it a try and never regretted
it. It gives a different dimension, challenge, learning and outlook on
life from the day job and home life and puts me in situations outside
the norm.”
After completing his Class 1 trade course, his first annual camp was
at the British Army Training Unit Suffield in Canada and in 2003 he
had the dreaded brown envelope drop on his doorstep for a
compulsory call up to OP TELIC in Iraq.
Dave said, “At the time my wife was pregnant with our second baby
so she wasn’t best pleased with the timing but she said, “The regulars
have to deal with it, so will we.” I made it back on rest and
recuperation for the birth but had to return to Iraq a week later
therefore missing the first three months of my daughter’s life.”
Since then Dave has been on many exercises all over the UK as well
as Cyprus and Gibraltar. Some of the camps have been testing and
some not so but joining the TA has given Dave the chance of
adventure training taking part in sailing, skiing and scuba diving
activities. To add an extra dimension to his role in the TA, Dave
admits to some workshop banter when he revealed his sergeant in
the TA is Colchester boss, Andy Hursey.
When asked what he enjoys most about the TA, Dave replies, “It is
interesting to meet people from all walks of life. Along with some
other DSG employees, I also serve with guys and girls from all
different backgrounds and work environments. I believe the army
values and discipline that we have to adhere to when wearing the
uniform reflects positively in my civilian life both at work and at
home most importantly as a parent.”
16
DIGEST August/September 2013 www.dsg.mod.uk

news
Life in
the real
world
As part of National Apprentice Week, two apprentices from
DSG Donnington had the opportunity to shadow a mentor at
Abbey Wood in Bristol and MOD Main Building in London.
As winners in their category in the Tom Nevard Memorial Competition,
Gareth Hopton who was first in the Machining Phase 1, spent a day
alongside Pete Worrall OBE, DE&S Chief of Materiel (Joint Enablers) in
Abbey Wood. Whilst Luke Gosling who won the Machining Phase 2
shadowed Jonathan Slater, Director General of Transformation and
Corporate Strategy in Main Building.
Gareth told Digest, “The day began with one of Mr Worrall’s team
explaining the DE&S structure and the role of Mr Worrall and his team.
I was then introduced to Mr Worrall, who gave me a brief run through
of his plans for the day as well as an interesting insight into his career
and achievements.
“Afterwards, we went to the first meeting, which was a real eye opener.
The meeting addressed the technical issues within MOD and problems
found higher up the organisation.
“The following meeting was with the Director of HR. I was obviously
privy to information, which I cannot disclose but it was interesting to
see another aspect of the business.”
Gareth’s afternoon agenda consisted of more meetings, the first one
involving three of the finance heads from different departments. He
found it extremely interesting as it showed him the spending power of
the various MOD departments. Another end of year review meeting
followed with the Director of Helicopters and all the 1 stars from the
team, which addressed the team’s progress and on-going projects.
Gareth’s day concluded with a one to one discussion with Mr Worrall
to review the day’s events. Gareth said, “Mr Worrall spoke of the
L-R, Jonathan Slater, Director General of Transformation
and Corporate Strategy with Luke Gosling
“
Gareth Hopton
I found the day extremely
inspiring and I was fascinated to
learn of the opportunities in
MOD for employees and
apprentices. I was made welcome
and given opportunities to ask
questions throughout the day.
”
importance of offering opportunities to apprentices. I found the day
extremely inspiring and I was fascinated to learn of the opportunities in
MOD for employees and apprentices. I was made welcome and given
opportunities to ask questions throughout the day. Mr Worrall also
offered sound advice on the importance of setting career goals.”
Reflecting on his day, Luke Gosling said, “I spent a day shadowing Mr
Jonathan Slater in Main Building. The day consisted of a series of
meetings and discussions.
“The day started with my introduction to Mr Slater in which he
described his role and the importance of MOD. He then asked me to
tell him about myself and my role as an apprentice in DSG.
“We had a very precise schedule to follow and it was not long before
we attended our first meeting of the day, which was the weekly Monday
morning Catch Up, which addresses departmental matters and a look
forward to the week ahead. It is normally chaired by Jon Thompson,
MOD’s Permanent Under Secretary, however, in his absence, Mr Slater
chaired the meeting.”
Like Gareth, Luke’s day of shadowing Jonathan Slater was filled with
back to back meetings. He sat in on a meeting with a member from
the Transformation Behaviour team, another with the Head of the
Defence Transformation unit and then with the Head of the Defence
Reform unit. The fifth meeting of the day involved Lieutenant General
Bill Rollo, Chief of Defence Staff Personnel and Training and the final
meeting included discussions on an upcoming away day.
Speaking about the day, Luke said, “I feel that I have gained some very
useful knowledge and general work experience. Although there was
very little concerning DSG, I found the meetings really interesting and I
could relate to the topics discussed in the various meetings. The day
gave me an insight into MOD outside of DSG.”
www.dsg.mod.uk August/September 2013 DIGEST
17

Across the co
across the country
Be Exceptional
at Civil Service
Live
L-R, Brian Griffiths, Ben Sullivan, Annette Thompson
and Dave Burgess
A small team from DSG recently represented DSG at
the Be Exceptional at Civil Service Live event in
Bristol, which is free to attend for civil servants and
those who work in local government and the wider
Public Sector.
The event showcased themed, interactive hubs packed with
information about how the Civil Service is working in new
ways as part of Civil Service Reform. Attendees were able to
sit in on plenary sessions, workshops and drop-in clinics
tackling big social issues and hear speeches from colleagues
who are effecting some of the biggest programmes the Civil
Service has ever been involved with; as well as having the
opportunity to share views with some of the most senior
leaders. The day also aimed to gather ideas and tools to
improve skills and capabilities, and inspire individuals in their
work.
The DSG team included Dave Burgess, Head of Total Support
Forces; Brian Griffiths and Ben Sullivan who are part of the
Bastion UK Equipment Sustainability System (ESS)
Regeneration Capability (RC) Support team and Annette
Thompson, a Provisioner Mechanical at Land Supply Business
Unit. The team were in attendance to promote not only DSG
but also its support to operations. Dave previously managed
the ESS RC facility in Bastion and both Ben and Annette have
also deployed.
Dave told Digest, “It was a very well attended event that
enabled us to reach out to civil servants who were not
necessarily familiar with DSG’s role. Many were surprised by
the size of the deployed DSG team in Bastion and with
Annette’s campaign and ISAF medals on show, many visitors
were keen to speak to her regarding her experience.”
Recognition
of long
service
Archie Hughes,
DSG Chief
Executive, recently
presented two
former DSG
Donnington
employees with the
Imperial Service
Medal in
recognition of their
long and
meritorious service
to the MOD.
Liz Evans began work
at the Central
Ordnance Depot
Donnington in April
1972 as a Clerical
Assistant in HQ
building. She took a
career break in 1981
to have a family and
returned in 1994 to
the Base Ordnance
Depot Donnington as
an Administrative
Officer and then
moved to Equipment
Support Provision and
Procurement
Authority based at
Sapphire House in
Telford.
Liz left in October
2012 to spend more
time with her family.
L-R, Archie Hughes
with Norman Fluhrer
L-R, Archie Hughes
with Liz Evans
The other medal
recipient was
Norman Fluhrer. Norman started as an electrician apprentice
in September 1969. He took on various roles concluding with
Team leader of the B Vehicles when he left in October 2011.
Outside work Norman annually helped out with the
Christmas light set up at Madeley and two years ago he
shaved his beard for Help 4 Heroes and raised over £1200 in
the process. Norman is also a truly dedicated grandfather and
now retired he spends quality time with his grandchildren but
also makes sure he and his wife enjoy themselves with their
love of holidays.
Both were dedicated employees and we wish them well in
their retirement.
18
DIGEST August/September 2013 www.dsg.mod.uk

across the country
untry
Boy’s trip
Roy Williams, Examiner Ancillaries from DSG Colchester always
wanted to visit the war graves in Belgium. With his upcoming
retirement in August, some of his colleagues decided it would be
good to organise a boy’s trip to see the graves as a farewell
tribute to Roy.
Mick Champion, Team leader, organised for ten of them to travel by
minibus to Belgium. On arrival, they stayed in a Bed and Breakfast (B&B)
which is still a working farm standing on a historic battlefield. The barn
was fascinating as it still contained relics from the war rescued from the
fields during farming.
L-R, Dave Tompkins, Mark Adkins, Dave Williamson,
Roy Williams, Danny Gooding, Gary Solomons, Neville Whittell,
Andy Baillie, Pete Moulds and Mick Champion
Amongst the places they visited was the Menin Gate at Ypres where they watched the moving nightly ceremony of the Last Post played to
commemorate the 54,900 fallen soldiers with no known graves.
A visit to Tyne Cot Cemetery also left them with lasting memories of the lives of some of the soldiers through reading the letters they sent
to their families. Mick said, “Seeing the 12,000 graves of the known soldiers and the memorial wall at the back of the cemetery containing the
names of another 35,000 soldiers with no known graves was a very sobering experience.”
He added, “The B&B had no television, so after eating out we spent the evening putting the world to rights. We highly recommend the B&B,
so if anyone plans to do the same trip, I am more than happy to provide details of this and any of the places we visited. It was a thoroughly
enjoyable trip and was a great send off for Roy.”
Bike Week
2013
To celebrate this year’s Bike Week and the start
of the summer, Neil Allen from DSG Colchester
organised the first bike ride of the year for his
fellow colleagues.
The Poodle to the Park route involved a gentle
meander along the cycle routes of Colchester.
Unfortunately, a clash with various school sports days
robbed them of the company of a number of colleagues.
This generated a general chorus of bogus sympathy as
they took advantage of the glorious day by stopping off
for an ice cream by the boating lake in Castle Park.
Weather permitting of course, the group intends to
organise more rides over the next few months.
Stirling
apprentice
success
L-R, Arlene Hamilton, Learning & Development Advisor, Sean Kaney
and Alastair Laird, Stirling HR manager
Ice cream stop
Sean Kaney, a first year apprentice from DSG Stirling recently
received an award for Motor Vehicle Apprentice of the Year from
the University of Highlands and Islands Perth College.
Sean left his job at a local supermarket to start an apprenticeship with DSG
in September last year. As part of his practical on the job experience, Sean is
working on Front Line Command activity. Sean says “It is a great opportunity
to work for DSG and working alongside my Apprentice Master, Larry Fraser
throughout my first year was really enjoyable and valuable.”
John Henderson, Value Stream manager said “Sean adapted to the change in
his career and integrated into workshop life seamlessly. He is performing
well and is showing signs of a valued team member here at Stirling.”
www.dsg.mod.uk August/September 2013 DIGEST
19

competition
COMPETITION
Please send all your entries in to the Editor by Friday 30 August 2013.
E-mail: venus.tingzon@dsg.mod.uk
Intranet: Click on the link on the dsg.net homepage
Fax: 94391 5458 / 01264 385458
Post: DSG Corporate Communications, Sedgemoor Building,
Monxton Road, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 8HT
Name:
For this month’s competition Grant Handling has kindly
donated a WH Smith £200 Theatre Break Experience Gift
Pack. All you have to do to win, is to name both the brand and
product from the given clue. Good luck!
1. This television commercial advert featured Nick Kamen in a laundrette.
2. Holidays are coming is one of its iconic festive advert.
3. Their slogan is “They're waffly versatile”.
4. The iconic faces of screen sirens Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich and
Grace Kelly are cleverly incorporated into the scenes of the advert using
computer generated imagery.
5. Television advert featuring Paul Whitehouse in various guises including a
Plymouth Argyle supporter.
6. Their renowned slogan cropped up in an episode of Only Fools in
Horses in the 1980s, when Del Boy comforts a German girl about to
give birth.
The closing date for the competition is Friday 30 August 2013.
Business Unit/Department:
Telephone Number:
The winner of last month’s competition and winning the Sony digital camera
is Graeme Campbell from Stirling.
The correct answers were:
1. Deal or no Deal – Noel Edmonds 2. Catchphrase – Roy Walker
3. The Weakest Link - Anne Robinson 4. The Chase – Bradley Walsh
5. Blind Date – Cilla Black 6. The Price is Right – Bruce Forsyth
ENTRY FORM
Grant Handling, a one stop shop
for all your materials handling
requirements. We believe our
experience in the materials handling
equipment business is unmatched in
the UK. During the past 35 years we
have worked with Heli one of the
world’s largest fork lift truck
manufacturers to build a unique
understanding of industry’s
requirements.
The key ingredient of the
Grant Handling ethos is
quality service support
Over 120 mobile engineers working from
our 8 regional depots together with a
comprehensive range of new and used
machines available for sale or rental
including warehouse, reach, diesel, gas
and electric counterbalance trucks to
suit all applications allows us to offer a
national service support network we
believe to be second to none.
LOLER inspections
Your annual Thorough
Examinations taken care of
A Thorough Examination is like an MOT
for a car that must be carried out and
reported on separately from routine
maintenance. A detailed inspection of
all the safety related areas of the
equipment is undertaken. In addition to
the brakes, steering, tyres etc. being
checked under PUWER 98 all the
lifting components, hydraulics,
chains, forks etc are inspected in
accordance with LOLER 98.
20
RULES OF ENTRY
The competition is restricted to
DSG employees only.
Only one entry per person will be accepted.
DIGEST August/September 2013 www.dsg.mod.uk
www.granthandling.com
0845 073 9407