It was the third year that many of North West Officer Training Regiment’s Officer Cadets had travelled to Sennelager in Western Germany for their Annual Camp, but far from becoming routine this year’s two weeks of military skills and adventure training offered new experiences for all.
The first week of camp provided an opportunity to consolidate and expand on the military leadership syllabus that both Manchester and Salford and Liverpool Universities Officer Training Corps have followed over the last academic period. The new Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Gareth Boyd MBE RRF, chose to hone the Officer Cadets’ skills and drills to the highest standard with a ‘back to basics’ phase.
Following the usual briefs and safety procedures was a varied and intense range package, with all cadets completing their Annual Combat Marksmanship Test, shooting at 100, 200 and 300 metres. It was evident that the extra coaching time had paid off, with a high number of Officer Cadets achieving a pass mark. However, it wasn’t all basic soldiering, with the Officer Cadets able to complete exciting familiarisation shoots on the pistol and General Purpose Machine Gun.
The exercise phase was a complex deployment into the field straight from ranges, but the Officer Cadets adapted quickly to their new command appointments and fulfilled the roles of section commanders, platoon sergeants and platoon commanders in a range of serials that tested section and platoon level attack, recce and advance to contact drills.
A field brunch, something possibly a little more familiar to the Officer Cadets’ normal lives than the rations they had lived on for the previous three days, marked the end of the exercise phase and led into a week of balls, barbeques and Leadership and Resilience training. A programme of sports, water skiing and battlefield studies aimed to challenge the Officer Cadets physically and mentally, creating friendships as well as putting the potential officers under a managed level of stress. Waterskiing, mountain biking, kayaking, as well as an inter-company sports competition, offered a great way to foster some physical courage, whilst at the same time enjoying the summer sun, but indoor skiing also allowed for something a bit different, and largely unexpected from a country that was experiencing scorching temperatures.
Just before the final journey home there was time for a visit to the First World War battlefields of Ypres in Belgium. The Subalterns provided an interpretation of the military actions whilst the CO shared his wealth of experience of military command with anecdotes of military leadership to illustrate many of the incidents on the battlefield. Finally, and a proud moment for the Officer Cadets, there was the opportunity to lay a wreath at the Menin Gate memorial on the 90th anniversary of the last post ceremony, in the presence of dignitaries from across the Commonwealth and Europe. With the end of the ceremony, and playing of reveille, it was the end of camp and thus time to say farewell to those Officer Cadets who were leaving for careers in the Regular Army or Army Reserve.
By Officer Cadet Dan Saville, North West Officer Training Regiment
