Adult Instructors Course #456

Cadet Training Centre Frimley Park

Surrey

The Adult instructor’s course runs between Sunday evening and Friday afternoon.  From Bradford it is a 4 hour drive down the boredom that is the M1 and then you have to negotiate Britain ’s biggest car park.  The M25.  Thankfully I had the company of SI Rory Romani from E coy, and we hardly stopped talking all the way down.

On arrival at Frimley, you drive up to the gatehouse to sign in.  We were allocated our rooms as we arrived early.  (Even though we tried to waste time getting some food and bits and pieces in Aldershot ).  For those of you that have not seen the pictures on the walls at some of the detachments or logged onto Frimley’s own website, it is not what you expect.  Basically Frimley is a former Manor house, which was lost in a game of cards in 1857.   It is very impressive as you move along the main drive of the house.  Also I think the weather helped to give more of an air of expectation because, the sun was shining and bouncing off the white paint of the mansion.

When you arrive in your accommodation you find that you share it with 3 others and that you actually have a bed space allocated.  My room was in the annex and looked out on the sunken garden to the rear of the house.  It was a very different view to what I am used to waking up to in Bradford at least.

While we were waiting for the other students to arrive, we had the run of the house and the gardens.  So being the inquisitive souls we are, we decided to explore the house.  The building is full of old memorabilia, trophies, paintings, pictures etc... I dare say that it is worth a small fortune.

Then it was dinner time.  Dressed in your suit, you go to the lobby between the ante room and the library and wait until you are told you can go into the dining room.  You pick up your napkin and sit at your table and wait for a waiter/waitress to come and ask what you would like.  This is pretty much how meal times would run for the whole week.  Even when there was no water.

We had our first glimpse of the permanent training staff on Monday morning, with a briefing from the RSM.  He emphasised the importance of being on time as the course is run to a very tight schedule.  He also advised us that the dress code would be formal at all times.  Then on with the course.  The majority of the course is based on the LSW.  You get taught by regular soldiers and the best advice that I could give is to watch exactly what they do in the lessons.  This is how the lessons should be and this is how you should do them.  You also pick up a lot of good ideas to put into your own lessons that can be used to inject a bit of humour into the lesson, mask your own movements etc.  

On day 2 you get given your TP for the LSW and then on day 3 you’re GP TP.  Thursday you have your written assessments.  These consist of a fieldcraft test, map and compass test and your obligatory red book test.

You knock off early on Thursday evening for your dinner night.  The meal was great and the atmosphere in the Ante room where we all drank was brilliant.  There was much dancing and merriment.

Friday morning.  0630.  Lie in this morning but the training staff are cruel.  You have your Drill test that you have been preparing all week.  You basically have to learn a sequence of commands and after giving the order you have to give the correct directing flank.  It needs to be word perfect.  Then the map and compass practical test and then tea/coffee break.  Then it’s off to the training wing to do your weapon handling tests on the LSW and the GP.  I would recommend anyone to go to the GP first and LSW second.  This way you will avoid making silly mistakes.

Then before the final address you have a change to meet up with the section instructor and ACF ADS that have been with you for the week and are given your course report and final grading.  End of course debrief with the commandant, pay your mess bill and drive 7 (yes 7) hours back to Bradford .

I was quite apprehensive before the course and really struggled to get into it properly, but after 2 days I got right into it.  The course encourages teamwork and coursemanship.  You are also forced to get on with new people as you do not sleep in the same rooms as anyone else from your own county.  We had people from as far away as Inverness to the Isle of Wight .

There were one or two dramas on the course.  We ran out of water due to a burst water main and the commandant came close to pulling the course.  The other was a medical problem that could have been worse if it were not for the professionalism of the permanent staff and another student who happens to be a Paramedic for his civilian job.

I would certainly recommend attending the course to everyone.  It is an eye opener and is there to help you become a better instructor.

SI G Kennedy
Bingley Detachment
D Company
Yorkshire (N&W) ACF

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