Minister admits scale of cuts in training exercises

A few days ago Liam Fox MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, tabled a written question asking the government how many training exercises originally planned for 2010 have already been cancelled.

In reply Armed Forces Minister, Bill Rammell, admitted that 55 exercises had so far been cut. However, he also said that: "Success in Afghanistan is our main effort, and will remain our principal commitment for as long as it takes. Our approach at this time must be - and is - Afghanistan first. All exercises that better prepare our forces for operations in Afghanistan will continue but those exercises that are considered not to directly support our effort have been examined critically and, where appropriate, cancelled."

The training exercises cut were:

I don't know how many training exercises are undertaken each year but 55 sounds like a lot. Snatching short-term savings by cutting the training budget is bound to have long-term implications for the future effectiveness of the Armed Forces especially as they should be prepared for combat in a variety of warzones.

[not sorry to see "French Connection", "Tricolour" and "Asterix" go, but great shame about "Roman Eagle"]

British Forces Resettlement Services' Job Fair

The high level of UK unemployment, coupled with the threatened 20% reduction in Service numbers, means that managing the transition between military and civilian life may well be a hot issue within the Armed Forces over the next few years.

Recognising this, the British Forces Resettlement Services (BFRS) is going to be holding a "groundbreaking" job fair and networking event for ex-forces people tomorrow, 4th March, at the Garrison Sports Centre in Aldershot. The interactive event will help past, present and future service leavers – as well as their job-seeking family members – access a range of support organisations and find meaningful employment. For those not wishing to move directly into full-time employment the event will also have organisations presenting gap-year opportunities.

Not only will there be exhibits and free seminars and presentations running throughout the day; the organisers are also throwing in a free "curry supper".

Present at the fair will be BAE Systems, Boeing, The AA, BSM, Marstons, Security Networking Events, Airbus, EADS, Rushmoor Borough Council, Hampshire Police, Civvy Street and The British Legion.

The keynote speech will be provided by Colonel Richard Kemp CBE, former Royal Anglian, Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, best-selling novelist, Cabinet adviser and Essex boy. The focus of his speech will be on the importance of a positive CV. He says: "The CV is probably the single most important element in finding a new job, and far too often highly competent service people will miss out on opportunities because their CV does not properly reflect all that they can bring to an employer......In my experience since leaving the Army, most former service people tend to very much undersell themselves. It is really important that they recognise the impressive range of skills and experience they have acquired in their military service so that they can market themselves to employers.”

The Job Fair at Aldershot will be the first of a series of similar events which ex-military recruitment specialists Gemini Forces will be hosting across the country over the coming year.

Gemini Forces: Challenges of ex-Services personnel returning to ‘civvy street’ thrown into the spotlight

Army training at the touch of a screen

LINE Communications, a leading supplier of Technology Based Training, has announced the imminent release of three major mobile learning solutions for the British Army.

The MoD has commissioned LINE to develop three highly innovative learning solutions to be delivered on mobile devices. Two of the projects will be delivered using Apple iTouch. The first covers training on vehicle service schedules and the second delivers restricted content quickly and securely to the target audience. The third project delivers complex procedural training using touchscreen tablets. All of the projects are due for release in early April 2010.

LINE prides itself on working "pragmatically to deliver the MoD’s modernisation and training transformation agenda across Defence to genuinely improve operational capability".

Let's hope LINE's touchscreen solution is significantly better than my new LG-POP which fails to respond however gently or firmly, casually or positively, I touch the screen.

Royal Anglians being "prepared for deployment"

400 officers and men from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment have just been told to prepare for imminent deployment to Afghanistan.

The Battalion last saw action in Afghanistan in 2007 when, during a very tough tour, nine of their number lost their lives fighting the Taliban.

Concerns have been raised that, due to a shortage of combat troops, the time devoted to pre-deployment training is being slashed from six months to six weeks. One senior Army source said: "This is a panic measure as we do not have sufficient battle-ready troops. Six months is the minimum required to bring troops up to battlefield readiness."

Whilst some in the Battalion will have first-hand experience of fighting on the frontline, most - possibly as high as 70% - will not have been to Afghanistan before.

An MoD spokeswoman said: "1st Battalion, Royal Anglians, are being prepared for deployment as part of prudent contingency planning. They are at a high level of readiness. No troops are ever deployed without full training." Regretfully it is becoming increasingly difficult to believe such statements from MoD spokespersons.

Cutbacks in equipment, cutbacks in funding, cutbacks in compensation and now cutbacks in training.

Whatever the real situation, the Vikings will do the country proud.

The Mail: Troops to be sent to Helmand, Afghanistan with just 6 weeks' training

Equipment for pre-deployment training: should be there by 2010

In response to a recent parliamentary question from Shadow Defence Sec. Liam Fox MP about equipment available during pre-deployment training, Bill Rammell MP, Armed Forces Minister of State, gave the following reply.

Dismounted Close Combat (DCC) equipment.
Availability ranges from above 90% for small arms to below 50% for complex items such as night vision equipment and Osprey body armour. The situation continues to improve; 75% of the funded requirement is expected to be met by December 2009 and 100% by mid-2010.

Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) procured vehicles
The availability of these new types of vehicles is improving from the current figure of just below 50%. As the pace of delivery increases this year, at least 80% of the funded training fleet for Mastiff, Ridgback and Jackal are expected to be available by November and 100% is expected to be available by mid-2010.

Existing vehicles modified to Theatre Entry Standard (TES)
Vehicles such as Panther, Viking, CVR(T) and Warrior come from the existing fleet of vehicles; there is no shortage for training and crews and users are largely already qualified and practised in their use. There are some shortages in the number of vehicles specifically modified to TES; availability ranges from below 50% (CVR(T)) to nearly 60% (Panther).

It's all very well for the Minister of State to say that all the appropriate equipment should be available in 12 months time, but hasn'e deployment been going on for the last six years?

Ofsted inspection: no problem for UK military training

Over a 15 month period between January 2008 and March 2009 Ofsted looked into the quality of welfare and duty of care provided to the UK's recruits and trainees during their military training. The inspection - you know, the sort of thing that sends members of the NUT into a tizzy or blind panic - found the overall effectiveness of the welfare and duty of care provision for recruits and trainees to be satisfactory.

"Inspectors found a strong commitment from the majority of training personnel to provide recruits and trainees with a fair and challenging programme, while also taking due account of individual circumstances that might affect the health, well-being or progress of the individual. Most recruits reported that they felt safe and well-supported, and in the majority of establishments inspected, the welfare and duty of care arrangements were good and integral to the training process."

The military did come in for some criticism, particularly that the pace of improvement could be accelerated, and singles out the Army as needing to do more: "The Army has made improvements across the board, but is making uncertain progress in particular aspects, such as selfassessment, which is the cornerstone of improvement and development.... establishments [should] develop their proficiency in the use of self-assessment as a route towards real and lasting quality improvement." This all sounds a bit New-Labour-speak to me, so no problem there then as this mumbo-jumbo will soon be scraped into the dustbin of history.

Ofsted: The quality of welfare and duty of care for recruits and trainees in the Armed Forces

133 Field Company: Freemen of Ashford

133 Field Company, REME, has been given Ashford's highest civic honour: the Freedom of the Borough. The TA unit has had a long association with Ashford having been based in the town for a number of years and recruiting mainly from the local area.

Leader of the Council Cllr Paul Clokie said: "It was a great and rare honour to have witnessed the Freedom of the Borough passed to the 133 Field Company. The unit has been active in Afghanistan and Iraq and has shown considerable bravery, and it is this and its long association with Ashford that makes this Freedom so deserved.”

Well done, Ashford! Well done 133 Field Company!

BBC: Highest civic honour for TA unit
Ashford Borough: REME given freedom of borough
Army.MoD: 133 Field Company

Camp Barry Buddon scrapped: Army training to be privatised?

It may sound like a drag act, but Camp Barry Buddon near Dundee was a training centre long before Lily Savage strutted her stuff on a London stage.

It had been intended that a new £8.5million training centre would be built at Barry Buddon to cope with the growth in the number of recruits expected over the next couple of years.

However, although the number of recruits has been rising sharply in recent months (up 14%) as a result of the recession and Operation Solomon, the powers that be have decided that the new centre can no longer be cost justified.

The cancellation of the project means that existing training facilities will somehow have handle the increase in numbers.

And guess what? The MoD is now thinking of out-sourcing training to the private sector! I don't think even Maggie Thatcher thought of that one!

The Times: Army scraps Barry Buddon training centre despite record recruitment

NAO: Operations being compromised

The National Audit Office yesterday published its report "Support to High Intensity Operations". This report looks at how effective the MoD has been at supporting large-scale operations in Iraq and Afghanistan especially in terms of:

- the equipment provided and how it gets to the frontline, and

- the level of training the guys receive before they're deployed and the support they get once they have been.

The NAO recognises that "the provision of support for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is made more difficult because they operate in remote locations and harsh conditions."

Equipment

• Upto March 2009 the MoD has secured £4.2billion of extra funding from the Treasury for Urgent Operational Requirements - helicopter upgrades, improved vehicle protection, early attack warning systems for bases and electronic counter-measures.
• Apart from Vectors, the vehicles purchased or upgraded have generally met the MoD's targets although there have been shortages of spares for some vehicles particularly when used in a role different to that originally intended (e.g. Mastiffs in Afghanistan).
• Armed Forces personnel throughout the chain of command in both Iraq and Afghanistan say that UOR equipment had performed well overall, including that procured to enhance protected mobility.
• The availability and serviceability of the helicopter fleets on operations have exceeded MoD targets though sometimes at the expense of fleets back in the UK.

Logistics

• Despite the challenging operational environments, the MoD successfully delivered around 300,000 personnel and 90,000 tonnes of freight to Iraq and Afghanistan over the last two years. The Department has not consistently met its supply chain targets for the timeliness of delivery (Afghanistan 57% on target, Iraq 71%) but there are signs that the supply chain is becoming more resilient.

Pre-deployment training

• For Iraq and Afghanistan, pre-deployment training is responsive to lessons identified in theatre and commanders are confident of its quality. But it is constrained by a number of factors: insufficient time for training, difficulties in replicating operational environments and shortages in training equipment.

Support and welfare on operations

• There is widespread confidence in the medical services provided on the frontline. Survival rates from severe injuries have improved especially since the introduction of Medical Emergency Response Teams.
• Accommodation at bases meets most needs and personnel are generally satisfied with it, although conditions at forward operating and patrol bases are more austere. More permanent structures are replacing tents.
• The Deployable Welfare Package, which aims to provide welfare support to personnel on operations to maintain their emotional and physical wellbeing, is generally being successfully delivered in operational theatres although there are some problems at peak times.
• Both the Army and the RAF are struggling to meet "harmony guidelines" which should be determining the frequency between deployments.

Major problems

• There have been shortages of spares for some vehicles and insufficient equipment on which to conduct pre-deployment training.
• Equipment provided for operational training is not always at the same level as that deployed in theatre, making training less realistic.
• The MoD’s performance against supply chain targets has been variable and lower for the highest priority demands.
• There is a significant difference in the provision of welfare packages at main operating bases and at forward operating and patrol bases.

National Audit Office: Support to High Intensity Operations

Stanford Training Area: MoD builds Darwishan in England's green and pleasant land

In the dark days of the Second World War villagers living in 30,000 acres of quiet Norfolk countryside (2% of Norfolk in fact) were evicted from their homes and farms to make way for the Army's Stanford Training Area (Stanta). The rolling fields and pastures were considered ideal for preparing Allied troops for the up-and-coming assault on German-occupied Europe. During the Cold War the Stanta training facilities were updated in line with the need to prepare for war with the Soviets and the mock village of "Eastmere" was built, presumably to mimic an East European kolkhoz. These facilities were also suitable for training troops prior to their deployment to Northern Ireland.

Now in the age of the War on Terror, the MoD has revamped the training area once again and has spent £14million on building a Middle Eastern landscape complete with villages, Afghan tribesmen, bazaars, mosques and hamams - the smell of cooking food wafts through the streets and even synthetic aromas, such as rotten meat and camel dung, are pumped out from aromamatics. Rumour has it that tons of sand had to be from the Maplin sandbanks, transported on massive barges up the East coast and dumped on the Norfolk fields to form a desert terrain. It is also reported that hundreds of palm trees were purchased from Saudi Arabia and transplanted onto the artificial sand dunes.

Every British soldier sent to Afghanistan - an estimated 11,000 a year - will train at the facility. The first troops to experience the meticulous level of detail, 11 Brigade, are set to arrive in two weeks' time. They are bound for Afghanistan. General Sir David Richards, Commander in Chief Land Forces, praised the camp. "These new training facilities mean that we will be giving our soldiers the very best chance to succeed in today's complex operations and return home safely."

... and just to be on the safe side: Ian Levett of Natural England said: "Natural England has worked in close partnership with the Military on this project to ensure that they have been able to fulfil their responsibilities towards nature conservation at the same time as providing their training needs. "

The Telegraph: MoD builds Afghan village in Norfolk
EDP24: Afghan war zone recreated in Norfolk

You're hired! MoD takes on 170 apprentices

In recent weeks entrepreneur/TV celebrity Sir Alan Sugar was been, appropriately, fronting a government advert campaign to increase the number of apprenticeships offered by British companies. Someone at the MoD must have seen the ad because Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) has just announced that they will be taking on an additional 170 apprentices over the next two years.

Aimed at school-leavers interested in supporting the UK's Armed Forces, those selected will follow a three-year apprenticeship in engineering, specialising in electronics, electrical and mechanical engineering and construction. The new apprentices will not only be trained to support current frontline equipment but also to help select the equipment for the Armed Forces of the future.

DE&S has a workforce of 24,500 and the 170 apprenticeships offered is comparable to the national ratio of 7 per 1000.

Alan Sugar said; "Apprentices are ambitious, they're doers, they make things happen. These are the type of qualities I look for in people. Success is all about finding people like this - people who will help make any business grow." ... this also applies to UK Armed Forces Inc.

MoD: MOD to recruit engineering apprentices
Apprenticeships.org

Defence Training Review for the chop?

Back in December AV reported that the Defence Training Review (DTR) had suffered a major blow when Land Securities Trillium, one of the two companies involved, withdrew from the scheme. A suitable partner for Qinetic has still not been found.
A report in yesterday's Guardian now argues that the whole project itself is in doubt due in large part to the Recession but also to delays and spiralling costs.

DTR, which at £12billion (up £1billion from initial estimates) is the UK's largest ever private finance initiative (PFI) project, is aiming to centralise nearly all of the UK Armed Force's training facilities at a new tri-service Military Academy at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan.

In a statement to the Guardian, the MoD said the project had been "more difficult and prolonged than expected" and could fall victim to the "abnormal market environment" - a reference to its dependence on banks affected by the credit crunch.

Even were the funds available, this was always going to be ambitious scheme for the MoD to take on, especially in view of its track record on managing large-scale projects (see the recent National Audit Office report on MoD Major Projects 2008).

However, economists are arguing that heavy public spending on infrastructure and construction projects is a proven way for governments to dig a way out of recession (the Hoover Dam and Nazi autobahns come to mind). So, spending the odd £12billion at St Athan may be seen as a good way to help kick start the economy.

The Guardian: Credit crisis puts £12bn MoD training project in jeopardy

Stanta: MoD to build Islamabad in England's green and pleasant land

In the dark days of the Second World War villagers living in 30,000 acres of quiet Norfolk countryside were evicted from their homes and farms to make way for the Army's Stanford Training Area (Stanta). The rolling fields and pastures were considered ideal for preparing Allied troops for the up-and-coming assault on German-occupied Europe. During the Cold War the Stanta training facilities were updated in line with the need to prepare for war with the Soviets and the mock village of "Eastmere" was built, presumably to mimic an East European kolkhoz. These facilities were also suitable for training troops prior to their deployment to Northern Ireland.
Now in the age of the War on Terror, the MoD is having to revamp the training area once again. £18million is to be spent on building a Middle Eastern landscape containing villages complete with bazaars, mosques and hamams. Rumour has it that tons of sand is to be dredged from the Maplin sandbanks, transported on massive barges up the East coast and dumped on the Norfolk fields to form a desert terrain. It is also being reported that hundreds of palm trees are being purchased from Saudi arboriculturists for transplanting in the artificial sand dunes.
It is clear that the Operational Training and Advisory Group (OPTAG), who are overseeing the programme, are keen to make the new training environment as realistic as possible.

Link> BBC: MoD base to be 'Middle East town'
Link> Bury Free Press: £18m Middle East plan

AFC Harrogate: Passing-Out Parade

Army Foundation College Harrogate celebrated its 10th anniversary on August 14th with a passing-out parade for 600 of its 1300 students. The number of junior soldiers graduating from the College indicates how successful the AFC has been both at attracting high calibre students and in providing the level of military and vocational training needed by today's Army.

Junior Soldier Aaron Ellison-Jones said: "I felt brilliant today. I would recommend the Army Foundation College to anybody. There was nothing that concerned me at all about the training. I want to make a career in the Army and stay in as long as possible."

Congratulations to all the graduates!

Link> MoD: Harrogate parade sees 600 new soldiers join Army ranks
Link> The Sun: Passing-out Pride
also

Link> AV: AFC Harrodate 10th Birthday Parade
Link> Army.MoD: AFC Harrogate

College Bursary Scheme being promoted

Although launched some months ago, added impetus is now being put behind the Army's Further Education Bursary Scheme (FEBS). Traditionally bursaries have only been awarded to students attending degree courses and this has often been seen as elitist as it mainly benefitted the officer-class. The introduction of FEBS has meant that all students over 16 can now qualify for financial support to continue their education. FEBS provides annual grants of £1,000 to college students attending qualifying vocational courses (e.g. mechanics, I.T., business admin, catering) at 200 British colleges with a further £1,000 being paid out on completion of basic training.

The key drivers behind FEBS are:

• reducing the very high drop out rate during basic training. Currently about half of recruits drop out within the first 14 weeks often because they didn't really understand what being in the Army is about when they enlisted. FEBS is aimed at providing that insight upfront.
• meeting the skill shortage from which the Army is currently suffering. The courses that are supported by the scheme are all relevant to careers in the Army.
• improving the quality of recruits. Students successfully completing their college courses will be better educated and motivated. Failings in Britain's schools mean that the educational attainments of new recruits falls short of the Army's standards and consequently the Army is having to do the teachers' job for them by running its own in-house literacy and numeracy courses.
• mitigating the impending rise in the school-leaving age to 18. The Army currently takes on recruits from aged 16 and 17 but from 2013 this will no longer be possible. The Army sees the bursary scheme as a means to mitigate this and to build partnerships with the colleges for mutual benefit.
• going a long way to meeting the Army's recruitment target. FEBS is offering 3,000 bursaries and if all are successful, this would meet 25% of its target of 12,000 recruits.

Sounds like a good scheme which should help many young people stay on in further education. The Army is a wee bit optimistic, though, if it imagines it will be able to get the £4,000 back from students who drop out before they get to basic training.

Link> MoD: Army offers secure future to student soldiers
Link> The Mirror: Army to pay you to learn
Link> The Guardian: Army to pay students to complete further education

also
Link> AV: Army Bursary Scheme takes off

AFC Harrogate 10th Birthday Parade

Over a thousand Junior Soldiers accompanied by their staff and two military bands paraded through the streets of Harrogate yesterday in celebration of the 10th birthday of the Army Foundation College (AFC). The salute was taken from a dais outside the Town Hall by the Mayor of Harrogate, Councillor John Fox, and the senior Army officer for Yorkshire and the North East, Brigadier David Maddan.

Built on the site of the old Army Apprentice College on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, AFC Harrogate was opened in 1998. The flagship training centre was built under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme at a cost of over £80 million. Its hi-tech, high quality residential environment represents the new way forward for training Britain's troops, housing around 1500 students and 420 staff in an 18 building campus that consists of accommodation in 132 new or refurbished blocks together with full academic and military training facilities; it also boasts a 600 seat lecture theatre and a huge sports hall.

The AFC is for young lads and girls from the age of 16 who want a career in the Army and many join straight from school. They spend one year at the college as junior soldiers and when they pass out from the college they then go unto their respective regiments for further training.

Link> MoD: Harrogate celebrates Army college's 10th birthday

Link> MoD: AFC Harrogate

Link> Wikipedia: Army Foundation College

Lithuanians and Celts Do It

40 soldiers from the Lithuanian Reserve Forces (KASP) joined Territorials from 2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment on a joint training exercise at the Otterburn Ranges in the Cheviot Hills. The training and cooperation between the KASP and the Army has been ongoing for the last decade.

Lithuania, a relatively new NATO ally, has been sending troops to join the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan since 2005 and these are currently stationed in the Gohr province in the west of the country. Though not a large force (100), the Lithuanian contingent is a valued part of the ISAF. The Lithuanian government announced earlier in this month that it was sending additional soldiers to bolster the peacekeeping force and promised that further troops would be deployed later in the year.

Link> MoD: Lithuanian troops take tips from 2 Royal Irish

Link> AOL News: Lithuania sending additional troops to bolster small Afghan peacekeeping force

Army rectifies the failings of UK teachers

For over a decade the Government has been pumping £billions into Britain's schools in order to improve the standard of education of our children. And yet despite the spurious claims of examination boards, not a day goes by without the real world complaining about the lack of basic skills amongst school leavers. Businesses across the country are having to provide basic literacy and numeracy training to their new staff intakes simply because the nation's teachers continue to fail to do what they are being paid by the taxpayer to do: to teach our children.

And just like these businesses, the Army is finding that many of its recruits enter training with literacy or numeracy skills at or below those expected of a primary school leaver and as a consquence is having to run its own Basic Skills training programme. The scheme has proved very successful and trainees, previously let down by their schools, are achieving skill levels well in excess of those required by the Army.

Link> MoD: Basic Skills brings meaning to learning
Link> The Times: Education spending spree has 'failed pupils'
Link> Army News: Basic skills lessons go Army-wide

also
Link> AV: MoD gains 'Awarding Body' accreditation
Link> AV: Army Bursary Scheme takes off
Link> MoD: Army aims to boost 'Three Rs' in its ranks

Welsh opposition to new Defence Training Academy

Leading members of Plaid Cymru have joined other local campaigners protesting against the siting of the new £11billion tri-service Defence Training Academy at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan. Wales won out against strong competition from the West Midlands and other parts of England.

Work on the new Academy, which forms part of a major rationalisation of military training across the UK, is due to start in 2009. Once completed the Academy will run over 600 courses for about 6,500 students.

Those opposing the scheme accuse the British Government rather grandly of "making Wales the centre of training for war". Clearly they do not recognise the vitally important peace-keeping work carried out by Britain's Armed Forces, nor the sacrifices they are making on our behalf fighting those who would bomb British cities. Perhaps if the Welsh don't want this multi-billion pound, high-technology project, it's not too late to switch it to one of the places in England which are only too eagre to host it.

Link> BBC: Protests against military academy
Link> AV: Defence Training Review Rationalisation Programme

Army Bursary Scheme takes off

Despite opposition from the National Union of Teachers, several colleges have now signed up for the new bursary scheme provided by the British Army. For example, Moulton College in Northampton and the Evesham and Malvern Hills College will both be offering Army Further Education Bursary Schemes to help students prepare for a career in the forces.
The scheme is available to people between the ages of 16 and 25 who are going into further education. It will provide £1,000 for students whilst at college and a further award of £1,000 for completing training when they join the British Army at the end of their course. The project has been supported by the Government's Department of Innovation, Universities & Skills and the Learning and Skills Council.
Army spokesman Lt Col John Moody said: "The Army has a proud tradition of supporting its future employees through further education and this new scheme demonstrates our commitment to life long learning and vocational training."
On the other hand, Gordon White, Northants county secretary to the NUT, said: "These schemes are all designed to tempt young people through the back door." Oh dear, another Gordon!

Link> Northampton Chronical:College links up with Army
Link> Malvern Gazette: Students in line for army grants

Link> AV: Army bursaries now on offer