LESSONS being learned on overseas operations are helping to shape state-of-the-art training and doctrine thanks to the British Army’s Force Development Training (FDT) programme.
The scheme is a key component in the Service’s aim to recruit only the best applicants and ensure they receive the finest ongoing education throughout their time in the military.
Speaking exclusively to Soldier at MoD Main Building, Lt Gen Paul Newton (pictured), commander FDT, explained that it is essential to continuously learn and adapt to fresh challenges in the modern warfare environment.
“When the Chief of the General Staff started Operation Entirety he was putting down a marker. It was not a case of more of the same,” he said.
“Warfare is and will remain the area of uncertainty. We need people to be ready from the moment they join.
“The reality is that we will have to fight in places that are not of our choosing, operating in a highly-congested battle space and we will be drawn into the urban area.”
Lt Gen Newton has called on soldiers of all ranks to come forward with their suggestions for how to improve their training.
He said: “We are always open to ideas. We have 110,000 Regular soldiers and 33,000 in the TA and they all have views that we would like to hear.
“There is the ability to engage in dialogue and try to open a debate to learn from people, irrespective of rank.”
Using feedback from personnel in Afghanistan, the FDT team ensures that doctrine is kept up-to-date and is incorporated into training received by personnel already in theatre as well as those awaiting deployment.
Maj Nicholas Ridgway, Lt Gen Newton’s executive officer, explained that operational feedback plays a large part in the team’s work.
He said: “We get the brigades coming back from theatre and suck the information from the people that were on the ground.
“The soldiers have tried things in Afghanistan and on occasions found it was not the right way to do it – the lesson is identified and incorporated in training.
“The moment an IED goes off, analysis begins and the process of bringing the lesson into training starts.”
Much of the team’s work has been uploaded to the Army Knowledge Exchange. Available on the Army intranet, the system has been created as a one-stop shop for doctrine, with updated documents uploaded frequently as situations change.
“We require people to learn and use the body of knowledge that we create,” said Lt Gen Newton. “People need to be able to prepare for the complex environment all of the time.”
Welfare network launched for Fijian personnel |
A JOINT-SERVICE initiative to improve the lives of Fijian soldiers in the British Forces has been launched.
The Fijian Support Network (FSN) has been set up to provide information to personnel and their relatives and to ensure they are well integrated within the Services.
Maj Rodney Harwood, SO2 families, said: “The network is a conduit for information, a signpost for the community and an important sounding board for the chain of command.
“Life can be complicated when you need to apply for things like driving licences and National Insurance numbers, but we can work together more closely in support of each other.”
The FSN will work with the Army’s welfare department to take information on serious matters forward to Government departments and press for change.
Speaking at Deepcut to an auditorium full of Fijian personnel from the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, Col Peter McCall (RLC) said: “This is a very significant group and we should use it.
“I would encourage soldiers and their families to talk to the people who work in welfare. If at any time you feel the system is not working, you must speak up.”
One aim of the FSN is to break down any language barriers that exist by disseminating information to the Fijian community in an easily-understood way.
Capt Tai Saukuru (RLC) said: “The FSN is the forum we are trying to establish to act as the link between Fijians and the welfare support networks across the MoD.
“The key piece for us is that we minimise the easily-solved problems that are handed to the high level, at the same time as highlighting helpful information to the Fijian community.”
For information about welfare, immigration and other matters, visit www.army.mod.uk, www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk or www.ukvisas.gov.uk
Medical marvels Herrick-bound |
CLINICAL teams serving in Afghanistan are set to receive a boost to their life-saving equipment with the introduction of new mobile digital X-ray machines.
Defence Equipment and Support bought the kit under a £2 million contract with Gloucestershire-based Xograph Healthcare Limited.
The deal involves three new machines – the Solo mobile C-Arm, the DRagon light mobile direct digital radiography system (pictured) and the MobileDaRt Evolution motorised mobile direct digital radiography system – all of which will offer a quicker diagnosis for troops injured in the line of duty.
Sqn Ldr Martin Coleman, lead radiographer from the Centre for Defence Imaging, said: “The acquisition of this fleet of direct digital X-ray equipment will further improve the capability of the Defence Medical Services to deal with the sick and injured when deployed on operations.
“During major trauma, where rapid clinical intervention becomes the key component with regard to saving life and limb, the ability to provide diagnostic images within seconds plays a vital role and this is what these machines deliver.
“They will allow us to provide this rapid imaging wherever we require it, be that in a tent, in a custom-built hospital or in a surgical facility aboard a ship.”
Each machine will have the ability to produce an X-ray image of a casualty within three seconds of exposure and will replace the traditional method of wet film processing.
They will also be able to send images using wireless communications, which will avoid the use of trailing cables around patient trolleys and allow clinicians to view images from anywhere in the medical facility.
New Scout to lead the pack |
Future force: A computer-generated impression of General Dynamics UK’s proposed Scout vehicle
A HI-TECH fleet of armoured vehicles could be in service by 2015 after the MoD signed a £500 million contract with a defence firm.
General Dynamics UK has been awarded the deal for the demonstration phase of the Specialist Vehicles (SV) programme which will see the company produce new variants of the combat vehicle reconnaissance (tracked) (CVR(T)) series.
The first prototypes will be ready by 2013 with the finished models introduced by the middle of the decade.
Peter Luff, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, said: “Military commanders have stressed the importance of having a wide range of vehicles from which they can select the most appropriate for specific tasks.
“This contract is a major step towards providing an additional fleet of combat vehicles capable of undertaking operations in the most demanding terrain and fully incorporating lessons from current conflicts.”
Under the demonstration phase contract, General Dynamics UK will produce seven prototypes, including the principal Scout reconnaissance vehicle, which will replace the Scimitar.
Variants including a recce armoured personnel carrier, to replace Spartan, and a repair and recovery model in place of Sampson will also be delivered.
All of the models will be built on the ASCOD SV Common Base platform which General Dynamics UK managing director Dr Sandy Wilson said will deliver a host of benefits.
He explained: “The MoD chose ASCOD SV because it guaranteed the best protection for British troops, the best value for money for the taxpayer and the best growth potential for the British Army to combat threats throughout the [vehicle’s] 30-year life.”
General Dynamics UK’s Scout SV impressed the MoD thanks to the flexibility it offers compared to the much-smaller CVR(T) vehicle.
As well as providing improved protection, the modified ASCOD SV platform will include upgraded sensors and firepower and will be fitted with a new Lockheed Martin turret.
Master General of the Ordnance, Maj Gen Bill Moore, said: “This is a very good moment for the Army. Scout will provide a much-better capability to find and track the enemy, so necessary for successful prosecution of operations in the 21st century.
“Scout will also deliver improved situational awareness, increased firepower, more protection and enhanced mobility and it will be a key capability for land operations over the next few decades.”
The scale of the final Scout order will not be decided until the Government has completed its Strategic Defence and Security Review.
More than 70 per cent of the manufacturing of the vehicles will take place in the United Kingdom, with as many as 10,000 jobs created or sustained as a result.
Dr Wilson added: “I am proud that this vehicle has been designed in Britain by British engineers.”
Sangin to move under US control in key Afghanistan troop reshuffle |
Incoming: American personnel’s arrival into Sangin will see Britain concentrate on central Helmand
Picture: Spc Scott Davis, US Army
BRITISH Forces are to hand security responsibility for Sangin district to their American counterparts as part of a reorganisation of personnel in Helmand.
The move is aimed at creating a clear and equal divide of the province, with UK Servicemen and women operating in the central region and US troops based in the north and south.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox said: “In Sangin, UK Forces have made huge progress in the face of great adversity. The district centre has been transformed.
Helmand as a whole is a safer place as a result of our endeavours and sacrifices there.
“I pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in Sangin and those who continue to serve there.”
Significant progress has been made in the development of governance, the economy and infrastructure since British troops first arrived in Sangin.
The number of shops in the district’s bazaar has doubled since last summer, local administrators are distributing grain and encouraging farmers to turn their backs on narcotics while major improvements have been made to the key route between Sangin and Kajaki.
Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup said: “Our Service personnel can be enormously proud of the work they have done in Sangin and the significant progress they have achieved there.
“Sangin is a challenging area of Afghanistan and we leave it a better place. The experience our troops have gained there will be vital in the work they will continue in the important population centres of central Helmand.”
As part of the reorganisation, 300 soldiers from the Theatre Reserve Battalion will temporarily deploy to Afghanistan to help with the transition.
The personnel, from 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, will return to Cyprus once the process is completed.
“The temporary deployment of the Theatre Reserve Battalion will allow the International Security Assistance Force to build on the significant progress we have already made in central Helmand,” ACM Stirrup said.
“This reorganisation makes sound military sense and ensures that UK troops are deployed in the most effective way.”
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SWAG |
FORCE FOR GOOD |
QUIDS IN |
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£13,568 |
TWO MEN IN A BOAT
ARMY doctors Capt Hamish Reid and Capt Nick Dennison (both RAMC) became the first people in history to row non-stop and unsupported round the British mainland. |
Help for Heroes and ABF The Soldiers’ Charity
www.rowforheroes.com |
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£13,000 |
IRON MEN
EX-Grenadier Guard Robert Creighton and brother Oliver competed in various endurance events. Robert’s latest challenge saw him tackle the CowMan Half Iron Man competition while carrying a domestic fridge. |
Help for Heroes
www.helpforheroes.com |
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£2,843 |
UNBELIEVABLE TREKKERS
FORMER
Royal Artillery man Rob Hallewell led a team along the Cotswold Way. The 102-mile trip included sleeping under the stars and eating ration packs. |
Help for Heroes
www.justgiving.com/trek-
for-heroes |
