Enterprise Approach Logistics

By Peter Shakespeare

A new Ministry of Defence initiative to address skills gaps among Service Personnel (SP) has been trialled over the summer of 2022, involving 30 professional drivers from The Royal Logistic Corps.

The RLC’s Driver trade gains a Cat C+E licence during their initial Phase 2 training, prior to being posted to their unit. But due to the Army’s current logistics vehicle fleet requirements, only the Combat Support Tanker and Heavy and Medium Equipment Transporters are articulated vehicles that require the C+E driving licence. The rest of the Logistic Support Vehicle fleet (the vast majority of it) are MAN 6, 9 and 15-tonne rigid trucks, so only require the Cat C licence. The result of this is most RLC Drivers won’t drive Cat C+E, or more importantly articulated vehicles, post licence acquisition.

As has been recently demonstrated through Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) tasks, such as support provided to the NHS supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic (Op RESCRIPT) and Op ESCALIN (the MOD contingency plan to ensure national fuel supplies) drivers can be called upon at short notice to get behind the wheel of a civilian 44tonne articulated truck, so the Army needs to maintain this capability.

To address skills fade within the RLC Driver CEG, in April 2022, Defence People launched a trial of its Enterprise Approach (EA). The EA Log Trial (as it is known) began with a period of training, delivered by specialist civilian driver training provider at Dalton Barracks in Abingdon, to upskill around 40 drivers from 3 and 4 Regiments. During this training they received instruction on driving articulated vehicles and gained the civilian Drivers’ Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC) qualification. 30 of these professional drivers then deployed on three-month full-time work placements as HGV drivers with Industry Partners Tesco, John Lewis and Kuehne+Nagel.

The initial training for the EA Log Trial was delivered by civilian specialist Drivers Direct. The majority of Army drivers complete their C+E licence acquisition training and test in wagon and drag vehicles, so have no experience of driving an articulated truck, commonly used by civilian haulage and distribution companies. A small fleet of artics were hired for the initial training and the soldiers were taught reversing and manoeuvring skills as well as receiving in-cab training driving on the open road.

So what were the students' initial thoughts about the EA Log Trial and what they had to look forward to? Commonwealth soldier, Pte Manjinder Singh is from India, is a driver in 60 Squadron. At the beginning of the EA Log Trial training, he said: “I felt like the trial was a good opportunity for me. Through this I will gain experience of driving class one trucks, and it will add something to my skillset. This will be helpful for me in my career and even after the Army. Also I am looking forward to the responsibility of driving the industry partners’ trucks on my own. I will have to find my own routes, which is more responsibility than I get driving in the Army as we usually have a section commander or troop commander with us or leading a convoy.”

Pte Brian Calvert is from Teesside and is also a driver in 4 Regt. “I volunteered for the trial because I thought it would be a great experience. I get to work with civilian companies, gain a lot more experience working with bigger vehicles and have a lot more responsibility. I'm also gaining a lot more knowledge in regard to civilian drivers’ hours, tachographs and the Working Time Directive. The most challenging part of the training has actually been the manoeuvring the articulated vehicle, because it is different to the ones I drive in the Army. I initially found it hard, but the instructors were patient and they took us through the technique as quickly and easily as they could, and I managed to master it with minimal effort.”

The industry partner locations the RLC drivers worked from included the Reading Tesco Distribution Centre, Kuehne+Nagel’s Defence contract sites within MOD Bicester and MOD Kineton and the vast John Lewis National Distribution Centre in Milton Keynes. Ten weeks into the trial, we asked two RLC drivers about their experiences.

Industry upskills RLC Drivers

8 Initial articulated vehicle training at

Dalton Barracks

Distribution to supermarkets and retail outlets often involves a lot of urban driving and many of the store back yards were not designed with 16.5m long, 44-tonne articulated vehicles in mind. Pte Kailum Knowles is from Norfolk and is a driver in 31 Squadron. He deployed to John Lewis in Milton Keynes. He said: “Initially I went out with a John Lewis driver trainer. From its distribution centre, we supply John Lewis stores and deliver John Lewis goods to Waitrose stores. Each store was graded for its ease of vehicle access. I started on the green stores and once the trainer was happy with my driving and manoeuvring, we moved onto amber stores and then red. The red stores were really difficult, with very tight turning areas and often needing blind side reverses onto the unloading bays. After six weeks of mentoring, I was allowed to go solo and I now I am trusted to deliver to all the stores.”

From MOD Bicester Kuehne+Nagel distributes Defence stores and equipment across the southern half of England and Wales. The working days can be long, and this was something Pte Singh found challenging initially. “Our longest route is to the Devonport Naval base,” he explained. “This is around four and a half hours driving time, one way. If there is traffic it can be longer and by the time we return it can be a 15-hour day. Other delivery routes are around 10 to 12-hour days. Initially I found this hard, as it is much longer than I would normally work in the Army when in barracks. But you have to take compulsory driving and working time breaks and I soon got used to it.”

How did the managers at the industry partner sites rate their RLC drivers? Paul Winstone is the Fleet Supervisor and driver trainer at Kuehne+Nagel’s MOD Bicester site: “Initially we received 17 drivers and had to give two of them a bit more training on reversing and we had a small issue because they didn’t all have their full ADR qualifications. We overcame that as we could allocate them to different work at three different sites. I have found they all came with a good work ethic, which helped them overcome the initial shock of the long hours. With three weeks to go before the end of the trial, none of the drivers had any major tachograph infringements and the ones they did have are what we’d expect from our own newer drivers who occasionally get caught out but the complex driving time and working time rules. Once their error was explained they accepted it and learnt from the mistake.”

Kuehne+Nagel has the Microlise driver behaviour telematics system fitted in its fleet. How did the drivers score? Paul Winstone continues: “Given their relative inexperience, we were impressed that most of the soldiers were scoring average or better. There weren’t many harsh braking incidents, so they showed good anticipation and initially we saw a few over speeds, but they all steadily improved over the time they drove for us. We would definitely like to have more military drivers on placement with us in the future, as it has helped us and definitely developed them as Class One HGV drivers.”

Paul Turner is the Transport Planning and Resources Manager for John Lewis. He says: “We partnered with the MOD in this trial because John Lewis wanted to support our Armed Forces and play a part in upskilling Army drivers. We only had three drivers on the trial, and I suppose initially we underestimated how raw they were. But they were all fully engaged and upskilled very quickly with the help of our trainers. They displayed a real keenness and they were put through something similar to our inhouse ‘warehouse to wheels’ programme and after six weeks our advanced driver partners signed them off.

“Store deliveries can be a challenging environment and one in

8 Kuehne+Nagel employed 17 drivers

across three sites

8 Paul Turner with John Lewis' Driver

Resource Manager Simon Dixon

which they eventually held their own. We also operate a 90% gas powered fleet and have a real range and mix of trailers and equipment, which the Army drivers had to become proficient on. Their Microlise driver behaviour scores were on par with our employed driver average, but it took a while for them to get there as I think the driving style they are taught in the Army is very different from what we expect.”

A/Sgt Darren Colgate’s day-job is Operations Junior NCO at 4 Regt. Since the beginning of the EA Log Trial, he was the Trial NCO under the supervision of the Master Driver 101 Operational Sustainment Brigade, WO2 Alasdair Hayes. Sgt Colgate was responsible for the day-to-day liaison with the industry partners (IPs) and maintaining the military link with the drivers, which included real life support and welfare. While deployed on their industry placements, the drivers were out of their normal chain of command and to ensure they were kept informed of military matters and could communicate any issues they have, Sgt Colgate set up groups on Defence Connect for the soldiers at each IP location and a general group for all the drivers. He says: “Ensuring the trial ran smoothly was a big commitment and I was the main point of contact for the managers at the IP sites. I had to ensure that we [the Army] were fulfilling our commitment to the IPs [who have paid the MOD for the drivers’ time] which involved managing any absences due to sickness or for other reasons. I also worked to resolve any issues the IPs had with the drivers, which fortunately were very few and far between and I organised transport and accommodation for the drivers, as most of the IP locations were a distance from Abingdon. I have found working with the IPs a great experience and they have all said how appreciative they are of the working relationship we have built over the trial.”

The drivers we spoke to agreed that the EA Log Trial was an excellent opportunity. Pte Calvert says: “I have done more driving on this three-month trial than I have done since joining the Army. It has done so much to boost my confidence and driving skills and when I return to the Regiment, I will be telling my colleagues what an excellent opportunity it has been.”

Pte Knowles agrees: “The training I received from John Lewis improved me massively and has given me faith in my abilities and confidence to get out on the road as a

8 Paul Winstone Fleet Supervisor and

driver trainer at Kuehne+Nagel

8 Trial SNCO Sgt Holgate with Pte

Knowles at John Lewis

professional driver and deal with most situations I encounter. I think that if the Army made this a regular feature, especially for drivers, it provides trade experience you cannot match serving in the military. When driving in the Army you get very little time out on the road. At John Lewis I was covering over 650 miles a week. It’s been brilliant and I would recommend something like this to anyone serving who wants to develop their career.”

The main EA Log Trial ended on 23 September 2022. The EA Log Trial is a “proof of concept” trial and if Defence People decide to adopt the Enterprise Approach to improve military trade skills, industry placements could be made available to other military CEGs and become a regular feature of career progression across the Armed Forces.

8 Pte Calvert worked out of MOD Kineton 8 Pte Singh soon got used to the long

working days

82 AASp Sqn goes back to basics in Georgia Ex NOBLE PARTNER

In late August 2022, 82 Air Assault Support Squadron, 13 Air Assault Support Regiment, deployed overseas to Georgia on Ex NOBLE PARTNER 22 to operate within a multi-national Battle Group (BG) exercise.

The main purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate the interoperability of NATO Partner Nations and promote stability in the Black Sea region. The exercise required 82 Squadron Sqn to re-roll into a Light Role Infantry Company, so that it could operate within the BG as one of the rifle companies, alongside the other forces. Since January 2022, the Sqn has been training for the role, including multiple field exercises, range packages and specific training activities such as urban operations including building clearances.

From the British perspective, the exercise was split down into three main phases which were a Live Fire Tactical Training (LFTT) package, an interoperability capability rotation and the Field Training Exercise. The LFTT was facilitated by a small advance party whose primary focus initially was the construction and running of the various ranges, utilising the expansive Georgian range areas. The terrain and environment presented its own challenges and allowed the soldiers to be tested in areas that they are not normally exposed to. The troops successfully progressed through a Fire Team Attack lane, eventually completing section and platoon attack lanes with live ammunition. Utilising their personal weapons and General Purpose Machine Guns in the Light Role, the troops were able to fully experience the true capabilities of the weapon systems available to the Sqn.

The interoperability capability phase saw the platoons undertake joint training with the other nations which were led by the Georgians, Americans and British. The UK forces took the lead on instructing the Fighting in Built Up Areas serials which allowed the other nations to understand more of the tactics, techniques and procedures utilised across the British Army. This day culminated with platoon attacks onto a large and complex enemy building, which really put the language barriers to the test in high tempo situations. The opportunity to operate alongside the Americans meant that the troops were able to make use of the air assets that had been flown over to Georgia from their base in Germany. These included Apache attack helicopters, where some of the soldiers had the opportunity to call in simulated air strikes onto enemy positions utilising the US communications equipment, and Black Hawk Pedros which were used with MEDEVAC casualty serials. The Georgian led phase revolved around defensive tactics where they were able to showcase how they operated as a company whilst repelling enemy attacks in more a rural setting.

The final exercise phase was the opportunity for all the nations to put into practice what they had covered over the previous week and having a peer-on-peer enemy force on the ground demanded high standards of basic and more complex soldiering skills. The troops excelled beyond that of the partner nations with the ability to operate during dark hours using night vision, an asset which was not held by both the friendly and enemy forces. As a reliable sub-unit for the BG Commander, the company was selected for many missions ranging from occupying observation posts to setting ambushes and conducting patrols; all of which proved just how capable and professional the soldiers on the ground were at achieving results.

Ex NOBLE PARTNER 22 was a fantastic opportunity for 82 Squadron..

8 A multi-national team during building

clearance

8 US Black Hawks during the

MEDEVAC serial