NAVY NEWS, MAY 2008
37
News and information for serving personnel
Success at Learner First awards THE Royal Navy was recognised for its commitment to training and learning at the National Learner First Awards 2008. Sponsored by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the awards celebrate achievement in several areas, including apprenticeship, personal achievement and employer categories. The Royal Naval Service was a finalist and runner-up for the employer award, and the prize was presented to Cdr Trevor Price by Chris Banks, chairman of the LSC, and former athlete Colin Jackson. Also present was Paul Redstone (Regional Accreditation Manager FTL), WO1 Neil Langridge RM (CTCRM) and representatives from MWS, HMS Raleigh, HMS Sultan, RNAS Culdrose, RNAS Yeovilton and the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Aldershot. The RN has been delivering engineering NVQs since 1998 and full apprenticeship schemes since 2002. It is RN policy that “all new entrants will be given an opportunity to gain an apprenticeship within three years of joining,” and this policy differs from many employers who have a pre-selection requirement. This means some 2,500 personnel annually, and 12,000 in total, have engaged in the scheme since 2002. This statistic has been recognised by the LSC, as is the ‘all of one company’ ethos and the considerable benefits structured learning and training bring to the individual and the Service. This fact has proved to be a valuable recruiting tool for both RN and RM personnel, attracted by the training opportunities the Service has to offer. Having signed the ‘Skills Pledge’, the RN is committed to delivering basic skills to all personnel. The apprenticeship scheme is an ideal vehicle to support this pledge by delivering key skills as part of each apprenticeship framework. Other elements of the apprenticeship include a technical certificate and work-based learning in the form of an NVQ.
Commitment bonus raised THE maximum level of the commitment bonus (CB) is to rise from £5,500 to £15,000, and the scheme is to be made available, from next year, to all Other Ranks passing the fouryear service point. CBs are paid to Other Ranks as an incentive to remain in the Services, and this increase is designed to encourage further retention in the critical four to eight years’ service period. Currently the bonus tends to be split into two parts, at five years and eight years, but under the new arrangements the later someone claims payment – and therefore the longer they have served – the higher the payment will be. The bonuses are taxable. Those waiting until eight years to take their bonus will receive the £15,000 maximum. Transition arrangements are being finalised to ensure that no one is disadvantaged. The scheme is aimed at Other Ranks as the same retention issues are not seen in officers at this stage of their careers. Personnel receiving a CB will need to serve at least a further 12 months to retain the cash. The scheme will be up and running from next year, and once fully implemented the scheme will cost £80m a year.
● Initial Rating Training aims to embrace the needs of the future Navy as well as the spirit and ethos of the RN’s heritage, taking civilians into Raleigh and sending out as trained and motivated sailors
New recruits are trained to the core
HOWEVER long ago you joined up, whether at HMS Raleigh or Dartmouth (or for our older shipmates, HMS Ganges), you almost certainly won’t have forgotten basic training. You may recall those days with a smile or a grimace, but most think we had it hardest and training was tougher then. In some areas this may be the case, but you can be assured that current Basic or Phase 1 training is preparing our future shipmates for the challenges that lie ahead on the RN’s numerous front lines. So what has changed and how is Phase 1 training delivered today? Firstly, in big handfuls – as a result of some timely Fleet Transformation work FOST, Rear Admiral Ibbotson, is now in charge of all training within the RN. He is no longer solely responsible for the exciting Operational Sea Training we have all enjoyed, but is now charged with providing training at all levels, from the young person walking through the gates at Raleigh to ensuring that suitably-qualified officers are selected and trained to command our submarines. A wide remit, you would be correct in thinking, which is why the responsibilities have been delegated to Training Stream Leaders. These training streams cover RM, Aviation, Surface, Submarine and Naval Core training. Cdre Alabaster (currently Commodore BRNC) is now the Naval Core Training Stream (NCTS) Leader, assisted by Capt Woodcock, and is responsible for all RN Phase 1 basic training. As a result, the NCTS command straddles a number of sites and organisations. The NCTS comprises Initial Officers’Training (IOT) and Initial Ratings’ Training (IRT), at BRNC and HMS Raleigh respectively.
Capt Woodcock remains in command of Raleigh, as the scale of work and complexities of such a large establishment demands the attentions of a suitably senior officer. Other NCTS elements are the new RN Leadership Academies (RNLA) at BRNC and MWS Collingwood that deliver Command, Leadership and Management (CLM) training across Fleet. Finally the Naval Education and Training Service (NETS), Admiralty Interview Board (AIB) and the 14 URNUs are also commanded by Cdre Alabaster and complete the NCTS estate. The NCTS organisation is in place but what about the detail? What improvements have been made to Phase 1 training and leadership training as a result of the NCTS forming? To answer this question we shall look at the two major output areas of core training, IRT and IOT. All new rating entrants to the RN undertake nine weeks of Phase 1 training at Raleigh. Recruits can be aged between 16-36 and all join on a Sunday afternoon in classes of up to 66. There are 41 entries per year, resulting in an annual throughput of more than 2,500 individuals, who then progress to their Phase 2 (branch specialist) training. The overall aim of Phase 1 training is to turn civilians into military personnel against a backdrop of inculcating the Naval ethos and instilling the core values essential for service in the RN. The aim is to challenge the individual and offer a sense of achievement. Many of the activities undertaken in basic training, parade training for example, are common to IOT and work is under way to exploit common resources within Raleigh and BRNC; this work is made easier now that the key players responsible for IOT and IRT are all on the same team.
Phase 1 training was recently extended from eight to nine weeks and the new syllabus remains challenging but increasingly maritime in its focus and relevant to today’s operational environment. It introduces individuals to the team ethos and develops a sense of being part of the Naval family as well as helping them to appreciate the history of the Senior Service. The Recruit School is looking to extend the nine week course to ten to incorporate additional training to enhance the moral component of operational capability. This will include development of the fighting spirit and further exposure to Naval heritage; an initiative to involve RN veterans in Phase 1 from the RNA is under way and this will complement the recruit’s understanding of the qualities a service career demands. On the officers’ side, like so many areas of the Service, there is much change at BRNC, the home of officers’ basic training and the centre of excellence for all CLM development within the RN. As the dust settles on the postTransformation structure BRNC continues to be busy and vibrant.
There is a throughput of approximately 450 RN officers a year and 120 international officers from a variety of nations, including the Gulf States, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Caribbean nations. The college also runs a huge variety of routine and bespoke packages for the RN, RNR, RFA, foreign military and UK business. The mission of the Officer Commanding IOT’s mission is to “deliver courageous leaders with the spirit to fight and win”. In order to do this, he must make the training at BRNC challenging, front-line focussed and invest heavily in (and demand heavily from) the IOT staff. Much BRNC leadership training is not taught but demonstrated by staff in all they do. The staff remain the critical component of the training delivered and the quality of officers leaving BRNC is a direct reflection of the quality of the staff. If you have any questions for the team, contact details are: OC(IOT): Lt Cdr Tim Wright, brnc-ociot@ nr ta.mod.uk; OC(IRT): Lt Cdr Rich Marratt, raleigh-ocrs@nrta.mod.uk
Benefits: now you can work it out A NEW Internet-based calculator will help Armed Forces personnel work out the benefits, allowances and discounts to which they are entitled. The new initiative builds on the success of the Pension Calculator, and allows Servicemen and women to work out their total remuneration package, incorporating basic pay, specialist pay, individual allowances, pension and other benefits. Using the calculator, not only will personnel be able to work out the value of the whole package, but can also get information on
other MOD-provided benefits, such as medical and dental care and physical education opportunities. It will provide easy access to other related topics such as Defence discounts (principally through the Defence Discount Scheme), financial information, and to third party commercial sites offering financial products, some of which will be aimed specifically at members of the Armed Forces. The calculator will also be a gateway for news and information on pay and allowances matters.
Placing the calculator on the Internet makes it available to the majority of Service personnel, at work and at home. It is also available to another key target audience – potential recruits, who can work out the figures before deciding if they want to join. The Calculator can be accessed through RN Com; FLEETWEB; Armynet; RAF Portal Website; RAFCOM; AirSpace; A1 Branch Website; the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force Websites; and single Service recruiting websites. H www.mod-abc.co.uk/
News and information for serving personnel
Original wood is valuable trophy IT MIGHT not be much to look at, but Trophy No 27242 is almost certainly the oldest on the Navy’s books. It is a section of the original oak used in the construction of HMS Victory, and it bears a small piece of the protective copper sheeting and remnants of copper nails. Work on the hull began in mid1759 at Chatham, and the ship was eventually completed, after a lull in the constant cycle of wars, at a cost of £63,176 (estimated to be around £50m today). Such oaks were usually felled around 15 years before they were needed, and as this piece of timber was worked it revealed more than 100 annular rings, meaning this trophy possibly dates from 1600 or before.
JSWOC seminar THE inaugural Joint Services Warrant Officers’ Course (JSWOC) seminar is to be held at Shrivenham this summer. JSWOC is a two-week course for warrant officers from all three Services, aimed at developing their awareness of joint, multinational and multi-agency operations. The seminar, on July 30-31, will build on that by updating JSWOC graduates on current and future Service issues, and a formal mess dinner will be held. Among the speakers are Defence Secretary Des Browne, Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, Maj Gen James Dutton, and Cdre Mark Sloane, Director Maritime DCDC. Attendance on the seminar is limited to 170 places, on a firstcome, first-served basis, and is only open to graduates of the JSWOC. For further details, and to reserve a place, contact JSWOC Admin on 96161 8854 (01793 788854).