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and what we in the Navy should be doing." Cdrc Stephen Thornc, Commodore M itime Res rv sait: “It is great that Second Sea Lord is going to take some ideas away and introduce them to the regulars we have been doing this for age He said the question was how could r s be tested under pressure .fter the s ips were withdr vn in the mid-I990 and events uch as the Crowborough Challenge dL\-cloped to fill the —

gap.

“Tlaere is added.

0 Prince Michael of Kent with (left) Lt Greg Chapman of HMS President had to create :1 three-minute PR video promoting the role of the RN to sceptical locals. HMS \l\""ildfre concentrated on stereotypes; a helmeted policeman sported a floral garland, and in the key ne an RN ‘nfficer hands a cut of tea to a smil g islander. Then came the sell assessment. “Any problems?” asked directing st T. “l-Iain acting!" came the swift response. And talking of ham acting Charlie Krasun (Hi\-'lS Pr idem) was in Oscar-winning form as the errant warlord with :1 penchant for Swedish pop music. The scenario was farfetched and caused much .

merriment, but Charlie an Arabic interpreter said -

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there was method (acting?) behind the madness. “lt is almost the opp "ire of a standard leadership task,“ said Cha c "lhis

all

about

human and

empathy maintaining personal contact as op; used to sol\'ing the task. interaction,

‘cams have to decide whether :1 leader can negotiate and lead, or does the leader rely on someone else negotiating and take a strategic po ion. “It is important that they get all the information to keep on top of the situation it is very easy to get divided." HMS King Alfred began in pedestrian fashion, the warlord decreed, but pulled it together ellent t am effort, to m ke an making a crucial dc sion at the right time. For the record, a team representing HMS Vivid were the winners of the challenge, greatly pleasing the unit's new

Young and Lt Cdr Ant

Commanding Officcr,

Cdr

Angie

Hancock. And when the ( ‘iztllcngc itself

there was still Lt Katie Kcndrick's Sunday programme, Test featuring the RN Fitn on a no—risk ba s (it “as noncompulsory, so th '-e who failed knew what they had to work on, while those who passed could sign off their chit), play team sports, meet the chaplains and try out the assault course. But it was the w r gain which delighted organisers and gave at least one VII’ food for thought. Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral said: “I think the Alan Mas value of th is enormous. “I have seen three or four syndicates and they are grinning from ear to ear and they are getting an enormous amount out of it." Admiral said one of his key objective. \y.. 0 drive forward improvements in leadership training, and Crowborough was was over

proving useful.

“As you go round you see wonderful examples," he -. more Consistcn‘ and open minds to best practice inviting people to do things that they would not normally do. “There are some t _' good things here, and I will try to .

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get more f our people out at weekends pause for a sharp intake of breath..." —

The admiral also noted that under Cdre Thorne the Maritime Reserve xx: making good progre toward. ck er integration with the regular service, much as the R.\-'l Reserve has achieved. he goal is the day when a rescrx-ist can take his or her place in a l‘ront—|ine unit and be there not just as part of a team but leading the team," h said. “Well done; t.h' s excellent,

I Clockwise from left: the President team fight a losing battle with the bosun's chair; AB Ian Millerof Tawe Division prepares for a dip in the lake; ‘smoke-blinded’ ‘firemen’ are ready to be guided to the seat of a ‘blaze’ (that'senough apostrophes Ed): another victim of thebosun 's chair; HMS King Alfredjogs between stances; Members of the Caroline/Dalriada/Scotiateam take to the lake: -

yet another dunking in the chair; the impassive Abba-loving warlord blanks a negotiator from HMS King Alfred: our hero HMS President's Mike Godman rescues the baby (all right then, plastic bottle) from the blazing building (er, forest clearing...); the Tawe —

Division swimmers communicate with their (dry) leader onshore

rank here," he

“F.\'cryon 's equal, so you can see people ts they are and assess potential. If someone has got an idea, he or she is equal in the

ethos. “lt is fundamental to the way people thin “lit the firs half-hour or so they are all loo ng at rank, but at the end of the day they are a team. After a couple of stances they are st rting to act like a team. “Also, in some tea beginning its like Sgt \\'. I)ut'l'.\' /'lrut_\* after you. awfully nice. “By the end, it‘s ‘You do this, you do that,’ and people take command.Th t is the outcome we are looking for." team

Chapman, the charged with staging

Lt Cdr Ant man

the event for his 00. said that the training delivered to reservists “tries to match as closely as possible the training the regular Service gets,” as well as being cost-effective. “For e:-zamplc, on the media stanc -, it is th tme as the ‘would find at FOS and the medical stance is exactly the same,” he said. He added: The whole event is about Commant Leadership and '

Management (C M).

“The RN ethos is teamwork and team building while gi ng them the skills they will need for those who are deploying." Lt Cdr Chapman a o paid tribute to the dcd ation of organise and participants. “Lt Young has done all the work, and it lies been absolutely superb," he said. “There is no one here who was not at work at 5pm yesterday afternoon. “Yet from people running things to manning stands, we have ‘

producedt

event.

“'l'li:it‘sst I think Second Sea Lord has gone away a happy man." Lt Greg Young said: “i”-‘ts far as 1 am concerned the Challenge is a fantastic success. “'l'he staff ha e worked really hard to produce a fantastic nt. “lt could not \V rk SUCL. fullv unless everyone gives I00 per cl. and they've put in H0 per cent “If you talk to any of the groups 1 am sure they will say they have _

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had fun, they have worked hard and they have learned. “Everyone is going to get something different out of it and have learned different techniques and everyone has learned Cl.i\-l one of Second Sea Lord‘s key initiatives Print. lichaelsaid the\\‘CI:l(L'l’IL‘l had giv n reservi. s the chance to demonstrate their leadership, and noted that the k _' elements had not changed much since he ion d the Army 40 years ago. One stand of particular interest to the Prince was media training. Reservist media specialists listened to a ’sentation by sailors, then qu oned the team in such a w as to illus rate —

“

potential pitfa

“\V'hatever t cks you try to play on reservists at this stage, they have the comfort of knowing they are not going to be quoted, and they will be tremcndou ly better off later as a result of th lessons, tid Prince Michael. .