I agree with you TL. There are a number of ACP 16 lessons which refer directly/indirectly to weapons. Duties of a sentry for example. Tell you what to do if they get the Challenge right but not what to do if they get it wrong… Similarly it tells you how to build a shelter but not in which formation to set it up for an effective base of ops.
During my firs 3 weekends of field trg we carried weapons and mags with BFAs fitted but had no ammo. It was to get us used to carrying the system with kit and gave us an additional piece of admin to carry out.m Also stopped us using our Right hand for hand signals ect.
[quote=“mabbz” post=10450]
During my firs 3 weekends of field trg we carried weapons and mags with BFAs fitted but had no ammo. It was to get us used to carrying the system with kit and gave us an additional piece of admin to carry out.m Also stopped us using our Right hand for hand signals ect.[/quote]
[quote=“tango_lima” post=10505][quote=“mabbz” post=10450]
During my firs 3 weekends of field trg we carried weapons and mags with BFAs fitted but had no ammo. It was to get us used to carrying the system with kit and gave us an additional piece of admin to carry out.m Also stopped us using our Right hand for hand signals ect.[/quote]
Was that TA/RAuxAF/etc. or with the ATC (JLs?)? :)[/quote]
TA, Im not that much of a [silly boy] to be a JL
Mod Edit: No, but you are silly enough to swear on the forums. Please do not do that again.
Bit harsh? The JL lads assisting delivery of fieldcraft at my Wings annual camp this year were top lads, and not only delivered high quality training, and looked after the young cadets, but attended training days prior to the annual camp in order to make sure they were at the same level as the fieldcraft team delivering the training, honestly couldn’t have done it without them.
Agreed, JL’s don’t always have to be the “SF Elite” squad that they have a reputation for. I never did JL’s as a cadet, but I can see that there is a massive gap between ACP16 and the JL syllabus.
I’m sure no-one at this stage is asking to carry full weapons systems on sqn or wing activities, but a plywood cut-out carried on a DTE would give cadets a fair dose of realism and (as has been mentioned) something to take responsibility for etc… I certainly find it really odd wandering round an exercise area with empty hands.
[quote=“incubus” post=11063]Our basic, squadron level fieldcraft activity should be based around SERE principles and you don’t need to be lugging round a toy gun for that.
An advanced syllabus can bring in the world of webbing, weapons, tactics and blanks.[/quote]
That would be awesome except ACP16 has pretty much nothing in common with SERE. You could use it to run a SERE-lite type exercise, but that doesn’t seem to be the way it gets used.
Also, like I said, I’m specifically not talking about tactics, mil skills, blank and pyro, etc…
[quote=“tango_lima” post=11095]That would be awesome except ACP16 has pretty much nothing in common with SERE.[/quote]You have exercises incorporating camouflage, concealment, movement, building shelters (though not bashas) etc. It could incorporate tactical movement, hand signals, distance judging, obstacle crossing and more.
I’m essentially saying that ACP16 as it stands is the wrong thing for us. The same general pool of skills and experiences could be delivered in a more relevant package which could go some way to appeasing the nay-sayers.
General “fieldcraft” for the ATC needs to be re-invented.
