Obviously, I know that the gold marching badge is to be completed in the Netherlands, I was just wondering how you can achieve bronze and silver?
Bronze is for two day Marches such as Cosford and Waendal. Silver, when you find out I would also like to know!!
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My road marching nut job advocate says apparently its completing 2 x40km walk at warma
So the following is for silver:
This badge is available to
cadets who have
completed a 3 or 4 day
Road Marching event
where the total distance
equals or exceeds 120km
or 160km respectively.
This includes the following:
Ijzer March
Forces March (3 or 4days)
Dodendocht.
Pathfinder March.
Surely that is just the same as the normal 2-day marches at Cosford, Waendal, Garelochhead etc.
The PTS booklet says this about silver:
Awarded for completing 4 days of road marching at recognised events
Eligibility: Complete one of the following 4-day marches:
The Forces March, Ijzer March (Belgium), Dodendocht (Belgium). Other events will be considered on written application to the Nijmegen Marches Registration Officer Assistant.
There was talk from the NMROA about re-jigging the badge eligibilities for road-marching (ie, why isnâ't there a blue badge and what could it be for if we had one) but I have seen nothing come of that.
Last I heard they had accepted most of the changes (so bumping WARMA upto Silver) but hadnât signed off on a Blue Badge as their was no budget for extra badges. For the same reason they are sticking with the Nijmegen instead of a Gold Badge. (One argument was that certain road marching events were tougher than Nijmegen but get a lower badge).
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There is barely a budget for the current ones!
given Blue Badge is supposed to be achievable as a Squadron run activity what would its requirements stand at?
Road March to the other side of town and back?
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I suggested something like a training march or Arnhem length for blue. (Later training is often longer than Arnhem!)
A training march would be ideal in many ways, as it would be a great boon to recruiting potential team members. (Walk a few miles, get a badge!)
Silver is ironically harder to get than Gold, but Iâve seen nothing to suggest that the policy had been changed.
Training marches can often be longer than the requirements for bronze.
Folkestone Cadet March or similar local 1 day affair as long as itâs a recognised event was the suggestion. (So Training wouldnât count).
from a RM point of view it seems sensible and practical progression
1 day = Bronze
2 Day (Cosford or simliar) = Bronze
etc
but does limit the ability for a Squadron run activity to reach the blue badge if there isnât a suitable event in the local area.
And what number of qualifications are required by staff to take say a dozen cadets on a road march.
Again even for the lowest level blue it is unachievable by most Sqns.
In my region, you need a BELA or LLA as minimum, some regions live in reality and dont require it.
Road marching really is not my bag, ive done Nijmegen as a staff member and hated every moment of it.
I dont think road marching needs to be achievable by most squadrons (although in reality it is as im sure there will be a BEL holder somewhere who would be willing to help), its something very specific very much like a music badge.
So if we are set on the idea of blue being achievable by every squadron (which also rules out air rifle, by the way*) then we may as well stick with what we have and not introduce a blue RM badge.
(*plus heartstart and radio comms if you are basing this on using only local expertise everybody is guaranteed to have)
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I disagree about Heartstart.
if you can sit the course then it takes very little to be able to teach it
insert DVD - supervise some practical, carry on until all material is covered.
Radio I accept is a little more complex as it requires some personal interest in the topic, but it doesnât require anything more than a handful of radios and Wing Radio Officer to sign off an instructor.
Air Rifle/any shooting I accept is not easily achieved as so few Squadrons have qualified Staff in anyone one of RCO, WI or SS, let alone have the weapons, ammunition, a range or the relevant paperwork or hardware to store such items.
If, but not every unit has somebody willing to learn(or an opportunity to do so), or the practice equipment, or maybe a DVD player, or a staff member with a proper FA qual. Iâm not saying it isnât relatively easy to get, just that not every unit has people on hand to do it.
It is also relatively easy to get the stuff in place to do for a longish walk in boots. If we nix the idea of a blue RM badge because it is perceived as not practical for every single unit at any time, we should also cast a critical eye at some other blue activities.
Personally I think the âon squadron thingâ is a red herring and need not be part of the blue requirement. Just as we can spread ourselves round to deliver other blue activities, we should embrace that idea with road marching too. I think a 20Km local walk as part of a RM team should be sufficient to earn a blue badge. It would be a nice stepping stone (ehem!) towards the Bronze at a 2-day march.
You didnât officially need BELA or LLA for road marching, because it wasnât considered as âtrekkingâ. The definition of trekking required you to be a certain distance away from a road, which you of course never are when road marching.
I havenât looked at it in a while though.
You are 100% correct, but it does not mean that regions have gone above and beyond and insisted that you have someone âqualifiedâ. Even if that qualification really doesnt lend itself well to road marching.
Its an easy days âPayâ for us providing cover, you just rock up, sit in a minibus and get fat on mcdonalds. Then go home.
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i wouldnât say it is a ârequirementâ but the intention of the blue badge
our wing have stopped delivering some of the previously blue badge courses on the basis that the Staff time and facilities could be better used delivery Bronze as blue should/could be delivered without Wing support
I agree that a Sqn based RM event would suffice of a set distance although I am not sure what value it will have. it will be an attendance event as it shouldnât be challenging enough to walk on the road for 20km for instance