Although this has gone out on email already, we’re taking one final chance to advertise the upcoming SA(M)07 course, running from 26-31 May. Full details and an application form are available here.
The course qualifies you to plan and conduct exercises using blank ammunition and pyrotechnics. I’m sure there are a lot of questions around the subject, which we’ll be happy to answer below, but to answer the one we get the most;
Is there any realistic chance of me being able to exercise this qualification any time soon?
There isn’t a simple answer to this. What we can say is that last year, we were directed not to run a course because there was no realistic chance of qualified people being able to exercise it, whereas this year we have been directed to run this course, which can only be good news. In addition, you may have seen that SW Region is in the planning stages of such an exercise for cadets this year.
Any questions that you want to ask direct, please email our Adjutant, as we will be unable to give out specifics in reply to DMs on this site.
Is his course limited to Uniformed personnel only or can an appropriately trained Civilian Instructor undertake this course?? If so bearing in mind the Sign Off requirements for Fieldcraft training would a CI with the SA(M)07 qualification be permitted to organise and run an exercise?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
At what level does this course allow individuals to run these exercise? ACFTI states that these sort of exercises fall outside of the scope of Fieldcraft except on HQAC sponsored courses. (Paraphrased).
For this course, the minimum requirements are for either a uniformed CFAV, or a service instructor of appropriate rank (substantive cpl). This brings it into line with the ACFTIs, which require DE ECOs to be uniformed members of staff (ACFTI 1, para 8).
We haven’t got a set date for closing applications, as we will continue receiving them until the course is full if undersubscribed. In the event of oversubscription, allocations will be made on 6 May, and JIs sent out.
The caveat to our answer here is that this is not a policy answer, as the decision on this lies with SO1 TG at HQAC.
Ultimately, we think the very minimum level that this qualification could be exercised (at the minute) with cadets would be a Regional level, with oversight from the local SATT and the newly appointed Regional TSAs.
Already have it!
Excellent course and I have found a way to exercise my qualification with the RMC.
That being said SW region are running a battle camp this summer to use this exact qualification.
Being an SR & LR RCO and SAAI what are the fitness levels required for this course? Some of the things I have seen indicate a level of fitness close to a regular. I am at the top end of age scale, I still do fieldcraft, sleep in bashas with cadets in an harbour area and I’m an ECO, but I cant be classed as fit (my wife still thinks I am but not in the same sense, that would make her laugh, a lot). I do go to the Gym every Thursday at 6:45am and I’m there for two hours at least, admittedly its for a business meeting and a fried breakfast.
The fitness requirements for the course are dictated by someones ability to partake in section battle drills. Depending on course loading, there could be up to 2 days worth of Assessed Student Battle Exercises, which could be 6 or 8 per day. In each one of these, you would be expected to partake, and if they all happened to be Section Attacks, you would be expected to go through the appropriate Reaction to Effective Enemy Fire drills, as well as the rest of the Section Battle Drills. This requires a fair amount of running, albeit in short bursts.
If you were then to exercise the qualification, in order to maintain safety you would be required to keep pace with cadets going through a full section attack.
I’m hoping to send my F/S on the course as a recce, then I’ll see if Leeroy’s plan works, only canape’s and sherry on a string might be better after all I am an officer and I sometimes even have to act like one too.
