Weymouth 2006

Annual Camp 2006

Weymouth

The coach trip over to Weymouth from Hameln took a while but was made enjoyable by having a good bunch of people on board. We had a very early start in Germany and by the time we arrived at Weymouth there was just time to grab some fish n chips and a pint.

The first couple of days we wer split down into teams and spent the time building MGOB, leaning the parts of the LSB and doing a partial LSB build. There is a lot to building this sort of bridge and having seen one being built in Iraq, I can now appreciate the work that was involved.

Team work and coordination were required and it helped having the very experienced 'on site' crane op or the build would have been slower. But we managed to get on top of the job within the time allocated.

The next module was water supply. Although we get to see the Water Purification Unit parked up on engineer parks, it's not very often that we actually get 'hands on'. Even rarer that we actually get to run it up and purify some water with it. All good experience as you never know if you are ever going to be called to use it.

The sun shone for the watermanship module with some of the lads & lasses having their first experience of messing around in boats. Not everyone took to it straight away and there were quite a few recce boats doing spinning top impressions in their attempts to cross the fleet.

Then it was on to the Mk 6 Assault Boats. First with oars paddling as teams with the obligatory race across the fleet and up Chesil Beach, and then with the outboards. Although the Mk 6 with a small outboard isn't the fastest or most manouverable boat, it's ideal to learn on.

Next the students were progressed on to the Gemini inflatables. Faster, with a more powerful outboard these were much more fun than the Mk 6. It got a little manic in the confines of the fleet and there had to be a few reminders to slow down. Safety was of course our top priority.

Once everyone was up to speed we crewed up as many Geminis as we could an went on a trip down the fleet, out into portland harbour and beyond. Naturally this was the only day that the sun didn't shine.

The next pahse of the camp was the MATTs phase. We took the opportunity to complete most of the mandatory tests that are required annually including mapreading, PFT and CBRN. Not really the weather to be messing around in CBRN suits and respirators, but it had to be done.

The MATTs phase included one of the most enjoyable range days I've been on for a very long time. Great weather, lots of ammunition and enough time to actuall get real coaching. Everyone's shooting improved over the course of the day and it ended with a little competition shoot.


	Annual Camp 2006 Weymouth



	The coach trip over to Weymouth from Hameln took a while but was made enjoyable by having a good bunch of people on board. We had a very early start in Germany and by the time we arrived at Weymouth there was just time to grab some fish n chips and a pint.

	The first couple of days we wer split down into teams and spent the time building MGOB, leaning the parts of the LSB and doing a partial LSB build. There is a lot to building this sort of bridge and having seen one being built in Iraq, I can now appreciate the work that was involved.

	Team work and coordination were required and it helped having the very experienced 'on site' crane op or the build would have been slower. But we managed to get on top of the job within the time allocated.

	The next module was water supply. Although we get to see the Water Purification Unit parked up on engineer parks, it's not very often that we actually get 'hands on'. Even rarer that we actually get to run it up and purify some water with it. All good experience as you never know if you are ever going to be called to use it.

	The sun shone for the watermanship module with some of the lads & lasses having their first experience of messing around in boats. Not everyone took to it straight away and there were quite a few recce boats doing spinning top impressions in their attempts to cross the fleet.

	Then it was on to the Mk 6 Assault Boats. First with oars paddling as teams with the obligatory race across the fleet and up Chesil Beach, and then with the outboards. Although the Mk 6 with a small outboard isn't the fastest or most manouverable boat, it's ideal to learn on.

	Next the students were progressed on to the Gemini inflatables. Faster, with a more powerful outboard these were much more fun than the Mk 6. It got a little manic in the confines of the fleet and there had to be a few reminders to slow down. Safety was of course our top priority.

	Once everyone was up to speed we crewed up as many Geminis as we could an went on a trip down the fleet, out into portland harbour and beyond. Naturally this was the only day that the sun didn't shine.

	The next pahse of the camp was the MATTs phase. We took the opportunity to complete most of the mandatory tests that are required annually including mapreading, PFT and CBRN. Not really the weather to be messing around in CBRN suits and respirators, but it had to be done.

	The MATTs phase included one of the most enjoyable range days I've been on for a very long time. Great weather, lots of ammunition and enough time to actuall get real coaching. Everyone's shooting improved over the course of the day and it ended with a little competition shoot.