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Commodore Simon Williams ADC RN
The Royal Navy Today by Commodore Simon Williams ADC RN2 of 12
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Commodore Simon Williams ADC RN
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The Royal Navy Today by Commodore Simon Williams ADC RN
I was interviewed in the April 2011 edition of By the Dart about the College’s history, personal perspectives and my reflections on officer training and almost a year later I write this article at the end of a week when 82 young men and women began their careers as naval officers.
Not news in itself of course, save that the numbers in the entry are somewhat smaller, and this is a key indication of substantial change at the College. This change is in response to two imperatives – the ceaseless desire to improve and the recent reduction in the size of the Fleet. The latter has forced a reduction in the number of cadets at sea in the Fleet at any one time and the former has encouraged a fundamental qualitative improvement: a new model ‘Initial Officer Training’ has been crafted, with four smaller terms replacing three and a completely revised syllabus.
Before expanding on the new training, perhaps I should set the scene with a little of what the senior service is doing whilst illustrating its continuing importance in the modern world. It might help to start with a few facts:
• The UK is an island with 10,500 miles of coastline.
• The UK has in the region of 600 ports.
• The UK has around 300 offshore oil and gas installations and a large fishing industry.
• The UK’s dependency on imported gas will rise toward 50% by 2012 and overseas sources will provide up to 80% of UK energy needs by 2020.
• UK-based shipping contributes £10bn a year to GDP and almost £3bn to tax revenues making it the UK’s fourth largest services sector industry.
• Global maritime trade relies on the free and lawful use of the sea. 95% of global maritime trade passes through just nine chokepoints which are inevitably vulnerable to attack.
• Disruption to, or attack on, maritime trade or energy supply would have a severe impact on the UK’s economy and the daily life of UK citizens.
• On an average day, 24/7, 365 days a year, 68% of the Royal Navy are preparing for, recovering from or actively engaged in operations or military tasks.
As an Island nation, our economic prosperity and security is totally dependent on our ability to access the sea. We are reliant on a stable global market for the raw materials, energy and manufactured goods which underpin our way of life and, in a globalised world, we must have the ability to respond to any event that threatens our economy or national interests.
That is why the Royal Navy is globally deployed and has a range of versatile ships, submarines and aircraft operated by highly professional Sailors, Aviators and Royal Marine Commandos. The Royal Navy continues to police the use of the sea, providing security in partnership with allies and retains the unique ability to influence events at sea, on land and in the air providing real flexibility of choice to both military and political leaders.
The Royal Navy provides humanitarian aid and relief from the sea without the need to draw on a country’s infrastructure or resources. Naval units and personnel are designated to be on hand to help the six UK dependent territories in the Caribbean during the hurricane season and in recent years the Royal Navy has provided assistance in other parts of the world such as Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the tsunami.
In 2007 the Royal Navy evacuated over 4,000 UK-entitled persons from the Lebanon in just 6 days and, last year were tasked to evacuate UK-entitled persons from Benghazi during the Libyan uprising, an operation during which HMS Liverpool became the first naval warship to be fired upon since the Falklands Conflict.
Maritime security extends to the safety of all those at sea. The Royal Navy’s contribution to maritime rescue services, as well as their cutting-edge hydrographical services, helps ensure the sea, both at home and abroad, can be navigated safely by everyone.
Our maritime forces have the ability to operate across the spectrum of conflict and deliver sustainable military force at a time and place of our choosing, providing political choice through credible capability. This ability makes the Royal Navy as good at preventing wars as it is at winning them. The Royal Navy is ready to fight and win in combat at sea, on land or in the air. In order to achieve and maintain this standing the training our officers and ratings receive must fully prepare them for this. As such Britannia Royal Naval College’s mission is to deliver courageous leaders ready to fight and win.
Initial Naval Training
The latest intake of cadets are the first to be trained under a new system which retains all that was good in the previous model but which sequences training better and adds a newer, harder edge.
We live in an age shaped by globalisation and have ready access to information. Current trends suggest that terrorism, climate change, shifts in population, religious tensions and increased competition for natural resources all have the potential to lead to crisis, confrontation and conflict and this was affirmed by last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review.
As such the Armed Forces have to remain at the top of their game with the Royal Navy no exception. To ensure that the Service remains prepared it is important that the training all personnel receive is constantly evolving and that includes the training received by new entry officers and ratings.
To that end the training includes the formal inclusion of Core Maritime Skills with additional emphasis on fitness, operational law, personal weapon training and other key professional subjects all of which are underpinned by the naval service core values of courage, commitment, discipline, respect for others, integrity and loyalty. The end result is a slight increase in the training timeline with total length increasing by two weeks from 28 to 30, achieved at no additional cost to the taxpayer. This new training also has a degree of commonality with the Initial Naval Training that new entry ratings now receive at HMS Raleigh in Torpoint, which is already yielding improved results since its inception last May. The College will run three terms but take four entries per year (Sep, Nov, Feb and May) to accommodate the training that consists of three 10 week phases.
The first ten weeks is a militarisation phase, designed to transform civilians, including those who will become naval doctors and dentists into junior military officers. While based primarily at BRNC, the training is interspersed by two weeks training undertaken at HMS Raleigh and periods of training on Dartmoor. This concept emphasises the core maritime skills and sea sense based river training on the Dart and gives early exposure to Command, Leadership and Management (CLM) with all cadets assessed during the major exercise on Dartmoor. Throughout the Militarisation phase there will be continuous threads of ethos, personal development, ceremonial training, staff skills, divisional work and personal administration.
The second part of initial training is a ten week Marinisation Phase. This period aims to turn military personnel, with sea sense, into naval officers ready in all respects for onward professional training. The earlier training on the River Dart is further developed and academic and technical subjects are progressively introduced. The training becomes increasingly demanding with cadets now introduced to the concept of Maritime Operational Planning. They will have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes during a new river-based exercise known as Maritime Leadership Development before facing their final test during the Maritime Leadership (MARL) assessment; a sophisticated exercise in which they will be expected to plan and execute a wide variety of tasks along the length of the Dart and its foreshore. This is a demanding evolution and a real test of character, during which their leadership, seamanship, navigation, resilience and personal organisation will be scrutinised and thoroughly examined. The picket boats, which are due for replacement with a modern updated version from 2013, will be a familiar sight to the people of Dartmouth and will be seen along the River and out beyond Dittisham during this week-long exercise.
The third and final phase of Initial Naval Training continues away from the College as the cadets join ships to complete nine weeks of Initial Fleet Time. As cadets, they will live as if they were young ratings and will be expected to clean their messdecks, various parts of the ship and report them for inspection. Only if they understand the people they seek to lead in this way can they perform well as an officer. The cadets will focus on the internal working of the ships’ departments, the platform’s capability and the wider roles of officers and ratings in the Navy. HMS Illustrious and HMS Bulwark are the current platforms used for this task but there is an aspiration to embark cadets in the Navy’s most modern warships, the Type 45 Destroyers, in the near future.
Following completion of their sea training, Officer Cadets will return to the College for a final week, culminating in their Passing Out Parade. Although in the early stages of a new form of training, I am confident that Britannia Royal Naval College will continue to deliver world-class naval officer training that is challenging, relevant and inspirational. In 2013, we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Navy in Dartmouth and I, and my team, look forward to joining the people of the town in marking the occasion in fine style.
First published March/April 2012 By the Dart