London/Cambridgeshire Territorial Bomb Disposal Regiment ski towards Regular Service
101 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) has squared up to its last major challenge before changing from being a Territorial Army unit to becoming a Regular Army unit with both Regular and Territorial squadrons.
34 members of 101 Engr Regt (EOD) have deployed on Exercise Cockney Slider to learn a variety of skiing skills including touring through the wild and remote areas of the French Alps on a demanding seven day course based in the ski resort of Val Thorens, high in the French Alps. Many of the group had never skied before and a number of Army Instructors took on the challenge of teaching them the basic skiing skills to allow them to gain their Basic Ski Proficiency Award for Alpine skiing qualifying them to ski across the vast ski area. Meanwhile a number of others learnt how to climb the mountains on skis and then ski down. That course found soldiers 10,000 feet up in the French Alps enduring temperatures as low as minus 15 degrees and learning about all aspects of mountain safety including how to survive in snowholes to ensure that they can remain safe and well even in the harshest of conditions to be found in the mountains.
Speaking about the course, Sergeant Pete Wright from Ilford said ‘There are some cheeky slopes up their’. He has been a member of the Regiment for 14 months. His civilian job is a Telecoms engineer for AT&T. He also said ‘I have had an enjoyable week where I have learnt new skills and gained in confidence, not really having skied before. I now have the bug to come back and do my touring and advanced alpine course’.
Capt Louise Greenhalgh from Ilford (originally from Brighton) is a qualified Bomb Disposal Officer and was the first female TA BDO to deploy to AFG. In Val Thorens because she was already qualified as an Advanced Alpine skier, she undertook the challenging Ski Tour Proficiency course to learn how to survive in the snowy wastes of the Alps and to ski uphill and down without the use of the ski lifts and cable cars. She said ‘the trip has given me the opportunity to push myself, literally, in a number of ways and also to get to know the people from the Regiment in a different environment. The Regiment is very keen to get people away on adventure training expeditions because they help improve team cohesion, fitness, confidence and many other personal attributes. Besides being fun they also have the key benefit ultimately of preparing the soldiers and officers for mobilised service.
One of the instructors Lance Corporal Ritchie Wilkins commented ‘Skiing is a skill that I have gained because I am in the Army. Having gained my instructors qualification I am now keen to pass on my knowledge to others. It is however very demanding because of the broad range of abilities of the soldiers that I am instructing and because of the harsh environment we are in which can be so very hostile and where people are so very far out of their comfort zone. Adventure Training in the Army is very important in introducing people to new sports and pastimes and bringing an element of danger and fear into the activities that they undertake that then benefits them in their main role and perhaps when deployed on operations anywhere around the world. While ski racing really fires my rockets I am also enthusiastic and passionate about spending time in the mountains where you are closer to the environment, where there is such peace and tranquillity, but where the mountain hazards and weather hazards make it so very challenging. The mountains are a place to be feared and revered.’
The Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Aidan Smyth said ‘Arduous training such as this expedition as a vitally important way of stretching my Territorial soldiers in tough conditions providing an excellent opportunity to develop their leadership skills whilst under pressure. The new Regiment will be an exciting opportunity for the TA soldiers to work more closely with their Regular Army counterparts.