Wednesday morning, we had to be in the main hall at school by quarter to 9 ready to leave at 9 o'clock, this shows discipline and uniformity because we had to up at a certain time and arrive in school for a certain time, but one person was late so this made the whole group late for the coach, this shows a lack of discipline. There was a few late comers so eventually left at around 10 past 9.
The coach journey took just under an hour to get to Chepstow in Wales, this shows uniformity because we all travelled on the same coach and everyone was treated equally, no one went in a car, train etc. The Army Barracks was located directly under the Severn Bridge. As soon as we got there we saw a man on the gate holding a loaded machine gun in case of intruders etc.We were made to stand on the line, this shows uniformity because we were all made to stand there and importance of following orders because of health and safety, someone may not be there so they could be injured or missing. This is where we would go to whenever one of the soldiers shouted 'LINE'. If we wasn't there in an allotted time then we would be punished, we were made to do press ups, star jumps, go for a run, if we had to this then this would show a lack of discipline by some people or one person and lack of uniformity because they would not be there, so they would be acting differently, also lack of following rules, regulations and procedures, this led to everyone else getting punished and a disregard for the interests of the service because they thought they were more important than following orders from the soldiers. Also if they shouted 'NUMBER' then we would have to shout our number going from right to left 1-20 whilst standing on the line and whoever was the last man had to shout '20 last man'.
They then split us into 3 sections, 1 section, 2 section and 3 section, this showed uniformity because everyone was treated the same. Each section had a team leader (one of the soldiers... 2 section had Paddy, 1 section had Danny and 3 section had Tristan.) First thing we did was to get our sleeping bags this also showed uniformity because everyone had the same sleeping bag and bed, we were called up section by section. Some of the tasks, we would be awarded points to each section and the team with the most amount of points would be awarded a prize at the end of the 3 days. The first task we did was a paintballing task, we had to shoot 10 targets and miss out 1 target or we get deducted points, i got 6 out of 10 which was quite good. The next task we did was to see what the soldiers eat, ration packs to be more precise. All of the food was high energy, sugars etc. Jam, fruit biscuits, biscuits, chocolate bar, sponge cake. We got to taste the food and see how they cooked the meals. The next task we did was a reaction task, it was called battack. There are 8 buttons on the machine and what you have to do is hit the button what lights up, it was a really quick and an enjoyable game, this showed uniformity because everyone joined in the task. I got 39 in 30 seconds which was probably an average score out of the group. That was our final task of day 1.
In between each task, 5 of us would start playing table tennis, this perhaps could have been a lack of uniformity because not everyone joined in. A tournament type of game, it was quite good fun and kept us on our toes for when we got called to the line for the next task.
We had to be in our cabins by 10 pm and asleep by 10:30 pm so that we had enough sleep to be up for 6 am. Both mornings they woke us up at 6 am on the dot, not a second earlier or a second later. This was the same for everyone so this showed uniformity.
The first thing we did on day 2 was to wake up, have a shower, brush our teeth and be ready on the line for half 6. Again this was uniformity. A few people were late so they got told to hurry up or the whole group would be punished and do physical exercises, this showed a lack of discipline and lack of following rules, regulations and procedures . Once everyone was on the line, we were made to line up in 3 ranks which was basically a line of 3 people then one person behind them and so on, this showed uniformity. We then went to the canteen to have breakfast, we were allowed one of everything, which was egg, bacon, sausage, beans or tomatoes, this shows uniformity because everyone had the same amount of food. After we all finished, we had to line up in 3 ranks and walk back to camp for our first task. Our first task was a mile run around the army camp, an average time was around 12 minutes. I did this in 12 minutes 30 seconds, i wasn't very quick because i was tired from all of our physical activities that week, but i did manage complete the run which i was happy about. Nathan Baker came first and got a time of just over 9 minutes, some people didn't finish so this showed lack of discipline. We then went back to the camp where we were situated and had a shower. Then it was time for our next task, we went to a grassy area and stood in a line, then one of the soldiers showed us what we had to do. first we had to do a leopards crawl to the far end and back which was hard, then we had to get in pairs. One person would lay on the floor whilst the other person stood over him, the person on the floor would then have to put their arms around the other persons neck, the person on the floor would then have to start dragging that person to the far end and then swap over. the next thing we had to do was get into a group of three, we then had to lift one person out of the three and carry them to the end, then swap and do the same and then again so that everyone had been carried. Some people failed to finish the task so this showed lack of discipline. This task was fun but very hard at the same time.
In the afternoon we went back to the grass area and played a mini football tournament. We stayed in our 3 teams and played each other once, our first match was against the blues which ended in a draw and went to penalties. I scored my penalty and the rest of my team missed theirs so we lost and then we lost our second game. The team who finished top of the group went through to play the army team, again the team who finished top failed to beat the army. Afterwards the army team challenged the sixth form team to a match which again we lost, but only by 1 goal.
After this we went back to the camp and had a shower and a rest, then we went up to the canteen and had our dinner. Afterwards we went back to the camp and the soldier gave us our next task which was to create a new gadget for the soldiers, we had to draw this gadget, price of the gadget, say what it does etc. It was sort of like dragons den, we only had half an hour to complete this and meet in the main cabin to present our gadget. It was good fun watching and seeing what everyone came up with.
The next day we had our shower and then went and had breakfast, when we got back and got everything sorted. It was around half past 8, so it was time for our next task. We went back to the grass area and stood in a line,
We had about a 5 minute water break before our next task, we stayed in the same area. while we were doing the other activity, the other soldiers were setting up a team bonding course. The soldiers then split us into equal teams of 2. We then stood at the start of the course and solider gave us instructions and rules of this exercise. None of the equipment was allowed to touch the ground, we couldn't stand in certain areas without making a bridge to cross over, the water tank which two people carried was never allowed to touch floor. If any of this occurred then whole team would have to a forfeit of running to the goal posts which was a fair distance away and run back, we would have to do that each time there was a mistake. Our group did this a fair few times. At the start each team had a rope, few planks of wood, a little water tank. The first thing each team had to do was get the big empty water tank out of the zone with just a piece of rope, then that water tank added to our equipment which wasn't allowed to touch the ground, we then had to build a bridge to get over the next zone and pick the planks of wood up on our way over, this bit was quite easy. But the next zone, we had to build another bridge to get over to the other side but there wasn't enough pieces of wood, so once everyone was on the bridge the person at the back had to pick the piece of wood up and pass it along to the front so that we could advance. everyone was squashed together and had little room on the planks. But if someone in our team fell off then we would all have to drop our equipment and run around the goal and back, also we would have to start the zone again from scratch. We eventually crossed over but the other team had already done it about 10 minutes before us, we managed to complete the task and this showed good discipline within our team, when we got over we had to use the smaller water tank to fill up this small tower in order to get the message inside. The other team gave us a forfeit which was to leopards crawl whenever one of the soldiers yelled grenade, this showed lack of uniformity because not everyone in the group did this, that was really tiring and to had to that they watered the grass just before we did it to make it more difficult but it was great fun in the end. Then we went back to our cabins and gave our sleeping bags in, then went back to our cabins and brushed all the dirt out of the room and then we mopped the floor, all of this showed uniformity because everyone had to dig in and tidy up. The soldiers then came and inspected our rooms. If there was a bit of dirt somewhere they would point it out and then we would have to make sure its spotless for when they next came around, if it wasn't clean then this showed a lack of discipline and a lack of following rules, regulations and procedures, because if it wasn't cleaned properly then one of us could have been ill and the next group who stay there could get that illness. After this we then had a shower and had our lunch, it was now around 1'o clock and time to get on the coach and go home. This showed uniformity because everyone got on the same coach and arrived back at school at the same time.
This is my Chepstow witness statement.
http://www.scribd.com/AdamFerris94/d/97811201-Witness-Statement-Chepstow
http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/v_s_of_the_british_army.pdf
This document shows rules and regulations of the British Army, we had to use these rules and regulations while we were in Chepstow.
Discipline
Force: commanders’ orders carried out, everybody confident that
they will not be let down by their comrades. Discipline is the
primary antidote to fear and maintains operational effectiveness:
it is supported by team loyalty, trust and professionalism. Discipline
instills self-control and breeds self-confidence. Good discipline
means that all soldiers will obey orders, under the worst conditions
of war, and to do so with imagination and resource. The best
discipline is self-discipline: innate, not imposed. The Army expects
self-discipline from every soldier, and training aims to strengthen it.
Discipline requires clearly understood rules and a military legal
system to enforce it. This discipline system must be fairly applied
both on and off duty by all those in positions of authority.
Appropriate Behaviour Maintain trust and loyalty between commanders and those they
command imposes a need for a standard of social behaviour more
demanding than those required by society at large. This is equally
necessary both on and off operations, on and off duty.
It is important to acknowledge in the tightly knit military community
the need for mutual respect and the requirement to avoid conduct
that offends others.
Respect for Others The duty to put others first and means that there is no place for
prejudice or favouritism. Like loyalty, respect for others goes both
up and down the chain of command and sideways among peers.
The Army’s recruiting motto ‘Be the Best’ can only have meaning
if all members of it have equality of treatment and opportunity.
Selfless Commitment Not for the convenience of administration in barracks. On joining
the Army soldiers accept a commitment to serve whenever and
wherever they are needed, whatever the difficulties or dangers
may be. Such commitment imposes certain limitations on individual
freedom, and requires a degree of self-sacrifice. Ultimately it may
require soldiers to lay down their lives. Implicitly it requires those in
positions of authority to discharge in full their moral responsibilities
to subordinates. Selfless commitment is reflected in the wording
of the Oath of Allegiance which is taken on attestation.
In it, soldiers agree to subordinate their own interests to those
of the unit, Army and Nation, as represented by the Crown:
Hierarchy why is it important.
Respect for others is a hallmark of the British Army: it comes from The operational imperative to sustain team cohesion and to To be effective on operations, the Army must act as a disciplined
The British Army is structured and trained for operations,
If there was no promotion then the soldiers would have nothing to aim for, so they wouldn't be motivated in the line of duty.
- The hierarchy gives the soldiers morale, because they have something to aim for.
- Also the hierarchy motivates the soldiers so that they have something to aim for and can show that they are worthy of a promotion in the field.
- Everyone knows what they are doing, who's in charge etc.
The Armed Forces Act 2006
The Armed Forces Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It came into force on 31 October 2009. It replaces the three separate Service Discipline Acts (the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955 and the Naval Discipline Act 1957) as the system of military law under which the British Armed Forces operate. The Armed Forces Act harmonizes the service law between the three armed services. One of the beneficial changes are that the Act is trending towards tri-service operations where our 3 Services operate together to improve the defence and effectiveness of the British Army. This link shows more on the Armed Forces Act 2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_Act_2006
Queens Regulations
Queen's Regulations (first published in 1731 and known as King's Regulations when the United Kingdom has a king) are a collection of orders and regulations in force in the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force, forming guidance for officers of these armed services in all matters of discipline and personal conduct. Although originally a single set of Regulations were published in one volume, by the mid 19th century there were separate editions of Queen's Regulations for the Navy and the Army, and there is now one for each of the United Kingdom's armed services.
This link shows more on the Queens Regulations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen's_Regulations
