Brentwood School - Brentwoodian 2020

90 CCF Army September 2019 saw our excellent team of new SNCOs in post following Summer camp at Cinque Ports on the sunny south coast and the announcement of the senior positions for 2019- 2020. Congratulations to Cadet RSM Gough, Cadet RQ Adams, and CSMs Hepburn-Braham, Tomlinson and Marais. They were supported by CQs Parrish, Richards, and Odendaal. G1 and G7 appointments were Cannell, Phillips, Reeves, Buntrock, Patel, McKnight. Other senior NCO appointments went to Beardwell, Everest, Bajwa and Mayhew. The year started well and Friday training was in full swing supported more than ably by the new SNCOs. Planning was in progress and in preparation for the main event of the first half of the Michaelmas term with our two field days including an overnight to the excellent Pippingford Park training area in East Sussex. The plan for the two field days included a sniper stalk, close quarter battle drills with a paintball lane, section attacks and an ambush as well as a set of orders for the overnight phase. The best laid plans and, as in the 6Ps Army acronym, planning is everything however, due to leave on a Monday morning the met office reported thunderstorms and torrential rain for Monday afternoon and over night. The very difficult decision had to be made to cancel the overnight phase but the day time training was to continue. Training was to follow the plan but now needed to bus Cadre Company back to Brentwood at the end of training on Monday and then back out again on Tuesday. Commando Company followed a training plan on the newly developed Shenfield Road training area, led by Lt. Wakeling who we wish well in his new post and thank for all his support for the CCF Army Company. Back at Pippingford Park the rain failed to fully materialise and predictably the overnight could have gone ahead, particularly bearing in mind the old Army adage ‘if it ain’t raining then it ain’t training!’ Coach disruption ensued and what was already a difficult couple of days proved increasingly difficult for all at Pippingford Park. Luckily Tuesday saw an improvement in the weather and some hi-intensity section attacks and ambushes ensured all who had travelled back to the training area enjoyed the exercises, especially the impromptu ambush on Lt. Copper’s section. Michaelmas half term saw the wedding of Miss Fleming to the RSM and the newlyweds were joined by a section of ex-Army cadets at their evening celebrations, where some excellent and perhaps not so excellent stories from CCF camps and overnights of the past were recounted. The second half of term witnessed an excellent remembrance parade where the Army Company received numerous comments of praise and congratulation on their turn-out, marching and participation, one of our best parades to date! Congratulations to all who took part. Michaelmas training saw a focus on fieldcraft training and the Shenfield Road training area was used for a range of activities including a sniper stalk, section attacks and close quarter battle drills. A big thank you to RSM Hill and Asst. SSI Sell for their hard work preparing needed and useful training area! Commando weapons handling weekend witnessed over 60 cadets going from novices to test passes on the L98A2 Cadet GP Rifle so they can now take part in blank firing and live ranges during their time in the Army Company; this was repeated in the February weekend for the remainder of cadets.