An Cosantóir

22 | Year One of the 2011/2012 RDF Potential Officer Course BY CPL NEIL RICHARDSON (56 RES INF BN) EOs and BTC OCs (RDF) and a PDF officer. To be honest, most of us found it a bit daunting - try to get across in a couple of minutes why we should be the ones to be se- lected – but when the word finally came back that we had made it onto the course, we were all delighted. Everyone knew that they would be undertaking one of the hardest courses that the RDF has to offer – the process of turning an NCO into a commissioned officer - but we were all up for the challenge. And it was certainly challenging. The 2011/2012 RDF F Potential Officer Course differed from previous potential officer courses in that, with this intake, the course was at- tached to the Military College and the Cadet School from the start (previously, only year two of RDF potential officer courses were attached to them). This meant that from the word go we would be expected to meet the standards laid down by these military institutions. It also meant that we benefited from greater integration with our PDF counter- parts. In many ways we were treated like RDF cadets – we had the same privileges and restrictions placed on us as the cadets had on them, we were billeted in cadet lines, we often had to undertake cadet tasks (discovering, one evening, just how much brass there is in the vicinity of the Military College that needs polishing!), and most signifi- cantly, we got to parade with the 87th Cadet Class as one body of troops on several occasions. This brought home to all of us just how important this course was to the RDF in general. We had been given the opportunity to 'fly the flag' for the Reserve alongside the cadets, to prove that the RDF was a professional and competent force, and so we quickly realised that we had to live up to the high standards expected of us. With regards to the training, it was a mixture of both classroom instruction followed up by practical field exer- cises. Central to developing our leadership skills as junior An Cosantóir November 2011 or all of us, the process began long before the first weekend of training. It began with an interview in front of a panel that comprised our respective Brigade officers was the Troop Leadership and Preparation Process (TLPP), which we were quickly using to prepare ourselves for any tactical exercises. Alongside this, we learned about the seven questions of the Platoon Combat Estimate (a detailed estimate process that has superseded the likes of 'METTS' in platoon commander's considerations), as well as platoon-level orders, and the roles of both the platoon sergeant and platoon commander within the platoon. Other lessons also covered logs, unit admin, map reading, training management, and method of instruction - the latter three of which we had written exams on during the two weeks fulltime training. A high level of fitness was also essential to secure a place on the course (and to survive it!), and all students were required to have their ITs completed to Grade 3 minimum. Then, in order to 'look the part' when doing PT, we bought matching orange t-shirts in time for the two weeks fulltime training - we were proudly permitted to have the cadet school logo on the front, and we decided on the slogan 'Dul Chun Chinn, Ní Céim Siar' for the back. The Cadet School placed a strong emphasis on progression during our course, so the slogan seemed apt. Roughly translated it means, 'Progress is forward, not backwards.' Of course, we only had our clean new t-shirts for a couple of days before we went on a No 1 Platoon versus No 2 Platoon race through knee- deep muddy-water-filled tank tracks on the Curragh plains. By the end of it our t-shirts were more brown than orange, but it was good fun! Another benefit of being attached to the Military College and to the Cadet School from the beginning of year one was that our training included the latest developments in military doctrine. When we started making daily marches to our training area out beyond Flagstaff Hill – in order to revise and develop our section- and platoon-in-attack drills - everyone, even the experienced infantry NCOs on the course, were learning new and up-to-date ways of do- ing things. Under the hot summer sun, fully laden with kit and with the pace of training always high, we also covered

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