EXERCISE DRAGON CUSTODIAN 2017

Three Army Reservists from NI recently joined their Regular and Reserve colleagues from the Military Provost Staff (MPS) Regiment on exercise in the French Alps.

Twenty soldiers from the hybrid MPS Regiment were selected to take part in Exercise DRAGON CUSTODIAN 2017, taking time out from their normal custodial care duties to take to the ski slopes of Val d’Isere for the Joint Service Adventure Training Scheme’s ski foundation course.  The team, including 3 military ski instructors, represented a real cross section of the UK public and private custodial care sector. With the Regular MPS taking time out from manning the Military Corrective Training Centre, Colchester as well as military regional detention facilities across the UK, they were able to provide much of the planning and logistics that were to facilitate the trip. Given that the groups were self-driving, part of their pre-expedition preparation included winter driving, vehicle maintenance and the French Highway code theory test.

Following the exercise, one of the unit’s Reservists said, “Joining the Army Reserve has been a fantastic experience – it has already exceeded my expectations. Having completed my basic training last year I was able to volunteer to take part in this exercise. The instructors were also clearly up for the challenge given that my response on being asked if I would like to take part was “I can confirm I am probably worse than a novice so would need some expert training” and I must say that is exactly what I got. The instructors were patient and supportive yet constantly striving to get the best from me to give me the most out of the time I had. The exercise was challenging for different reasons such as my age and having never skied before. I’m sure you have heard the saying you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, well I’m telling you, you can! I can now ski with confidence, something I never thought I would be able to say. It was an amazing opportunity, one I would recommend to anyone who has never done it before. 

“The most enjoyable part was being able to just let go and ski down the slopes with just a bit of speed, safe in the knowledge that I could now turn and most of all stop. The most challenging part was having to keep picking myself up after falling over. It was physically demanding yet enjoyable, but also mentally demanding having to keep a high level of concentration and being focused on the task at hand. What I hope to learn and take back to the workplace is how important it is to have a good effective team, with each person having their place in order to achieve the desired goal or objective, and how important communication is and how we communicate”.

During the 8 day exercise the group underwent training and practice in winter driving, ski techniques including ski touring, as well as lessons in understanding the weather, mountain and cold weather hazards and the making of emergency shelters. With navigation exercises including the additional challenges presented by altitude and weather, the package proved to be both physically and mentally challenging for participants. 

After this exercise the NI Reservists from this nationally recruited unit will spend their 19 training days per year commitment with the reserves developing military skills as well as leadership capability in preparation for potential future promotions and taskings. For many participants on the exercise, having gained the military Ski Foundation Award, they are now on the first rung to progress onto more challenging ski touring activities in the future.

Captain Neil Wilson, exercise leader and MPS Regt Recruiting Officer commented “Having run previous exercises of this type it was great to see our Regular and Reserve on Adventure Training together. Not only have participants learned to ski but more importantly have developed as individuals in respect of leadership and teamwork. Additionally mixing with a real cross section of UK custodial experts from across the public and private sector can only but serve to enhance the Operational effectiveness of our soldiers as custodians. For those Prison Custody Officers feeling they may have missed out on something, it’s not too late to belong…… the MPS Reserve has a number of vacancies”.