News

April 19th 2021

Reservists from 203 Squadron, Loughborough have been on training courses as part of Project Phoenix, which is the overriding desire to get the Army back into work following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Warrant Officer 2 Stef Daunt has been busy teaching both Regulars and Reserve students across the military how to drive Cat C and Cat C+E vehicles. A category C license allows drivers to drive vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, but must not exceed 32 tonnes. Category C+E licenses typically cover a vehicle with a cab and trailer fixed permanently together. In other words, what we would consider a ‘standard lorry’.

Stef is employed full time on ‘Pj Phoenix’. Using Reservists such as WO2 Stef Daunt has enabled the Ministry Of Defence to keep up with training and meet the demands from Units.

In Stef’s full-time career, he works as a Health & Safety Advisor and Telecoms Technician by trade, working for Dalycom who have released him to complete his Reservist work. He joined in 1997 and has worked his way up the ranks. During his time he has deployed to the former Yugoslavia and Iraq which were very different situations compared to his current domestic deployment, proving his versatility and capability as a Reserve.

Stef has been selected as Sergeant Major in the past and is now the rank of Warrant Officer 1. He enjoys the Adventurous Training aspects of the Reserves, having been skiing in previous years and delivered lessons to the soldiers.

Sergeant Adam Perry and Sergeant Jonathon Case have also been busy carrying out training, focusing on how military personnel operate and use the various vehicles in 158 Regiment’s inventory.  All of Jonathon and Adam’s students already hold the Cat C licence but are learning how to use these vehicles in various situations such as night driving, towing when broken, maintenance and repair, Cross county skills, various loading techniques as well as carriage of cargo and passengers.

Sergeant Jonathon Case is a leisure centre manager by day and qualified lifeguard. He has been a member of the Reserves for over 20 years and is a troop admin Sergeant. Jonathon is fully qualified to drive and teach on all the vehicles 158 Regiment hold, which includes the 6, 9, and 15 Ton Support Vehicle (SV) and Land Rovers. He is also an instructor in Battle Casualty drill (First Aid).  Jonathon enjoys walking his dog and being outdoors in his free time.

Sergeant Adam Perry’s full time career is as a self-employed Large Goods Vehicle driver for a quarrying company.  His day to day work includes some shift work, often late evenings and into the night moving stones and hard core to various road works or large developments around the UK.  He is an Ex Regular Infantry Soldier having served with the Royal Anglian Regiment.  Adam is recently qualified to instruct on military vehicles which is a vital skill for keeping the Squadron in Loughborough trained and ready.

Reservists from 158 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps have also been busy carrying out training as part of their return to business as usual.

Private Jake Benson from 158 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps passed his Cat C licence. Jake commented: “It was great to pass my latest driver qualification, it will give me great opportunities in the future, both within the squadron and should I need in the civilian environment, it was an enjoyable course that developed the skills I learned during my Cat B license. The instructors simplified everything and enabled me to gain a high level of confidence and competence in driving Cat C vehicles; I am now looking forward to completing my trade training via my B3 course in the near future!”

We spoke to Jake about his civilian career: ‘In my civilian career, outside of COVID-19 I am a sports massage therapist, I treat a variety of individuals that are either suffering from an injury, preparing for a physical event, recovering from an event, or just looking to keep their body in a good condition.’

Private Cecily Mumby of 158 Regiment RLC has recently undergone a culinary course, passing the B3 Chef’s course, with aspirations to go onto her class 2 catering course soon.

Cecily told us: “Even having experience of working in catering in the past, the class 3 chef course bought fresh challenges to the table and gave me new skills. The field phase in particular allowed me to do something very different to my day job and develop my skill set by using equipment that I had never used before. Everyone on the team had the opportunity to put their leadership skills to the test by taking a command role during various tasks which were made manageable by the course instructors who offered guidance when necessary. Following this course, I’m looking forward to moving onto my class 2 catering in the future. I work in the charity sector in my civilian career and have loved the opportunity to do something different in my spare time.”

Reservists are constantly being tested and trained to ensure they are up to par with their regular counterparts, to be deployed at the drop of a hat. If you are interested in becoming part of the UK’s Reserve Forces you can find out more on how to apply here: https://eastmidlandsrfca.co.uk/reserve-forces/