Drill Display In London

06/10/2011

Link To World Skills Website

On Thursday 6th October, Uniformed Public Services (UPS) took a Drill Display Team down to London to perform in front of other Colleges and represent Chesterfield College and the course. We had to be at College for 0300 to be ready to leave at 0330, we later arrived in London at 0700 which gave us time to look around at other Colleges and displays. There was construction teams from all over the world, one of which had a 20ft-30ft rocking horse! The Royal Air Force was there talking about careers and we could have a go in the Typhoon simulator.

We had been misinformed about the area we would be performing on as it was only a small stage and the team had been practicing in a much larger area. The team then had to change the number of paces they were doing and had just over an hour to get some final practices in.

The whole sequence lasted around 8 minutes and the entire team gave their best performance and it was great to watch!

Excuse The Chat From The Spectators 

RTC (Road Traffic Collision) Event

17/02/2011

On Thursday 17th February, the college was able to get some members of the fire, police and ambulance service to show us how they co-operate when dealing with an RTC that has multiple casualties. This was done to raise awareness of the dangers of dangerous driving, in Derbyshire alone there are 60,000 incidents of dangerous driving which involve serious injuries and fatalities, one third of this is young drivers who have little experience on the roads.

The Uniformed Public Services Students controlled what was happening such as keeping people off the roads, moving smokers away from the site, monitoring vehicles arriving and leaving the site and holding back the crowds. This was also done to help us with our assignment for responding to emergency incidents by showing us how the emergency services work together. An RTC was the best incident to use as each service was doing something all the time and this helped us to see what each service did when this was happening.

The video (above) I recorded shows the fire service having to remove the roof of one of the vehicles for the paramedics to attend the casualty stuck inside the vehicle. This shows us how the fire service and paramedics work together to ensure that casualties are rescue safely and quickly.

This also gave us an insight into the roles that the emergency services must carry out and it is also another option for a future career.

Link to Road Awareness information

Army Careers and Presentation

09/02/2011

On Wednesday 9th February two people from the British Army came to speak to us along with someone from the Chesterfield Army Careers Office. We were given a short presentation about life in the Army and the roles and responsibilities they have.

We were told about the entry tests into the Army and about phase one and phase two training. Phase one training consists of 14 weeks where you are trained to become a soldier and phase two is where each person trains in their specialist area from combat medic to an engineer.

The presentation was very informative and gave a good insight into the Army and how they live. Once the presentation was finished, we had the chance to ask any questions about the Army and what they do etc. Not many students were interested in the Army, however, it is a possible option for those wanting to pursue a career in the Armed Forces. We was also told about the Army bursary that we could apply for at the Careers Office and that it is like a "fast track" into the Army because signing for the bursary means you are committed as you get £1000 per year in education and a further £1000 on completion of basic training.

For more information about careers and life in the Army, go to http://www.army.mod.uk/

RAF Regiment - Mountain Rescue

01/02/2011

Link to RAF Mountain Rescue information

On Tuesday 1st February we had a visiting speaker from the RAF Regiment who specialises in Mountain Rescue. This was useful for me as I would like to join the RAF Regiment and I wanted to find out what life was like in the Armed Forces, although Mountain Rescue isn't something I want to do, it was a good experience to find out what they do and how they work.

The main role of Mountain Rescue Teams (MRT) is to search for and rescue survivors of aircraft crashes. They also work with the civilian MRT to rescue those in need of assistance within the mountains and hill type terrains. The teams are regarded as the "only all-weather Sea, Air Rescue (SAR) asset" in the RAF, they have the ability to reach all parts of the UK where other helicopters cannot which makes them so unique.

Our speaker told us about some incidents he has had to attend, rescuing people who have had a minor fall and broken a bone to people who fallen 300ft and in a critical state. These types of incidents put their training and skills into practice to save people's lives, I personally believe these guys do not get the recognition they deserve!

38 Signals Regiment Visit

25/01/2011

On Tuesday 25th January, we had a visit to the 38 Signals Regiment in Sheffield. We were split into four groups as there was four stations for us to see.

The first station me and my group saw was about the fitness part within the British Army. We were told what the fitness tests were and how to perform them, these tests included the bleep test, push up and sit up tests (2 minutes each) and the 1.5 mile run. We also felt the weight of one of their Bergen Rucksacks (50-60kg) and the SA80 Assault Rifle (can weigh up to 8kg) and all their equipment together can weight up to 80kg!

The next station was the uniform and basic equipment, this consisted of boots, socks, t-shirts, jacket, trousers and other variations of this for weather conditions. We were then told about the sleeping equipment such as the sleeping bag and roll mat which can provide warmth to temperatures down to -40 degrees! They also had the helmet and gas masks that are used in places which consist of radioactive substances. We then moved onto some of the weapons used, we were shown the SA80 Assault Rifle and the 9mm Browning Pistol. They explained when and how each weapon was used and their effective range etc.

Link to 38 Signals Regiment information

The third station was about first aid after an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) had been used. While the actors were performing this, we were been lead through the procedures they take when attending an incident like this one. They grade the casualties from Priority 1 (most urgent) and Priority 4 (likely to die).

The final station was about the communication and technology used within the Armed Forces and Emergency Services. We were expected to use the Bowman comms system, however, it was in use with another Signals Regiment so we missed out on that opportunity. We were also shown the food/rations that are taken if the Regiment has to stay out of camp on an operation etc. These rations mainly consisted of "boil in the bag" products which are apparently very effective.

Crime Scene Investigation (CSI)

11/01/2011

On Tuesday 11th January, we had a visit from a Forensic Scientist who taught us about the different techniques when investigating crimes.

We were given a scenario at the beginning of the day and we had to gather enough evidence to prove who committed the crimes. We did this using real skeletons from people who have donated their bodies to science, blood checks and finger print DNA.

Link to information about CSI

At the beginning, we had to search the skeleton on the floor which had clothing and different materials on it that were used as evidence to show who the person was, where they had been etc. We then used different types of blood to figure out who had what blood type on their clothing. We took our own finger prints on a police officer's form which didn't have anything to do with the scenario we were given, but we were told about how they use finger prints in CSI. Finally at the end of the day, we put all the evidence we had found together to come up with the person who committed the crime.. the group I was in were the only ones to get the criminal right!

Radio Communications

13/12/10

On Monday 13th December we did a radio comms practical using Command and Control. The tutors were Gold Command and told Silver Command (4 Students) the strategy of what was to happen, then Silver Command had to deliver the strategy planned, they do this by planning what is going to happen and they each had their own role: Captain, Radio Operator, Scribe and 2nd in Command. There was 6 Bronze Command groups and each group assigned 4 people the roles and then we were told which area to go to and to look for certain things.

This practical went okay, we had a few confusions over the radio and some people on the radio didn't take it seriously so some people got frustrated and we didn't complete the whole task set, but it was a good experience and I have learned a lot from this.

Martin "Nobby" Clarke Visit

29/11/2010

Yesterday on Monday 29th of November we had a 3 hour presentation about road safety and how to stay safe when driving.

We were shown adverts about how to be safe when driving, Austrailia produce the best adverts as they are graphic and show what would really happen in a certain situation. E.g. Drink driving, drug driving etc. However, the British adverts that make people aware of road safety are not very effective as they don't show the full effect of a RTC (road traffic collision) or the effects of drink/drug driving.

Towards the end of the presentation, we were told about a woman called Jaqueline Saburido. This woman was in a RTC and survived, however, her face was disfigured and she can't live everyday by herself. After this, we were advised about taking an advanced driving course and the skid control course to ensure we are safe on the roads and to help us by having lower insurance.

Rob Scattergood Visit

24/11/2010

Yesterday on the 24th November we had a visit from Rob Scattergood, a former student on the UPS course at Chesterfield college. He is now part of the RMP (Royal Military Police) and has just finished phase one of his training which was 14 weeks long.

He came to talk to us about how he joined the RMP and what it was like. He started college wanting to join the police, but later realised that it would be nearly impossible to do so because of his age and therefore found out some information about the RMP and the job it does. He advised anyone who wishes to pursue a career in the Army to sign up to the Army Bursary Scheme, those who are accepted get £1,000 for each year of studying at college and a further £1,000 on completion of basic Army training and it also guarantees them a position in the Army.

I found the talk very interesting and it also gave me another option of a career rather than the police, although joining the Army isn't my preferred choice of service, I would consider it as I now know a little bit more about the service and its roles.

Link to Rob's blog

Grenadier Guards Visit

17/11/2010

Link to the Grenadier Guard's website

Today we had a visit from the Grenadier Guards who came to give us some information about their roles and job, but they also set up some team building activities to help us get to know each other better and to build our confidence.

When we first arrived, the Guards told us who they were, what they did and told us a little bit about themselves. After this, each of us had to stand in fornt of the group and talk about ourselves for about a minute, this was part of building our confidence within the group.

Our first activity was to move five tyres from the first cone to the last without putting a higher number on top of a lower number, we managed to do this in around 8 minutes. We found it quite difficult to start with, but as we began listening to each other, we got into it and completed the task. The second activity was more fun. We had to build a wheel barrow or cart that could carry a bag, the one me and my group made didn't look very good and was built without much thought, however, we made it the quickest, tested it and packed it away before the other group had even tested it. As we won the task, we got to give he other group a punishment which was for them to do ten burpees each!!

Finally, we were shown four weapons that have been recently replaced in the British Army and body armor. The man telling us about how each weapon is used and what situations they would be used in went into a lot of detail and let us have a look and hold the weapons. I never realised that the weapons would weigh the amount they did, all together with the armor, weapon and the rest of their kit, they would be carrying around 80 pounds of equipment.

I found the session quite interesting and fun!! I enjoyed doing the team building activities as I was working with people I didn't usually talk to and the talking about what the Grenadier Guards do was interesting and it also gives me more options for when I leave college.