NAVY NEWS, NOVEMBER 2010


Welcome to senior high


Grylls. Bear’s got to cross a chasm by creating a makeshift ‘transporter bridge’ – a plank slung between two metal poles, suspended from a rope.


He’s close to overcoming the obstacle when ‘George’ Greening inspects proceedings. An awkward glance at the rope from George followed by a lot of headshaking from Bear. “It’s not going to hold…”


through the Royal Naval Leadership Academy (RNLA), PO George Greening is their instructor. There’s nothing wrong with the rope, George winks. But such is the power of a Royal Navy petty offi cer that the budding senior rates scrap their plan and start again. But then that’s what they’re here for.


They’re here to make the biggest transition in their naval careers – from leading hand to petty offi cer. There’s a huddle around PO(EW) ‘Eddie’ Grant, the man charged with overseeing this particular task. He listens to advice, takes some of it on board, rejects other suggestions, issues instructions. A few ‘Two-six, heaves’ later, along with a liberal application of elbow grease, and the Bear Grylls class are sitting on a plank suspended beneath the rope. Mission accomplished. They jump off and Eddie thanks the team for their ideas and for working together. PO Greening gathers the students and asks them to sum up the task in a single word.


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Organised. Co-ordinated. Accomplished. Flexible.


All of which might neatly sum up what is expected of today’s senior ratings. Older generations of Senior Rates will no


doubt remember POLC – the Petty Offi cers Leadership Course. These days PO has been replaced by SR, and the course has been extended from four to fi ve weeks – “there were so many new things to squeeze in,” says Lt Dave Bebbington, the leadership academy’s operations offi cer. He went through the old course two decades ago – a time when equality and diversity wasn’t at the forefront of people’s minds, squad manning was unheard of and, if a ship wasn’t delivering, “you’d hit it with a big stick. If that didn’t work, you’d hit it with a bigger stick.”


This may – or may not – have worked 20 years ago. It doesn’t work in 2010. There is one constant, however. As they


were in 1990, so they are two decades later: senior rates are the backbone of the Navy, the vital link between upper and lower decks, the men and women who get things done.


It is a surprisingly small cadre. Some


700 prospective Petty Offi cers – they’ve all been selected for promotion – pass through the leadership academy at HMS Collingwood each year… and approximately 600 emerge with the crossed anchors on their sleeves. “It’s not a given – you don’t just turn up on the course and go through the motions,” says Lt Cdr Russ Haines, Offi cer Commanding RNLA. To reinforce his point, the fi ve- week course opens with a fi tness test. “If you fail, you’re out,” Lt Cdr Haines points out bluntly. “You have to be fi t to lead – you have to set an example. If you come here with the right attitude, having fully prepared then there is no reason why you shouldn’t pass the course.” And the remainder of the


● Pole position...Members of the Bear Grylls course tackle the high ropes at the Royal Naval Leadership Academy


fi ve weeks? Well, the fi rst week is devoted to leadership theory and getting to know your classmates through teamwork exercises. After that there’s a week in the Brecon Beacons for a mix of land navigation (orienteering), bivvying, fi rst aid and leadership tasks courtesy of the Outdoor Leadership Training Centre in Tal-y-Bont. Then it’s back to


Bear Grylls is not the adventurer but the name of the latest course of potential senior ratings passing


JOHN Terry and Wayne Rooney are no-nos. Captain Cook, VC winner Col H Jones, Admiral Cochrane, Bertram Ramsay, ‘Cockleshell Hero’ Blondie Hasler are all spot on. Tony Blair’s acceptable. Today it’s Bear


Each course is named for a leader fi gure – Bear Grylls in this case, chosen by the students, with the instructors’ approval (they don’t allow footballers, but do permit politicians). Before the fi ve weeks end, the potential


Collingwood for more time in the classroom, learning how to coach and mentor sailors, and instill naval ethos. The fi eld beckons again on the fourth week and Salisbury Plain for a ‘Dynamic Leadership eXercise (DLX)’ – think disaster relief, such as the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. Set up tents and tackle problems using the right kit. Oh, and make sure you order some food; the ration packs only last a day… and the exercise runs for three. And fi nally to Collingwood once more for a week on the art of divisional leadership, everything from writing reports and administration to discipline and drug and alcohol awareness.


POs are expected to give presentations – and produce display boards – on their chosen leaders.


The displays line the walls of the leadership academy; one group even produced a Zulu shield in honour of their hero, Chard VC of Rorke’s Drift.


That shield hangs in the offi ce of instructor WO1(Wtr) Del King, an ex-EWO, who believes that “there’s nothing better than inspiring the next generation of petty offi cers”. He continues: “This is the singlemost important course a rating will do in the Royal Navy. But it’s also the hardest because it’s a major transition. You are stepping into the middle management world where there’s signifi cant change to kudos, responsibility and respect.”


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over two decades. It is experience you can’t buy. It’s taught him above all that “sailors should want to work for you because they admire you, they aspire to do what you do. “Telling people to jump all the time simply


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causes morale to plummet. You have to reward people as well at times.” Lt Bebbington agrees. “You have to let sailors under you develop, to learn things for themselves. But there are still times when you give those ‘Jump. How high?’ orders.” And there are times when you have to listen. “We have to show humility and admit when we make mistakes,” says WO1 King. “We are human, we are fallible.”


tasks have been a staple diet of leadership courses since the days of HMS Royal Arthur at Corsham. It may be a tad clichéd, but, as Lt Cdr Haines says, “some things stand the test of time. There’s still a need for people to show grit and determination when the moment calls for it.” To the assault course has now been added


The assault course and practical leadership


● (Above) the exhaustion of the DLX on Salisbury Plain while (below) potential petty offi cers get to grips with life outdoors at Tal-y-Bont


“s WO1 King has been a senior rate for


the ‘high ropes’ (think assault course 30ft in the air), and softer management skills such as coaching and mentoring but main assessment methods still focus on leadership tasks… such as bridging a chasm using rope and a plank…


Grylls. …which brings us neatly back to Bear


Like every group of budding POs, this course is a mish-mash of branches – loggies, dabbers, engineers and Wafus. Engineers tend to be logical, seaman specialists and warfare rates are practical, logisticians are good at organisation. But there’s no hard and fast rule that one particular branch produces better leaders than another. “Here we don’t really care what your branch is, or whether you’re good at your job. What we do care about is you as a leader,” says PO Greening.


“This is the best job in the Navy – a chance to give something back.” Among those benefi ttin


experience and guidance is PO(ET) Andy ‘Knocker’ White, one member of Bear Grylls course. Like his instructors, he realises that stepping up to the senior rates’ world is “a big leap”.


g from his


He explains: “There is a big difference between leadership as a leading hand and as a petty offi cer. It’s not just the promotion, but stature, what’s expected of you. You want to move on, but you still have your roots in the junior rates’ mess.” As a fl edgling senior rating, he uses his expertise and personal attributes, and draws upon his experiences – “Subconsciously you take the best bits of people who you’ve been around in the past” – but says the Senior Rates Leadership Course has been invaluable. “It is hard to be an effective leader without leadership training.” ■ For more details on the Senior Rates Leadership Course see RNTM 194/10.


Pictures: Keith Woodland, HMS Collingwood, LA(Phots) Dean Nixon and Kyle Heller, FRPU East


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