might have to do a ration resupply mission where they have to go up to the College to get more supplies for the boat. If they were doing this for real they wouldn’t be getting a full eight hours sleep a night, so they need to learn how to work when tired and under pressure,” says Major Richardson. It’s tough but the College chaplains provide some light relief to the proceedings often appearing and hopping on and off boats with bags of sweets and goodies to boost morale. There are up to 12 cadets on each boat
and every person has to be in charge for two hours. As we pass another vessel a cadet flags us down to say they’ve run out of ammunition and as an attack maybe imminent, they need to restock urgently. Lt Burgess takes off at speed to collect more from base. Whilst in charge the trainees are being watched and assessed by a senior officer from the College. At the end of each day they come back to the main ship, the Hindustan, and give a clear and thorough briefing to senior members of staff - some of whom have already commanded a warship themselves. The tasks could be: to set up a line of communication
between Warfleet and the town pontoon or to uncover an IeD (improvised explosive device) planted by someone from the College earlier that day. They may also need to test the water for contamination or find and dispose of toxic waste. Lt Burgess calls in colleagues from other military bases in the area to play the roles of the ‘baddies’ and the various ‘locals’ planted on the shore – some of them valuable informants, others with unreliable information to throw the cadets off the scent of the rebels. Lt Burgess is keen to point out the steps taken
The College also makes sure the police know what’s going on as they have had people ringing them alarmed
to see people with guns speeding down the river
to ensure the safety of the real local population; “we don’t do any exercises between the two ferries and make sure ‘natives’ are well out of the way before we start firing. so we would need those kayaks over there to move before the next attack! We only use blank ammunition and even that has to be double checked and signed out by me, then at the end we ask the cadets to bring back all the empty shells so we can account for them and sign them back in.” The College also makes sure the police know what’s going on as they have had people ringing them alarmed to see people with guns speeding down the river. And as for the River Dart itself, the toxic waste isn’t real and the contaminated water is always kept in a sealed container and it is only ‘contaminated’ with food colouring. “Anything that’s left unattended has MoD labels attached in case it’s found
by a civilian,” says Lt Burgess. The mission culminates when the cadets find the
rebel leader and push him towards Warfleet Creek. once captured the ‘warlord’ is searched and handed over to Devon and Cornwall Police. “This part of the exercise is very public and we often get people stopping to watch and take photos” says Lt Burgess. “It’s actually quite good for the cadets as they would have to deal with locals in a real conflict zone.” If the cadets thought this was the end of their ordeal, they’d be wrong. Any plans for a celebratory pint have to be postponed as they’re made to do a few exercises running from the navy pontoon at sandquay up over a hundred steps to the College and back. Then it’s into the water, up to the waist, to cool down. If there have been any slip ups during the four days, failure to pick up empty cartridges for instance, then they have to stay in the water longer!
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