Op CROSSWAYS By Lieutenant Dougal Clark
Op CROSSWAYS is a Tri-Service operation that seeks to build partner capacity with Saudi Border Forces, including Royal Saudi Land Forces (RSLF) and Border Guard Forces and when directed, other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, in order to assist with the security of the southern border with Yemen.
Op CROSSWAYS is comprised of a plethora of Short-Term Training Team (STTT) interventions to generate host nation capability. These STTTs range from Close Protection and DTTT, to Medical Rehabilitation and Sniper training. In support of Op CROSSWAYS’ longest STTT course, I was deployed to deliver the English Language Training (ELT) course, which I conducted alongside my fellow Learning
Development Officers Capt Hannah Bishop and A/Capt Rory Ehlen (OiC).
This STTT delivered 12 weeks of English Language Training to a group of nine Officers in the Royal Saudi Land Forces (RSLF), who were the most motivated, generous and enthusiastic students I have ever had the pleasure of teaching.
The aim was to get these students to IELTS (International English Language Testing System) level 4 in Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing, which is the same assessment that many universities worldwide use to screen prospective international students. Achieving this goal offers students the potential to continue their English learning at the Defence Culture & Language Centre in Shrivenham, an opportunity highly prized by young RSLF Officers.
Whilst all team members had plenty of teaching experience from delivering SNCO and WO ALDP courses within our respective AECs, completing the CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults) course prior to deploying proved to be far more important in ensuring mission success. The skills we acquired from the CELTA course were crucial as they allowed us to provide more productive and meaningful lessons, in addition to maximising the learning potential of the students. The CELTA course also ensured we could create bespoke English lesson plans and resources once we had gauged student ability during the initial stage of the course, as there was no way of doing this prior to deploying. These facts notwithstanding, the success of this STTT should be
largely attributed to the enthusiasm and engagement of our students, who worked tirelessly throughout the course to achieve such amazing results.
As a team we enjoyed complete autonomy and could tailor the lessons to make them as enjoyable and interactive as possible. As such, we employed lots of practical lessons which would serve the students well, should they find themselves in the UK on subsequent military training courses. These included shopping, eating out, delivering QBOs with the use of a model pit and a trip to the gym to name a few. My personal favourite was the Wargaming scenario they played in which they were required to give accurate fire control orders and secure objectives. It was also very entertaining to watch as they became more and more desperate, even creating new rules (or just cheated), notably the use of nuclear warheads to delete each other from the game.
This was all revolutionary to the students, many of whom had only previously experienced education in the form of instructor-heavy briefs which offered little opportunity for clarification or creativity. The students were all excited to deliver their presentations on their first ever battlefield study to the nearby Shamsan fort, as it was also a chance for them to show off their progress to senior members of the RSLF who accompanied us on the trip.
Our students were perfect hosts and invited us out on multiple occasions. These social events provided a perfect backdrop for our students to practise their newly-acquired English language skills in a real-world, informal setting and seeing the improvement in our students’ ability and witnessing them grow in confidence in such a short period of time was undoubtedly one of the highlights of our brief time here in Saudi Arabia.
ELT is a real growth area for the RSLF, and they are extremely keen to expand the current relationship they enjoy with the ETS via OP CROSSWAYS. My experience has certainly cemented my desire to do more Defence Engagement roles in the future and I would strongly recommend this Op to anyone. It was a deeply humbling and eye-opening first Op, and I implore any ETS officer to jump at what can only be summarised as a fantastic opportunity.
AGC JOURNAL 2022 87
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