UK AOC Newsletter - June 2008 |
BASIC COMMUNICATIONS EXPLOITATION (BCE) COURSEThe Royal Signals Special Operator (RSSO) career employment qualification has recently entered a significant new era. Not only are they now called Electronic Warfare Systems Operators (EW Sys Op), a name more befitting their primary role, but the trade-training course has also been subject to changes. The course has now been streamlined from 31 to 20 weeks and has been updated to reflect the 21st century communications environment. The first five weeks are conducted at DCCIS Blandford and cover basic communications theory training. This culminates in a final examination with those successful students moving to SIGINT Wing, Defence School of Intelligence (DSI), Defence College of Intelligence (DCI) Chicksands. At Chicksands, students undergo a further 15 weeks of intense theory and practical training on the Basic Communications Exploitation (BCE) course. They then return to RSS, Blandford for driver and military skills training. Upon successful completion, promotion to Lance Corporal and posting to their first working unit follows.
As previously reported, the first students have recently completed the Chicksands phase and are well on their way to becoming JNCOs. This is definitely a new and positive chapter for EW Sys Op training. The young EW Sys Ops that graduate now are far better prepared for the demanding operational environments that await them. EW 2008 INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND, 15-16 MAY 2008This was the first of the Shephard EW conferences and exhibitions to be organised in a collaborative arrangement with the AOC. Feedback received thus far suggests the event was a resounding success, with 450+ registered attendees and 38 exhibiting companies, the largest participation at a Shephard EW conference. The programme of 27 speakers provided something for everyone and attempted to strike a balance between the operational, conceptual and technical across all disciplines – air, land, sea and cyberspace.
One of the major sponsors of EW 2008 was RUAG, a Swiss defence company wholly owned by the Swiss Confederation. RUAG also kindly invited all delegates to attend a Swiss cheese fondue BBQ which was held in a hangar at a nearby airfield during the evening before the conference. There we were entertained by a marching band and a splendid Swiss male voice choir of international renown – Löschzug-Chörli Interlaken. The effect of obscurants was also vividly demonstrated when it became evident that smoke from a dozen or so BBQs does not readily disperse inside a hangar. It was nonetheless a most enjoyable evening. All conference delegates who were not already members of the AOC were given an initial year’s free membership. Additionally, it appears that a Chinese delegation of five senior engineers all signed up for life membership of the AOC! Clearly, EW means much the same in any language. Next year’s conference, again in collaboration with the AOC, will be held at the Novotel Hotel, West London, on 14-15 May 2009. QUOTE OF THE MONTHFrom Winston Churchill, as quoted by Wing Commander John Clifford during his presentation to the EW 2008 Conference in Interlaken: “The Americans will always do the right thing in the end ... after they've exhausted all the alternatives.” VISIT TO HMS COLLINGWOOD 11 JUNE 2008Nineteen members enjoyed a well organised and very informative visit to HMS Collingwood, the home of Royal Navy EW, on 11 June. After a series of briefings on the state of EW training and equipment in today’s navy, there was an opportunity to view the hardware during a tour of the facilities. After lunch and a tour of the new Maritime Composite Training System, members then participated in a short Act of Remembrance and the laying of three AOC wreaths at the memorial to Steve Hayes (HMS ARDENT), Bernie Still (HMS COVENTRY) and Adrian Sutherland (HMS COVENTRY) all of whom were EW operators killed during the Falklands War in 1982. We are very grateful to WO1(EW) Sam Samuel and his team for their time and effort in planning and hosting such an excellent visit.
Leander was the lover of Hero, who swam the Hellespont each night to visit her until he was drowned in a storm. Built as a fourth rate ship in 1848, HMS LEANDER was sold out of the Royal Navy in 1867 and bought by The Castles Shipbreaking Yard then located at Baltic Wharf, Millbank, London, where its figurehead joined a large collection of similar figureheads. Castles Yard, with its feet in the River Thames and looking out over the Houses of Parliament just down the road in Westminster, had a long and interesting history of shipbreaking. Erected high above the walls and gates of the company, the LEANDER figurehead survived the devastation of the London blitz, one of the very few carvings to do so, and afterwards was given back to the Royal Navy. It is now at HMS Collingwood.
FUTURE EVENTSOur current programme includes:
The opportunity for a limited number of members to visit Donna Nook and observe an EW/IR evaluation was arranged at very short notice and announced only via e-mail. The proposed visit to BAE Systems at Warton to view the EW Test Facility and Typhoon has regrettably had to be postponed until 2009. AOC UK WEB SITE: www.ukaoc.orgPlease remember to press the refresh button on each page to get any updates to the site……and please keep the Membership Secretary up to date with any change to your e-mail address. |
