I will use this page to show evidence of my time at Chesterfield College, doing a Public Service National Diploma Course; which will hopefully give me a guide/insight of life in the Public Services. On this course we learn many things including: Radio procedure, Navigation and even psychology and at the end of the 2 years i will come away with the equivelant of 3 A-levels
Linnet Clough
Linnet Clough, was a residential trip that lasted for 3 days; it was used to show us a little bit of the first stage of training for public services. It was also used as a pass or fail entry into our course; however if you failed Linnet, you had to redeem yourself at college by working hard.
Linnet Clough was very tough, physically, mentally and most of all emotionally; everyday you wanted to stop and go home because you never really had a rest.
14.00 Final kit issue
14.45 we ate our own packed lunches and drinks that were provided by the second year support team.
15.15 Foot Drill
16.45 Lessons Phase 1 Communication & Technology - Team Work & Leadership - Navigation
Second Day;5:00am | Get up, tidy room early for later room inspection (Make bed, fold clothes & polish boots)
6:00am | Be outside on parade in P.T kit ready for a run
8:30 | Breakfast (Very Nice)
9:00 | Room inspections (Best they'd seen)9:45 | Fitness
12:15 | Dinner
13:00 | Drill
14:30 | Timed run (30min & 45min)
17:00 | Tea
18:00 | Leadership Lesson
19:00 | Night X
19:00 | Night X
20:30 | Room inspection
21:30 | Skitz
24:00 | Kit preparation (Ironing clothes and polishing boots)
Night X | Night X was an exercise, that tested our teamwork, navigation and radio procedure skills; the story is that people were seeing stealing water from one of four water sources, our job was to find one water source each in groups, sit and wait until the water source was stolen from, report it and head back to HQ.
We had to sit and wait for about an hour until there were any sign of people, we also had to find good spots were we could not be seen; we also had to use good radio procedure and code words.
Skitz | Skitz is were groups have to put on 2 shows to the rest of the people at Linnet, this was to show our confidence; the 2 shows were a singing act and one act made up. Skitz was very important as if you failed the skitz you could fail the whole thing
Running order of the final day
06.00 get out of bed
06.30 PT
08.30 Breakfast
09.15 Room Inspections
09.40 Timed Run
10.00 Assault Course
10.45 Quick Change Handover of Accommodation
11.15 Drill Practice
11.30 Pass out Parade
12.00 Depart Linnet Clough complete the 1 mile walk to the bus
Passing out parade:
really emotional time because we had been through a lot and if we had failed then i think i might of just quit the course
but when our tutor said that not only me but we had all passed out of our group that was such an achievment, i was still shaking when i went for my certificate, but we didnt come out with just a certificate we came out with a bond with new people and a bigger bond with the friends we already had which was great. although it nearly killed me when i got on that coach on the way home a felt a little bit sad and wanted to go back but whilst i was there i hated every second. CSI-Forensic science day
On the 11th of January 2011, my group and I took part in a forensic learning day; where we all were taught numerous forensic skills; that could help determine factors such as sex, age and nationality of someone just by their skeleton.
For example, a males eye socket are usually square like, where a females are more rounded; however when people say 'you have your fathers eyes' this can be true as a female skull that we examined, had square eye sockets.
Also male skulls are normally quite bigger than the female skulls, however this doesn't mean that men are smarter than women!
We were also taught how to rebuild a skeleton, the names of most bones in our skeletal structure and how to gather evidence from a crime scene.
All the skeletons that we examined were REAL! I took some pictures, however the person that took us for the day, said that it would be dishonourable to them if we posted them publicly.
Also, we did finger print matching, were you look at patterns in a finger print and link them up to other patterns in a different print to see if they match.
After the finger print matching, we were taught how to figure out someone's blood type, we were given real blood donated by the NHS to test on; we put different chemicals into a tray with some blood, and depending on how the blood reacted with the chemical determined what blood type it was.
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/
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 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.
 |
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.
 |
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.
The RTC
R.T.C Stands for 'Road Traffic Collision' this also used to be known as R.T.A 'Road Traffic Acident' however this was changed as it is not Terminally correct.
The R.T.C that took place at Chesterfield college was a simulated collision, to promote safe driving in young learners. Early in the morning, a transporter brought two totalled cars to Chesterfield college and unloaded them outside of college; staff and students then positioned the two cars as if the had collided.
Our job as Public service students was to act as the Police would do if they were first at the scene, this includes scene preservation, traffic control, cordoning the area and controlling crowds.
When you attempt to restrict a persons rights to park in the car park, talk on their phone, smoke in designated areas and to walk in certain areas, people can get quite rebellious and aggressive; there were even reports of tutors swearing at our public service students for not letting them use the car park. This was because the car park was reserved for V.I.P's and deliveries only.
After we cleared the area, cordoned it off, stopped people from smoking, restricted traffic and calmed the area, all three public services came and demonstrated what they would do in an R.T.C.
The fire brigade cut off the car roof and extracted the trapped driver and covered up the dead, the ambulance service gave aid to the injured and the police arrested the drunk driver and helped us with some people that refused to cooperate.
My role in the R.T.C, was in gold command as the main radio operator, I had to use my radio procedure skills to give instructions to my team, also making a few decisions along the way, such as refusing people into the car park keeping spaces open for V.I.P's.
Bomb Search
Unfortunately for this I couldn't get any pictures at all for this day but iv'e got some relevant ones from Google so its all good ;)
basically for a pass criteria in my security we had to carry out a live bomb search (obviously the bombs were fake) our scenario was at Loundsley green shops in chesterfield where we had to do a planning and execution objective. For some different criteria my group had to present a planning presentation on the area, residents and possible outcomes which is in a presentation that im trying to upload soon (by the way i got full marks again XD)
the practical side was quite difficult even though our other tutor gave us some training in previous months, being in a scenario and having to act like its real puts a lot of pressure on your thinking, but luckily i managed to keep it together and i interviewed one of the two informants, i walked into the shop where the informant was through the back door and just asked if the informants name which i can't say was there. to not cause panic i asked for a quiet word away from the customers rather than shouting in a busy area "I AM A POLICE OFFICER AND WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THERES A BOMB AROUND THESE SHOPS!" - that would be idiotic so the informant said she would be with me shortly and i waited outside the back door, when she arrived i said quietly "hello "NAME" my name is Luke Collis and i am a police officer (don't forget this is a scenario I'm not really an officer) i was wondering if i could ask you a few questions?" she said yes and so i proceeded with " have you seen anything suspicious, strange or out of the ordinary within the past couple of days?" she replied with (according to my notes there was a little more questions during her statement about time description ETC) at around 7:05 am yesterday (Monday 6th June 2011) two irish men wearing dustbin men outfits, one tall one short and stocky, were looking around cars and basically looking for someone or something", she also said "this was out of the ordinary as the bin men come on a Wednesday at around mid morning."
So with this information we had two leads to where the bomb/bombs could have been placed, under a car or/and in or under a bin. So we split up into sections, unfortunately one of our team members wasn't there so we were strained a little but we sectioned off areas to which we would search, we found a package/ suspected bomb at the front left underneath a red Nissan pathfinder reg. *** ****. another suspected bomb underneath a bin and then a third!!! behind some guttering. so it goes to show that you should always search everywhere not just the information you have been given (although information helped us a lot).
personally it was very difficult, the slightest mistake we made in a real life situation could of been the difference between life or death and the people that do it should be respected and thanked as i don't think i have the courage to search for something that if it goes off will kill me.
