Soldier – August 2019

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http://www.soldiermagazine.co.uk AUGUST 2019 21

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Army Sergeant Major, WO1 Gav Paton,

offers his take on Service life...

I

HAVE recently

returned from

New Zealand

where I attended

the country’s

first senior enlisted

leaders’ conference.

I was asked to

speak about “flipped

learning” – a system

where you go away

to learn rather than

having someone talk

at you, then come

back together as a

team to discuss it.

It’s a really different

way of doing things,

which means you get

to hear everyone’s

ideas as opposed to

just an instructor’s.

And I think it’s

something that will

benefit the Army.

I attended the

conference with Sgt

Dan Hutton, a young

platoon sergeant from

AFC Harrogate, who

did his establishment

proud on the

international stage

talking about the

future senior NCO to a

300-strong audience.

What became clear

was that, despite the

variety of nations in

attendance, we are

all in very similar

organisations with

very similar problems.

So building

relationships is key

• it’s not what you

learn, it’s who you

learn it with.

Another equally

interesting trip –

on home soil this

time – took me to

the Liverpool-based

helpdesk of Amey, the

contractor responsible

for repairing

Service family

accommodation.

I hear a lot of

bad stuff about this

organisation, so I

wanted to understand

why things are like

this and what I could

do to help soldiers.

What was clear is

what a huge set-up

Amey is, and in many

ways it does deliver a

fantastic service.

I sat on the phones

with staff and listened

to the complaints

(and occasional

swearing) they dealt

with so professionally.

It is important to

remember these

people are not the

ones who cause the

problems.

I am now

making some

recommendations

to Amey, including

the need for more

information to go into

march-in packs so

troops can understand

which desk to contact

with a particular

problem.

It’s not

what

you

learn,

it’s who

you

learn it

with

Tweet Gav @ArmySgtMajor

Two memorable days

R

ESERVES Day and

Armed Forces Day

were a hit again

this year, and I kicked

things off by spending

some time with Reservist

recruits in Okehampton

towards the end of their

phase one training.

Salisbury did a

fantastic job for the latter

celebration.

There’s no denying

that these occasions

are working weekends

for many soldiers, with

thousands out on parade

around the UK.

So thank you to

everyone who assisted

• I am proud of how the
  Service conducted itself.
  A special thank you
  must also go to the Army
  Motorcycle Team for
  getting me on a superbike
  in my No 4 dress with
  Sam Browne and
  medals – a memorable
  experience.

■ WE CURRENTLY have lots of Service families moving back to the UK. Things are looking good so far, and I

have seen a lot of the housing around Salisbury Plain, which is all looking fantastic. When I returned to home

soil from Texas around three years ago I too was afraid that I was going to miss the glorious weather out in the

US – and troops have told Soldier something similar this month (page 7). But it is easy to forget that the climate

is pretty mild most of the year across the UK. And the effort involved in these moves will certainly be worth it.

Good luck to everyone involved.

Q

What’s your idea of the perfect

summer break?

Being anywhere with my wife

Aand son – that’s it!

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

MOVING BACK TO

MOVE FORWARD

Soldiers took to the streets

of Salisbury for Armed

Forces Day

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