Basic Army Cadet Course

Introduction

The Basic Army Cadet Course is designed to provide you with information on 3 subjects related to the Army as well as one subject related to the ROTTWEILER Corps to give you the information you need to be successful as a ROTTWEILER Army cadet. The information provided on this page will prepare you for your course test.

Each lesson below will cover one of the 4 subjects and there will be questions on the test which reflect on each lesson, so make sure to pay close attention.

Once you are ready click on the TAKE THE TEST link, and you will be directed to the Basic Army Cadet Course Test. When you have completed the course test you will be notified by email of your results on the test and whether or not you have passed. In order to pass the test you must get a minimum of 7 out of the 10 questions correct.

In order to be promoted to Cadet(A), you must pass this course. 

Lesson One: Harbour Drills

A patrol harbour is a position established to provide security when a patrol halts for an extended period. Possible reasons for the establishment of the harbour are:

1. To avoid detection.

2. To lie up whilst a detailed recce of an objective is made prior to the formation of a final plan and issue of detailed orders.

3. To form a base from which operations can be mounted e.g. attack, ambush, recce, or establishing OPs.

4. To provide an RV after infiltration into an enemy area by small groups, or after withdrawing from such an area.

5. To provide security for an administrate halt after long periods of movement or close contact.

With this in mind we must take precautions to avoid any harmful effects of mishandling a firearm. It could be said "it is the unloaded gun that kills" remember to respect the rifle for what it is and take care and you'll be safe.

Safety is the paramount consideration when doing any kind of weapon drill (be it purely ceremonial or firing) and you should take care when receiving a weapon always check it's barrel is clear before accepting it.

When doing firing drills you should always ensure you hold the rifle correctly and carry out the drills as the Range Conductor/Weapons Instructors details because otherwise you could end up seriously hurt!

Lesson Two: Camouflage & Concealment

In the battle to remain as unseen as possible by the opposition, Armies of the world use Camouflage (A way to make the body and objects less visible through paint or other means) and Concealment (Making sure as little of a person or object as reasonably possible is seen). Warfare is no longer restricted to the trenches on fields or fighting in woods. In recent conflicts such as the Gulf War, the main theatre of war has been the "Urban" (Town/City) warzone. Because of colour/shape differences it becomes obvious that different types of Camouflage and Concealment are required for different areas of operations.

This lesson will deal with basics and not extend into the depth that a regular Army soldier would be required to know but rather enough so that the basic concepts are grasped.

There are six (6) main considerations when deciding on a scheme for camouflage and concealment. These are Shape, Shine, Shadow, Sound, Movement and Colour.

Shape:

In the natural environment you will notice that almost nothing is Triangular, Square or even indeed symmetrical, there is a severe absence of these shapes in nature. The most recognisable shape in Nature is the Human being so the first priority is to break up the shape of the body and thus making it blend in with its surroundings, thus being unseen! Wearing DPM (Disruptive Pattern Material) will break up your shape and blend you into the background, an example of this can be seen below as the C95 camouflage that the British and many other forces use, as in the picture below you can see techniques have become very complicated and the C95's below are two tone in order to change with the environment for less viability!

It is also important to stay away from the skyline as you become "framed" and visible if you are set against the sky, therefore it is best to look round, not over objects and to keep away from the tops of hills/peaks of mountains to avoid being seen against the sky!

Shine:

Skin shines! This is from the sun reflecting off your skin and this can be seen very easily and therefore needs reducing! Wear clothes covering most of your body (Gloves, long shirt tops, trousers, boots) and ensure that the clothes are camouflaged correctly (no Jungle Camouflage in Antarctica!!) to eradicate the shine off of your clothes. The little skin remaining can have shine reduced by wearing "Camo Paint" or even dunk your head in mud! (I guess you'll be taking the paint...). Now remember to ensure that you do not wear any items with any shine, and if you do cover it with mud (yes, even your parade boots if you're wearing them!) to eradicate the shine.

Shadow:

You need to constantly be aware of where your shadow is, or it will betray you. If you are hiding behind a few meters behind a bush and the sun is to your one of your sides, and someone is on the other side of that bush, they will see your shadow behind the shadow of the bush. The best way to deal with this is to get into shadow that is already there and get as low as possible. This will eliminate almost all of your shadow.

Sound:

Keep it to a minimum, use hand signals and covert Morse or another means of transmitting messages to your team mates.

Movement:

If you are hiding, keep as still as you can. Take long, deep, controlled breaths, move absolutely nothing. The human eye will immediately pick up movement (thousands of years ago this was to save us from ambushes from undesirable beasts) and you will be caught!! Therefore get comfortable before you settle down. If you have an itch, don't scratch it, after all there maybe someone else who is hidden and looking for you. Move only when you are sure that there are no enemy in the surrounding area. Movement will also scare the wildlife. It will either make them very, very loud, or quiet, too quiet.

Colour:

If you are in a temperate environment wear greens and browns, if you are in the desert, wear yellows, pinks (The SAS paint their land rovers pink in the desert) and whites. Arctic conditions call for mainly white.

Using these Simple Rules and Techniques you can stay reasonably unseen by the human eye. Good luck! 

Lesson Three: Field Navigation

Navigation is a very important skill in the field. Without being able to navigate, you will become lost and operationally useless, so this lesson is very important for your operational effectiveness! Navigation in the field is also important for finding the most efficient route for your resources so that you can get to your destination as healthy and in as quick a time as reasonably possible.

The two most important items in ones inventory when Navigating the great outdoors are the handheld compass and a map of the area, both of which when combined allow for great accuracy and great navigating.

The Map:

A map is a picture of the ground. It can be based on air photos or satellite imagery. Most maps are produced in order to illustrate certain information, or to serve a purpose for clients in urban planning, travel, education etc...

Some examples of different types of maps are:

1. Political maps show countries, provinces or other political borders : e.g. globes and atlases;

2. Street and road maps are designed to assist commuters and tourists;

3. Statistical map shows statistical information like the production levels of crops or minerals across a country;

4. Digital maps, often used with Global Positioning Systems (GPS);

5. Relief maps are built to show a three dimensional view of the mapped area;

Modern maps share one thing in common, they are all drawn to scale = meaning they are an exact representations of the area which they illustrate. The scale of a map is an expression of the ratio between one unit on the map and the distance it covers, in the same units, on the real ground. For example, a 1:50 000 scale map illustrates an area where one cm on the map represents 50 000 cm (500m) on the ground. The 1:50 000 map covers an area of about 1000 square kilometres. This makes it an excellent size for expeditions. A 1:250 000 scale map covers the same area of land as sixteen 1:50 000 maps.

Symbols are shown on maps to indicate classes of ground and types of terrain as well as special features such as Churches, Wells and other landmarks such as Public Houses and Campsites. The height of ground is marked with something called a "contour line" (shown below) which has a number in it to indicate its level above Sea Level. Colour Intervals are also used to show distances in height (For example the distance between two shades of green may be 275 Metres above Sea level).

Map Symbols are always to be found on the legend of a Map and vary from country to country, for example Ordinance Survey in the United Kingdom uses the following Map Symbols.

Scale Bars are used to help measure distance on the map (find them under the map scale, bottom centre). Notice how the left ends of the scale bars shown below are divided into tenths for measuring accurate distances. 

The Compass:

The compass is an important tool used in wilderness navigation. It is not a replacement for good map techniques, but it is a trustworthy tool to compliment and complete navigation skills. A compass user must take care to be precise in their measurements with the compass. A small error in calculation or measurement can equal a significant error in the field. A magnetic compass is still viable as a navigation aid, even with the advent of Global Positioning System devices, because it requires no batteries, and remains reliable year after year. Handheld Compasses have a needle which is attracted to Magnetic North, however be careful because Deviation can occur when metal objects are around the compass causing an error in your bearings and potentially leading to a large mistake in your navigation!

Bearings:

Early mapmakers used to draw a small 16 pointed circle on their maps, and place an "N" to point to North. These were the 16 Cardinal Points from which the winds were thought to blow. The four main cardinal points are North (N), East (E), South (S), and West (W). Each of these is divided in half into north-east (N.E), south-east (S.E.), south-west (S.W.) and north-west (N.W.). The circle is then again subdivided as shown below.

Map users would then use these points to describe their direction of travel. In the 1920's, it became an accepted world wide practice to indicate direction, called "bearing" by a single number (0-360) representing degrees of a circle as measured clockwise from True North. Many forces have adopted a metric system of measuring bearings called "mils". Mils are to found between degrees for greater accuracy, the Imperial equivalent are Minutes and both allow for more accurate bearings to be taken.

More than one North!

True North : the earth spins on an axis, which passes through the North and South Poles. The geographic North Pole or True North is located at the top of the earth where the lines of longitude converge.

Grid North : is the North indicated by grid lines on a topographical map. Because Eastings are exactly parallel to each other, they will never converge at the North Pole, therefore they are pointing slightly off true North.

Magnetic North : is where a magnetic compass needle points.

The distance between Magnetic and True North is called "Variation". It can also be called Magnetic Declination.

Lesson Four: Chain of Command

ROTTWEILER - RCC ('Ranger Cadet Combined Corps') Online Training Team; Worldwide Electronic Integration and Learning Enrichment Regiment - , like any military organization, has a strict chain of command. That must be followed whenever you have an issue.

The chain is set up this way so that you have someone to speak with on every level. 

Authority is granted to persons on each level to perform certain functions and deal with problems of certain severity. 

If a problem ever arises that is beyond that persons power, they take it up to the next level on the chain of command. 

An issue will continue to be passed up the chain until it has reached a person who can deal with the situation. The last step in that chain is the Commandant, who has authority over all matters in ROTTWEILER. 

There are very few times one is allowed to bypass any part of the chain.

If your immediate superior is the problem (i.e. you have a complaint against the Section Leader, for example) you skip to the next link in your chain of command.

If the situation is of a severe nature (harassment or abuse in ANY form) you may go directly to the Divisional Officer.

These occurrences go directly to the Commandant of ROTTWEILER, who will give strong consideration to the situation and arrange for trials. 

Let's start our way at the bottom and work up!

• Cadet: The Cadets in the division are at the bottom of the chain. They are busy doing their unit-related tasks and have no major responsibilities outside of that. They are also viewed as being at the top as well, because without the cadets, we wouldn't have a Regiment!

• Section Leader: A Section Leader is the person who is directly responsible for the cadets. They will email cadets from time to time to see who is active, pass on messages and relay orders from higher up on the chain. They are the first person you speak to.

• Divisional Senior NCO: A division is made up of 2 or 3 sections. The Divisional Senior NCO is second-in-charge of a Division, and is the superior of all Section Leaders. The Divisional NCO works directly with the Divisional Officer as well as the Corps Senior NCO.

• Divisional Officer: The DivO is the officer in charge of your division. He or she ensures that all the paperwork is done including monthly reports and evaluations. They will be the one who helps mentor Senior NCOs and reports to the Executive Officer.

• Corps Senior NCO: Somewhere in the mix is the CSNCO. The CSNCO is the most senior Non Commissioned Officer in the Corps. He or she is the Commandant's representative to the NCOs, as well as the NCOs' representative to the Wardroom/Officers Mess. The CSNCO also helps to ensure that all Divisional Senior NCOs are running at maximum efficiency and assist where possible.

• Executive Officer: The XO is the second in command of the ROTTWEILER. Should the Commandant ever have to leave, the XO assumes command of the Corps until the Cmdt comes back. The XO is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Corps and reports to the Cmdt. He or she is also ultimately responsible for discipline within the Corps.

• Commandant: The Cmdt is the elected leader of ROTTWEILER. He or she holds authority over all things in the Training Team/Regiment. Lets just say, if you're ever in his office, and not getting a medal, just pack your bags right now! The Commandant provides the Corps direction, and uses his or her term to put in place a vision for ROTTWEILER that will hopefully allow it to progress and grow. The Cmdt is also responsible for the traditions of the Corps, and ensuring that our history lives on!