COURSES RUN AT RSS BLANDFORD

There are currently three different courses for cadets run by the Royal School of Signals (RSS Blandford). These are:

• Six day combined classification and post-classification course (run in February and October each year, hopefully in half term weeks). There are no prior requirements to attend this course, though it is an advantage to have at least 1* (ACF cadets) and to know the phonetic alphabet.
• Five day post-classification course. This requires students to have passed their crossed flags qualification before attending. These courses are run at Easter and in the Summer holidays each year.
• Five day cadet advanced signals course. These courses are also run at Easter and in the Summer holidays each year. It is an advantage, although not essential, to have attended either of the courses described in the first two above.

Instruction:

This is by both regular soldiers of the Royal Corps of Signals and experienced instructors from the ACF and CCF. There is a mixture of theory and practical exercises, both outdoors and in the armoured vehicle simulator suite. We are lucky to have support from Exercise Training Troop and from Cable Systems Division, both of which carry out the training of regular and TA soldiers and officers at RSS Blandford.

Course content:

The post classification courses look at vhf radio and field telephones currently in use in the Army. The advanced course concentrates on hf radio, and also looks at fibre optic cable systems. Both courses have a significant element of revision, to ensure voice procedure, encoding and decoding, and general operating procedures are of the high standard needed to be an efficient signaller. We also look at Ptarmigan, the Army's mobile telephone system, and receive presentations on the role of the Royal Corps of Signals within our defence organisation, as well as one on the history and development of the Corps.

Leisure activities:

As and when available and subject to qualified instructors assistance, we are able to use many of the facilities within Blandford Camp, a modern and well equipped establishment. There is a bowling alley, and a DCCT (Dismounted Close Combat Trainer - the successor to the SAT) as well as a cinema, a gymnasium, a climbing wall, a go-kart track and a clay pigeon range.

Costs:

The only cost to cadets is the daily messing charge, which is currently about £1.63 per day (Correct at Apr 09). A rail warrant can be provided for travel, when students will be met at Salisbury station by service transport on arrival, and taken back on course completion. It is also possible to arrive by unit transport, or your parents can drive you to the Camp. You will need a little spending money, to cover the costs of bowling, and any purchases of snacks, soft drinks, or souvenirs from the Museum shop. The course photograph and any course notes summaries are all provided free of charge.