Attention all you Service writing Guru's!

**Doogonk** · 08-06-2009, 07:48

Morning troops.... i trust everyone had a good weekend? Personally i woke up in the bushes outside the house on Saturday morning with me under-crackers on my head, so i'm assuming i had a good time!

As an employee at Her Majesty's pleasure here in Blandford, i was foolish enough to mention to some students that they might want to consider an "introductory letter" to the relevant OC of their first working Units! You know.... get an idea of what the Unit is up to before they arrive as well as making a good impression and all that khaki jazz!

Having been out 5 minutes now.... i'm well aware that all the commas, oblique strokes and distances from margin to paragraph will all have changed. Should they be writing an informal letter (they are sprogs and nobody will expect them to employ SD skills), or is there some kind of existing template.

Any assistance greatly appreciated. Please excuse the lack of "good England" here! I'm having trouble focusing on the monitor innit!

DG

**Auld-Yin** · 08-06-2009, 07:52

If I could understand what you were on about then I could perhaps offer some profound, deeply thought and highly useful advice.

**PrinceAlbert** · 08-06-2009, 07:52

Use the search function above, been asked before I'm sure.

**Queensman** · 08-06-2009, 08:20

Might be a bit 'old fashioned' these days but we had to write a Formal Letter to the CO on posting, getting engaged, etc.... Sir, I have the honour to be etc etc.....

**Filbert Fox** · 08-06-2009, 08:23

Send me your email address and ill send you an electronic copy of JSP101, then you can look yourself.

**msr** · 08-06-2009, 08:27

Or just download it from here: http://www.defac.ac.uk/eDW/edw_welcome_01.htm

MSR

**Doogonk** · 08-06-2009, 08:33

Spankyou chaps.... i knew i could rely on you.

Prince_Albert.... the search bar was an excellent suggestion and produced results. Why didn't you mention it BEFORE i posted?

.... eh!

**msr** · 08-06-2009, 08:39

And it's gurus, not "guru's" ;)

**the_guru** · 09-06-2009, 19:06

Yes, it doesn't belong to me

Anyway, introductory letters.

Hand written......

**sc_obvious** · 09-06-2009, 20:28

Originally Posted by the_guru

Yes, it doesn't belong to me

Anyway, introductory letters.

Hand written......

I did this recently and it looks like one of my children wrote it.

**the_guru** · 09-06-2009, 20:39

That is a drawback of writing like an epileptic spider.

Mind you, some of those RD types efforts in crayon weren't too clever....

**ashford_old_school** · 11-06-2009, 16:28

Juniors shouldn't bother introductory letters as the heads of sheds have far too much to do read them all. If you should continue to make them write LoIs then manage their expectation that they probably wont get a reply. we are certainly discouraging such letters from Cpls and below, and I am at a Sigs unit.

**PoisonDwarf** · 11-06-2009, 19:20

Originally Posted by ashford_old_school

Juniors shouldn't bother introductory letters as the heads of sheds have far too much to do read them all. If you should continue to make them write LoIs then manage their expectation that they probably wont get a reply. we are certainly discouraging such letters from Cpls and below, and I am at a Sigs unit.

It's pretty rare to see letters of introduction below the rank of Sgt, but once you reach the dizzy heights simply speak to a suitable role model who has done loads before and ask if you can blatantly rip them off - ahem...pay tribute to their work. :D Job done.

**the_guru** · 11-06-2009, 19:24

I reported for duty at 8 Sig Regt in 1990. I pegged into the Badges office and he asked me "Have you written to me?"

"No Sir, we haven't met" was the reply.

He shouted a bit.

**Doogonk** · 11-06-2009, 22:28

Lol, Guru!

Have to say i'm more than a little miffed to read Ashford_old_school's response to this post. I'd like to think that ANY rank that has the nounce to write to a future Unit should recieve the courtesy of a reply, however brief.

I accept that the Field Army are a busy bunch of teds, and you can rest assured that we at the School are not actively promoting letter writing. But if an enthusiastic young chap/chappess has the wits and forethought to write to their future Unit then they should be dealt with in the same enthusiastic manner.

Blimey, "they probably won't get a reply"!!!!! Nothing like crapping all over their zeal before they've even arrived! :(