Can I do boxing as an officer

[AsterixTG]

Anything to avoid the pink biscuits minefield is a win

We did have a couple of Olympic athletes (one was held on strength as a Sqn Ops Officer, the other was a LCpl in my troop).

The other problem for me though is that sports at a regimental level is very unforgiving. One of the sergeants in my troop was a regimental football player in the ‘packed’ sapper football regiment (28 Amph Engr). His football career came to an end with a ****** knee. He’d missed out on so many courses as a footballer he had no chance of further promotion and rose no further than Officers’ Mess Sergeant.

It might be attractive to a young soldier to be seduced away from the tank park by a tracksuit and the promise of no duties, but I’m not sure it’s at all fair on the lad’s (lass’) future.

..and I 100% fully agree with that from experience.

 

[Mölders 1]

I never ever had any illusions that I was a good boxer, I knew I was shite and never boxed again. It was the sticking the cotton buds up my shonk trying to clear it and the pain that followed that made my mind up.

That is why l never took up Boxing.....l couldn't knock a Tin Can off a fence let alone hit an opponent regularly.

 

[Fat POM]

Anything to avoid the pink biscuits minefield is a win

We did have a couple of Olympic athletes (one was held on strength as a Sqn Ops Officer, the other was a LCpl in my troop).

The other problem for me though is that sports at a regimental level is very unforgiving. One of the sergeants in my troop was a regimental football player in the ‘packed’ sapper football regiment (28 Amph Engr). His football career came to an end with a ****** knee. He’d missed out on so many courses as a footballer he had no chance of further promotion and rose no further than Officers’ Mess Sergeant.

It might be attractive to a young soldier to be seduced away from the tank park by a tracksuit and the promise of no duties, but I’m not sure it’s at all fair on the lad’s (lass’) future.

I have seen it on both sides of the fence and it depends how it is managed. At 28 with the footballers on full time training nine months of the year I don't believe it benefited the unit or the individuals. 21 with the rugby team seemed to manage it much better. The Olympic level boys, of whom I have some knowledge, can do great good in enhancing reputation and knowledge far beyond the unit.
As for soldiers careers, mostly, it can be managed.
If you can lose a third of a unit for Regimental duties then the odd sportsperson shouldn't break the machine.

 

[Diogenes' limp]

Owen Jones approves of this thread

 

[ACAB]

Was there a time when just about everyone had to undertake Boxing tryouts even against their will?

Yep. We did milling in 1976 at IJLB, Shorncliffe.

 

[Fat POM]

Yep. We did milling in 1976 at IJLB, Shorncliffe.

Ditto, as a Junior.

 

[Union Jack]

A member of my family had some interesting sporting experiences in his first few weeks at Dartmouth, including discovering that he was undoubtedly better not "doing boxing as an officer".....

When he satisfactorily finished the swimming part of the naval swimming test, in ovies and and a much longer distance than is required today, try as he might he could not complete the duck dive to pick up a brick off the bottom of the deep end. In exasperation, the supervising PTI (aka a Muscle Bo'sun) told him to try by diving off the side of the pool, which he did, only to hit his head on the bottom and come up with the brick but with his neck twisted to the left. Sent off to the sick bay, he was duly issued with a few painkillers and told to bugger off.

The next day he was back at the gym, this time for compulsory boxing , namely three one minute rounds against the next nearest in height, irrespective of weight or indeed reach, and carefully watched by all the divisional officers for signs of "lack of moral fibre" or "mutual non-aggression pacts", hence our hero decided he had to tough it out, dodgy neck notwithstanding.

To his credit, especially since his opponent from a distant continent outweighed him considerably, he lasted well into the third round before being floored. This time he came up with his neck twisted to the right and, having arrived back at the sick bay, was given some more painkillers, and severely admonished about not coming back unless the pain persisted if he wanted to avoid being becoming labelled as a "sick bay ranger" .

The pain did indeed persist and he returned to the sick bay and, because it was his third consecutive daily visit, was seen this time by the Principal Medical Officer, who quickly realised that something was seriously amiss. Long story short, after a long spell in hospital with a partially broken neck, he spent the rest of his life eagerly awaiting the annual increase to minimal benefits applicable to someone with only a few weeks' service.....

Curiously enough, he loved watching boxing on TV....

Jack

 

[Rapierman]

First boxing bout of mine.
Did the training, the sparring etc, thought I was the Canis Testes.

First bout, won hands down, absolutely demolished the opponent.
I am Rocky Marciano reborn.. Got cocky as feck.

2nd bout.. My first punch, was met by 3 of my opponents straight in the face, it was like trying to fight a chainsaw, for every blow I even thought about throwing he'd hit me with just about every combination going, he beat 7 shades of shit out of me.

Ref stopped the bout around a minute into the 3rd round.
What I didn't know was the little bastard had been boxing from the age of 8, his dad boxed, as did all his brothers and he was looking at a place in the Welsh boxing team.

I couldn't see much until the swelling went down.

I echo that experience, one year champion ,next year pitched against somebody who only just made weight. I thought I was going to have an easy ride.
I did....... to the MRS after being sparked a minute into first round. Turns out he was ex Yorkshire county youth champ. Funny how that info slipped in conversations beforehand.
Good lad tho, we laughed like fork about it after.
It was one of those My fists=Brown Bess His fists=Uzi moments.

 

[TC20]

Anything to avoid the pink biscuits minefield is a win

We did have a couple of Olympic athletes (one was held on strength as a Sqn Ops Officer, the other was a LCpl in my troop).

The other problem for me though is that sports at a regimental level is very unforgiving. One of the sergeants in my troop was a regimental football player in the ‘packed’ sapper football regiment (28 Amph Engr). His football career came to an end with a ****** knee. He’d missed out on so many courses as a footballer he had no chance of further promotion and rose no further than Officers’ Mess Sergeant.

It might be attractive to a young soldier to be seduced away from the tank park by a tracksuit and the promise of no duties, but I’m not sure it’s at all fair on the lad’s (lass’) future.

We had an officer commanding an attached sub unit with us on Herrick. She was utterly useless and had no idea about the job she was supposed to be the SME on. Turned out she had spent her career playing her sport, bar a couple on months of their build up.

 

[bob_the_bomb]

We had an officer commanding an attached sub unit with us on Herrick. She was utterly useless and had no idea about the job she was supposed to be the SME on. Turned out she had spent her career playing her sport, bar a couple on months of their build up.

The Olympian Ops Officer was a bit like that.

He was IIRC a pentathlete and had a slot on the 1980 Olympics, which he couldn’t attend as we had boycotted them. He had a place in the 1984 games but after those he was retired from the squad and returned to life in green after all those years in a tracksuit. He stayed with us for Lionheart but disappeared before our FI tour.

 

[Bubbles_Barker]

I agree up to a point.

However I’ve posted before that I’m strongly opposed to the ‘professional sportsman’ clique in the Army.

There was a soldier in my troop who couldn’t accompany us on our FI tour because he was a boxer.

One of the members of my platoon at RMAS was held back from an FI tour because he was dicked to manage his battalion boxing team.

Same with other sports.

It wouldn’t be so bad if we had all been at full strength, but I was angry that the other blokes had to cover their absence, often losing out on their own chance at sports afternoons etc.

Try serving in the BAOR version of 10 Regiment!

 

[bob_the_bomb]

Try serving in the BAOR version of 10 Regiment!

RCT?

Not while I have my strength...

 

[Bubbles_Barker]

RCT?

Not while I have my strength...

Hey, 10 Penal Bn RCT was a mighty fine regiment, I don't remember us losing any bouts against Sappers

I did milling three times - on RowCo, on SMC and on an 'arduous selection course'. I got flattened every time, the last by a very tough Irish corporal who must have thought all his Christmases had come at once as I shakily removed my contact lenses before entering the ring.

I was commended for my ability to keep getting up just to be knocked down again. We then had to share an OP together for 24 hours, he told me he thought I was mad.

 

[Fang_Farrier]

Hey, 10 Penal Bn RCT was a mighty fine regiment, I don't remember us losing any bouts against Sappers

I did milling three times - on RowCo, on SMC and on an 'arduous selection course'. I got flattened every time, the last by a very tough Irish corporal who must have thought all his Christmases had come at once as I shakily removed my contact lenses before entering the ring.

I was commended for my ability to keep getting up just to be knocked down again. We then had to share an OP together for 24 hours, he told me he thought I was mad.

Your story reminds me of a colleague who went through P Company in order to join 23PFA.

Paired with a Ghurka for the milling. Both scored highly.

Himself for his ability to keep getting up, the Ghurka for showing no mercy!

 

[mechanicalhorsetrough]

Is this because the officers do not have sufficient time to devote to training

 

[mnairb]

When my Old Man joined the Army in 1968, Milling was part of his Basic Training, (he wasn't in the Paras) I'm not sure when Milling was abolished though.

When we were in Germany back in the early 80's l remember he told me he had 6 Boxing Matches.....that surprised me as he had virtually no interest in Boxing, (drunken brawling was more his style).

Milling was part of basic training at Arborfield when I went through Depot REME in 1968 - it was also part of P Company in the mid-1970's and, as far as I know, still is.

 

[Cruthin1967]

There's an annual Sandhurst versus Oxford University boxing match. Privilege and voluntary brain damage have always gone together in the British Army.

 

[Niamac]

My old Squadron Commander was a subaltern officer during national service. He was put in charge of a dispatch rider troop of assorted ruffians who decided to "push the envelope" with him to an outrageous degree. Eventually he got fed up and on first parade told them to bring their best to the gym on Sports afternoon for a few rounds in the ring with the PTI refereeing.

They turned out their hardest character but in the way of these tales the tables were turned and he was comprehensively beaten. The 2nd Lieutenant was a University Boxing Blue.

He said there were no hard feelings and he got on with the troop a lot better afterwards.

 

[wheel]

Yep. We did milling in 1976 at IJLB, Shorncliffe.

Yep we did milling in 1977 at IJLB, Shorncliffe. Unfortunately after sizing off the only two left were me and a lad from RWF nicknamed Gus because he looked like Gus Gorilla. Yep I had ten bells of shit knocked out of me.

 

[chimera]

and on an 'arduous selection course'.

Did you pass?!