Teaching The Infantry To Drive - At Last

I hear that the infantry are to be taught to drive. Apparently the B vehicle licence will be delivered during the CIC course at Catterick and the C vehicle (LGV) will be delivered when the lads arrive in battalion. Chuffed. Got to be good for retention in training and for getting blokes ready for ops.

Lets hope the rumours are true....

 

Think it is a reflection of the current need - we had 60 Cat C drivers in the Company when we deployed, real pain getting everyone trained in time to deploy. Lots of UOR vehicles, all requiring a Cat C licence and the Infantry being required to drive them. Earlier licence gained = more time to train on other stuff etc.

I understand already recruits at Catterick receive a Cat C provisional licence in basic training and B vehicle theory training is about to start. Got to be good.

 

What happens at CIC if you already have your driving licence. Do you go straight onto HGV licence or do you just wait until you go to Bn?

 

I would have thought that driving is one of life's essential skills and should be taught as a matter of course to all youngsters, a bit like swimming.
I commenced teaching my lad at age thirteen and boy they pick it up quickly at that stage. Age fifteen is the legal age here though they are thinking of raising it.
Surely the Army would have it that everyone could drive.

 

WIMIK/MWMIK/Snatch/Wolf cant drive themselves. You require Cat C to drive all these, and you cant get that until you have Cat B. So yes, about time this was done.

 

I hope that's the case, as the only way of getting a driving cadre in my day was by bribing the MTWO with a bottle of scotch. When i finally started driving , myself and the instructor had a slagging match in the middle of Aldershot as he told me i was a waste of rations etc etc. Ended up doing it in civvy street

 

The above is just the beginning - Roll on - RIDGEBACK, WOLFHOUND, HUSKY, COYOTE, R-WMIK, SNATCH VIXEN, SNATCH 2, SPRINGER, blah, blah, blah. Okay, I lied SPRINGER isn't Cat C, but it made the list bigger! I managed to get a quick look around RIDGEBACK today, a tidy looking little brother to MASTIFF.

 

This is great news when will this be implemented?

 

Say again over?

 

Talking to me? I'm asking when will driving be put into the CIC course at Catterick, as I'm applying hoping it will be part of the course when I start.

 

This is where I let someone who knows the answer to that question step in.

 

Given the amount of vehicles the Inf now have to drive, I can see why it is a good thing in both an operational sense and a recruiting sense.... not sure about retention, esp after training for the C licence but we'll see what happens.

As mentioned above driving is practically an essential life skill now adays.

Perhaps the training at CIC will be on the weekend? Or will they extend teh course?

 

Obviously never worked with the infantry before, how many tours have you done where everything nowadays you have to hold a cat c license to be able to drive it.

 

i would it would be at the end once you have completed the course, getting the course completed would be the priority and not your license. Some people on getting there license first, may think stuff the course look what the Army has given me. Thats just my personel opinion

 

Say again?

Are you suggesting that not all vehicles require C, or that the Inf regularly drive with out licences?