Cadets from Aldenham & Queens joined with those from Royal Russell to take part in a workshop led by REME instructors and regulars. Sgt Owen Abderrakib from Aldenham & Queens explains how they benefited from the day.
A specialist REME day
Two CCF contingents spent the day at Folkestone Army Reserve Centre learning specialist REME skills.
We were thrown into the deep end from the start with practical work. The focus on getting our hands dirty was, in my opinion, the best option. The range of vehicles we had the opportunity to use and work on were great. We were working on Land Rover defenders and a CVRT, specifically a Salamander.
We learnt about all the different parts of a standard vehicle and how they work. The practical and theoretic side of all the lessons we all new to us whether you had dabbled in mechanics before or were a complete beginner as the vehicles we saw were a whole different breed. We could apply those skills we learnt to real life applications but were advised not to go ripping up our parents' car.
When it came to the work that we did, we focused on taking parts out of a vehicle and successfully putting them back in again. This was mainly to check for faults and to demonstrate how each part works and what each part plays in the bigger picture. Also, we were shown how to look for signs of wear and damage such as erosion of the break pads, or depth of the tire tread. All useful skills that we could apply to civilian vehicles.
The battalion we were with (133rd Recovery) specialised in vehicle recovery and we had some excellent demonstrations on the different ways the regiment utilises its vehicles to recover all sorts of vehicles. We were given demonstrations on how the recovery tools and vehicles work and helped with setting up the recovery processes.