So here I am - at HMS Raleigh leadership school, some time during 1975, I think.
Leadership school, does what it says in the title. Creates leaders of men - right then - here we go!
14 days of manly fun, marching, running, climbing, classroom leadership lectures, assault courses - fun, fun, fun!
Oh, I forgot to mention - the outward bound bit. You've probably all seen this on the TV by now. Take a bunch of service type people, drop em in the middle of nowhere. Their mission, if they choose to accept it (no choice here, of course!), is to yomp (in our case - meander) around Dartmoor looking for a few way points, and then to our final destination - hot meal, pat on the back, etc!
Pretty straight forward it would seem. Well, on this particular leadership course, we were blessed with a particularly mouthy and cocksure stoker (marine engineering mechanic of MEM in navy terms). This guy new it all and wasn't given to taking much advise from his team mates.
As these things often go - this fool was designated leader for my little group. Oh joy! This was going to be fun. Being the leader, he wasn't one for delegation, he would covet the compass - he was an expert in all things remember. Pity map reading and orienteering weren't really part of his extensive skill set.
To cut a long story short, we spent many cold, wet hours going around in circles, totally lost because of the outstanding leadership of this fool. Following a minor mutiny (swabs!) we managed to get back to camp tired, wet, hungry and very pissed off! another glowing example of leadership in action. This fool probably went on to be a senior officer!
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