Share This Page:

  

all you old and bold! or even the the new ones

Discussions about those units who make up The Parachute Regiment.
mkorak
Member
Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri 19 Jan, 2007 11:18 pm
Location: Portsmouth

Post by mkorak »

Depot will always be browning barracks aldershot.

ITC catterick will never be Depot, the constact black cloud over it and the parade square facing the motorway, Depot is depot para and thats it, an end of an era when that went PFA instead.

Oh and as for the (should have been condemmed) steeplechase and assault course a brisk run from the Depot down in the woods towards engineers bridge (another iconic symbol removed by the way), well AWESOME !
Lead, Follow or get out the way.
User avatar
got1
Member
Member
Posts: 1318
Joined: Wed 16 Apr, 2003 8:30 pm
Location: scotland

Post by got1 »

Depot Para will always be Maida Barracks for me. So does it not just depend where you did your training? The one thing I don't think I will change my mind about, Aldershot, Home of the Parachute Regiment. :D
User avatar
Tab
Member
Member
Posts: 7275
Joined: Wed 16 Apr, 2003 7:09 pm
Location: Southern England
Contact:

Post by Tab »

got.1, I will second that
EXREG
Guest
Guest

Post by EXREG »

Thats not what I mean, I hate the old and bold idea that Aldershot was harder because it was "in there day". P Company is P Company, 10 miles is still 10 miles and the log weighs the same every time.

When I got to battalion in New Normandy barracks in the shot I did think the training area and town was the best.

Also, we ran a battalion competition around that time (1998) doing all the P Company events on the old area, and I can honestly say that the 10 miler in Catterick is harder.
81mm
Member
Member
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue 20 Dec, 2005 12:42 pm
Location: newcastle

Post by 81mm »

did a ten miler once when i was in mortars, ? every other t##t in the battalion did a ten miler meaning tabbing 10 miles with a bergan weighing 45 pounds pounds, ? our 10 miler ended up being 17, with bergans of 50 pounds, then someone said we may as well get the mortar kit as well, one of the snco s heard the remark, and thought it was a good idea any one whos bergan weighed less than 50 pounds had to an extra 10 pounds of weight in the bergan, basically bergans weighed from 80-100 pounds, and off we went, single file through the trees, running up flagstaff setting the kit up, we were in rag, this is also after doing a 5 miler in trainers in the morning, we also had 10 fallshimjager with us, who all jacked, and they wernt carrying any kit. one of them said we were mad, and who can blame him. THATS WHAT YOU CALL A HARD TEN MILER.
User avatar
Greenronnie
Member
Member
Posts: 1059
Joined: Sat 03 Dec, 2005 11:44 am
Location: Oxfordshire/USA

Post by Greenronnie »

EXREG wrote:Thats not what I mean, I hate the old and bold idea that Aldershot was harder because it was "in there day". P Company is P Company, 10 miles is still 10 miles and the log weighs the same every time.

Also, we ran a battalion competition around that time (1998) doing all the P Company events on the old area, and I can honestly say that the 10 miler in Catterick is harder.
My point wasn't to try and be an old sweat by saying 'in my day blah blah...' , it was to point out that ITC is NOT Depot Para. I have a lot of mates that have been/are instructors at ITC, and they all say they have to watch what they are doing all the time ref dropping themselves in the poo if they beast the Joes too much. I know of quite a few cases of full screws going to court for cases of bullying etc. Joes even have a 'red card' system!!! When I was at Depot, we had no rights whatsoever and the screws were downright sadistic bastards. And if you tried blabbing on them, you basically got filled in, then found out there was no way you were going to pass out via the old boy system.

There are other things, such as crash nets being added to the trainasium, headguards and mouthpieces being worn during milling that also add to this. Apart from the fact that the only people who walked through the gates in Depot Para were Para Reg recruits or other arms wanting to pass P Coy.

As for the 10 miler being harder in Catterick, some of my mates from 1 Para trialled the new routes and said they weren't nearly as hard.
User avatar
got1
Member
Member
Posts: 1318
Joined: Wed 16 Apr, 2003 8:30 pm
Location: scotland

Post by got1 »

Have they got the equivalent of the Tank Tracks in Catterick?
Memories of Mud, Sweat and Tears in the rain :)
User avatar
Tab
Member
Member
Posts: 7275
Joined: Wed 16 Apr, 2003 7:09 pm
Location: Southern England
Contact:

Post by Tab »

Well at one time the British Army was a Million strong and the P Course would take place every two weeks. There would be about a 150 on each course and they select enough for a couple sticks from a Hastings from that lot. The Strength of the Regiment was not much more than it is now so the selection then was even harder, if you failed at any section of the course or dropped out on a run you were immediately binned and RTU. In the early 1950's all Paratroopers had to be trained soldiers and where recruited from the infantry regiments which in those day abounded through out the land as the Parachute Regiment did not have it's direct intake and they did not start that until late 1954/55
EXREG
Guest
Guest

Post by EXREG »

Greenronnie wrote: When I was at Depot, we had no rights whatsoever and the screws were downright sadistic bastards. And if you tried blabbing on them, you basically got filled in, then found out there was no way you were going to pass out via the old boy system.

There are other things, such as crash nets being added to the trainasium, headguards and mouthpieces being worn during milling that also add to this. Apart from the fact that the only people who walked through the gates in Depot Para were Para Reg recruits or other arms wanting to pass P Coy.
And all that makes better soldiers?

All you've got to do is look at the standard of the blokes in Afghan and Iraq to know that the training is up to scratch.

Gone are the days of "I'm a hard as f@#k para cos I can drink my own piss" and beasting 17/18yr old new blokes in battalion (bullying).

I would say the battalions today are of a better standard to 10 yrs ago, as the majority of blokes in them have a couple of 'real' operational tours under them.
User avatar
Greenronnie
Member
Member
Posts: 1059
Joined: Sat 03 Dec, 2005 11:44 am
Location: Oxfordshire/USA

Post by Greenronnie »

EXREG wrote:
And all that makes better soldiers?

All you've got to do is look at the standard of the blokes in Afghan and Iraq to know that the training is up to scratch.

Gone are the days of "I'm a hard as f@#k para cos I can drink my own piss"
I didn't say bugger all about the blokes not being up to scratch or being better soldiers, I was trying to point out the differences between Depot Para and ITC Catterick you pillock. It was basically a sad day when it closed, and paved the way for the closure of 5 AB and the reduction of parachuting, culminating in the recent farce. Which could result in the end of the regiment in some people's eyes.

And I think you'll find the days of Reg blokes drinking thier own piss are definately not over! :lol:
User avatar
Paratrooper01
Member
Member
Posts: 1158
Joined: Tue 22 Apr, 2003 8:28 pm
Location: Colly
Contact:

Post by Paratrooper01 »

Training definatly produces a different soldier now than it did 15 years ago. You can see it in the SNCO's around camp that they are a different breed. Depot nowdays doesnt produce hard men, i think it produces more intelligent and fit soldiers but who still have the mental robustness over hats.

Dont get me wrong the recruits in depot still get thrashed into the ground and have a horrible 6 months of pain, but as for getting filled in and mercilessly bullied for 6 months, i think those days are well behind us.
Utrinque Paratus - READY FOR ANYTHING!
User avatar
Tab
Member
Member
Posts: 7275
Joined: Wed 16 Apr, 2003 7:09 pm
Location: Southern England
Contact:

Post by Tab »

Over last ten years i have been invited back to Regiment for with a meal with lads, and all I can say is that they remind me very much of the men that served with all those years ago. They are as good as we were, if not better, as it is their chosen life unlike so many others of my day who had drifted into the Parachute Regiment for various reasons. I never saw any one beasted or picked on back then, and had we seen that sort of thing the rank and file would have put a stop to it, as we were all brothers in the Regiment.
Bruneval3
New Member
New Member
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu 22 Mar, 2012 12:27 pm

Re: all you old and bold! or even the the new ones

Post by Bruneval3 »

Unfortunately the training cannot be the same in Catterick, the "Shot" was and always will be the home of the Paras. Yes times have moved on, I disagree strongly that the new type are as good, tough,fit etc etc.

You only have to watch the news and unfortunately when you see the young soldiers (from all mobs) it's embarrassing, bumble about as though it's a walk in the park, are they not taught the basics anymore? EG how to take up a good fire position etc, stood around when taking a rest then wonder why they are sitting ducks!

Sorry guys would have not been able to hack it, back at the depot of yesteryear. And as for bullying, I served as an instructor at the depot, we were tough for a reason, we wanted to produce the best possible potential soldier fit to take up their role in the battalion. I dare say in this soppy mamby pamby PC, health and safety day it would have been classed as bullying, thousands of us went through it, came out of it a lot tougher.

I appreciate there will be good guys out there, but how many of those would have made it through the training from the "Shot"
User avatar
Tab
Member
Member
Posts: 7275
Joined: Wed 16 Apr, 2003 7:09 pm
Location: Southern England
Contact:

Re: all you old and bold! or even the the new ones

Post by Tab »

Each generation of Para's seem to look down on those come along later, yet every new generation seems to rise to the task asked of them. Have the lads done badly in any of the post war conflicts, the answer can only be NO they have always acquitted them selfs with honour and lets face it they have been in every conflict since the end of WW2, which many are now long forgotten and hardly get a mention in the footnote of history. The thing is many of you will soon become a bunch old farts going on about the intakes not having what it takes.
Post Reply