Patron: General The Lord Richards of Herstmonceux
GCB CBE DSO / Exercise ATLANTIC UBIQUE
Directorate of Personnel Capability,
Ramillies Building, IDL 423,
Marlborough Lines,
Andover,
Hampshire, SP11 8HJ
Tel: Mil - 94391 7706;
Civ - 01264 381706
E-mail: /
See Distr / Ref: ExAU/AdminInstr/005
7 Sep 15
EXERCISE ATLANTIC UBIQUE 2015-16: ADMIN INSTRUCTION 005 – FINAL VERSION
References:
A. Ex AU WngO dated 24 Feb 14.
B. Ex AU FRAGO 002 dated 20 Aug 14.
C. Ex AU Leg Allocations dated 20 Aug 14.
D. Ex AU Afterguard Allocation dated 12 Jan 15 (updated 5 Mar 15).
E. Ex AU Crew Training dated 20 Oct 14.
F. ATSYS Electronic JSATFA.
G. ATG(A) Regulations.
H. AGAI Vol 1 Ch 11.
I. JSP 419 – Joint Services Adventurous Training Scheme.
J. RAYC Bye-Law X.
K. Ex AU Financial Instruction 003 dated 14 Dec 14.
L. Ex AU Financial FRAGO 004 dated 17 Feb 15.
M. JSP 752 Tri Service Regulations for Allowances.
N. MOD DIN 2013DIN01-007 – Insurance for Adventurous Training Activities.
O. JSP 368 - MOD Guide to Repayment and Sponsorship.
P. Ex AU Medical Plan dated 30 Apr 15.
Q. Land Forces Standing Order (LFSO) 19.
R. MGN 1768
GENERAL
1. Background. The Gunners are conducting an adventurous sail training expedition as part of the Royal Artillery tercentenary celebrations “UBIQUE 300”. The expedition is open to all Regular and Reserve Royal Artillery officers and soldiers and will include the opportunity for participation by some qualified retired individuals. The RAYC flagship, St Barbara V, will depart Gosport mid-Sep 15 and return to the UK by mid-Aug 16. The route takes the yacht initially to the Canary Islands then, via the Cape Verde Islands, westward across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. This will be followed by 2 months of cruising around the Caribbean islands before sailing up the eastern seaboard of the USA and Canada, which presents excellent opportunities to reaffirm links with Allied and Commonwealth artillery nations. Finally, St Barbara will return eastward across the Atlantic back to the UK.
2. Exercise Aim. The aim of the expedition is to sail the Gunner yacht to America and back with as many Royal Artillery personnel participating as possible, in order to further enhance the reputation of the RAYC as one of the Army’s premier yacht clubs, contribute towards Gunner ethos and esprit de corps, including the tercentenary celebrations, and gain all the well documented benefits of offshore adventurous sail training for the individuals involved, including enhancing offshore sailing qualifications and experience.
3. This Ex AU admin instruction provides exercise-level direction, guidance and coordination to enable Units to determine, plan and organise their own Unit leg administrative requirements effectively. It also serves to keep the Gunner chain of command and wider community informed.
4. Leg Allocations. The legs of Ex AU were bid for by Units and allocations finalised and promulgated by the organising committee in Refs B & C. Since then there have been only minor adjustments to the start/end dates of 1or 2 of the legs. The updated plan is included again at Annex A for completeness.
5. Afterguard. The nominal roll of afterguard personnel listing the leg(s) to which they have been allocated, their qualifications and experience level was distributed at Ref D with changes since included in Annex A. The afterguard names, qualification and insurance details will need to be verified for assurance and Duty Holder purposes prior to departure.
CREW TRAINING
6. Crew Training/Qualifications. The Ex AU crew training requirements were outlined and distributed in Ref E. Units were required to formulate their specific crew training plan and forward a copy to Lt Col McCormack by Fri 6 Mar 15. If Unit sailing officers have not completed this task they are to contact Lt Col McCormack and specify when they will have this essential aspect of their Unit’s preparation for Ex AU formulated and submitted. All Unit leg COs will be required to sign an ODH Certificate stating that their crew are appropriately trained in accordance with the Exercise Risk Assessment and MEDPLAN (FRAGO 6 to follow) and submit it to their respective DDH[1] and the Ex AU Cttee. Should any skipper wish to sail with anything less than the stipulated crew training minimum standard, they must make a case to the Ex AU cttee. There is an associated risk with doing so which is closely to insurance requirements which must not be compromised. Confirmation that all crews are trained as required is to be sent to Lt Col McCormack by the UEL at least one month before the start of each leg. There is also a requirement to capture all qualifications gained as a result of preparation for, or participation in, Ex AU. Examples are shown below but this list is not exhaustive. Units are to send a consolidated return to Lt Col McCormack no later than two weeks after returning from their leg of Ex AU, listing all relevant cses/quals achieved by crew members and Unit reserves, both before deploying and upon returning.
a. All RYA sailing quals eg Comp Crew, Day Skipper, YM(C), YM(O) or YM(Oc)
b. Sea survival cses quals eg Sea Survival and ISAF
b. Comms cses quals eg VHF user or LRR/HF cse
c. Medical cses quals eg RYA First Aid or PMC
e. RAYC C-star
f. Diesel engine maintenance
g. Commercial Endorsement
h. RAYC membership: full and temporary
i. Life jacket maintenance
7. Crew Lists. An initial crew nominal roll must be submitted to the Ex AU Cttee at least 8 weeks before departure using the format at Annex B. The Ex AU Cttee are to be informed of any changes to the crew list as soon as they occur. Names of all crew members must be published on Regt P1Os (or equivalent) to designate the Service person as “on duty” and allow Unit G1 staff to “move and track” individuals on JPA. In accordance with Ref G personnel on adventurous training remain on exercise throughout, unless R&R is granted. Units should ensure that personnel on exercise are aware of the rules governing on off/duty.
8. Reserves. Units are to have their own reserve crew members identified, trained and qualified wherever possible. In the event of a shortfall in crew numbers Units with an ocean leg can deploy short-handed (down to a minimum of seven) to reduce water and food requirements and maximise space for other stores on board, with the implications that brings in terms of cost per individual. All Units with an offshore leg can, in extremis, request reserve crew from the central Ex AU list – not high numbers!
9. Medical Training. Ex AU has mandated that all ocean-going legs must have either a crew member qualified in Proficiency of Medical Care (PMC) or a CMT qualified individual on board. Details of a PMC a course being provided by the AISTC(S) are given below. Full details of the Ex AU Medical Plan are provided in Ref P. Units are to ensure they comply with Refs Q & R in respect of carriage and accountability of controlled drugs on board St Barbara V during Ex AU. The more medical training and qualified personnel there are on board, the better prepared the crew will be to deal successfully with the situation.
a. An initial Proficiency in Medical Care (on board) course has been conducted and a second course will be run if there is enough uptake.
b. Ex AU has secured places on the Institute of Naval Medicine’s (INM) Coxswains’ Proficiency in Medical Courses. Bids for places should be send to Lt Col Tim Wood at Army HQ who will collate and confirm.
10. Comms Training. Long Range Radiotelephone operators’ certificate is a requirement for all ocean legs. Individuals now need to make their own arrangements for training with civilian providers. Lt Col McCormack can provide contacts for providers in the Southampton area. The syllabus covers VHF and NAVTEX and this training is recommended to all afterguard sailing offshore legs. Once again, individuals can use their SLCs to subsidise the cost of this training.
PLANNING
11. Unit Planning & Briefs. Each Unit deploying on Ex AU must produce their own Administrative Instruction (AI) giving all relevant information to their crew and chain of command. It should be based on the detail, direction and guidance contained in this AI and that contained in all the references listed above. A copy of each Unit AI must be sent to the Ex AU cttee (Lt Col Wood) for information and to satisfy the cttee all the required aspects have been covered. In order to develop the passage of information about Ex AU, 2 Unit Briefing days have been completed.
12. Route Planning. Leg skippers will be responsible for passage planning their allocated leg in accordance with Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations and Refs H & I. All skippers are advised to visit JSASTC to discuss their potential route and ports of call with the Principal. He has a detailed knowledge of the areas to be sailed along most of the Ex AU proposed route. Skippers should also organise a meeting with Lt Col McCormack as the Ex AU SME for passage planning, utilising the charts and pilot books in the Ex AU planning room at Larkhill. Each Regt must submit their planned route and itinerary to Lt Col (Retd) McCormack using Appx 7 to Ref F, an example of which is at Enclosure 1. This must be completed by no later than 60 days before the Unit’s crew is due to depart the UK. In addition a copy must be left with the Regt Adjt or equivalent.
13. Weather Delays. In the event of a weather delay, the current “aboard” crew is responsible for getting St Barbara V to the correct destination to RV with the next leg/crew asap. The current leg’s Unit is responsible for assisting their crew organise and fund the return of crew members to the UK/BFG.
14. Diplomatic Clearance/Contact with Defence Attachés. ATG will conduct initial diplomatic clearance for countries currently on the planned legs. When units confirm their crew nominal roll, diplomatic clearances will be confirmed by ATG. In addition, Units will be provided with in-country contacts for DA staff and are to make contact with them when planning their passage. It is a Unit responsibility to manage individual passport and visa requirements.
15. Risk Assessments (RAs). Within Ex AU there are three levels of Risk: Project Risk (managed by Ex AU Ctte); Expedition Risk (managed by EX AU Cttee and Units); and Personal Risk (Trips, bumps etc) managed by Ex AU Ctte, through JSATFA and units own risk assessment. The GOC FTC and CO of those personnel taking part will be the Operational Duty Holder (ODH) and the Delivery Duty Holder (DDH) respectively, irrespective of which unit is sponsoring the leg[2].
COs must be satisfied that the UEL and skipper fully understand their part in risk mitigation. The UEL and skipper are required to conduct their own risk assessment relevant to their leg.
16. Charts. Charts for Legs 1-9 will be loaded onto St Barbara before she deploys from Gosport. Thereafter subsequent legs will deploy with their charts with each leg returning with charts that are no longer required on board. Access and issue of charts will be coordinated by Lt Col McCormack. Currently charts will all be UKHO Admiralty series. Skippers are responsible for making all corrections to charts.
17. Customs Requirements. Crews must prepare thoroughly for the customs requirements in the area into which they will fly and those ports they will visit during their leg. Skippers are to ensure that all relevant paperwork is completed before, during and after their leg relevant to each port or country they enter or leave. This is especially true when checking into and out of every country throughout the Caribbean and especially USA, particularly if a Unit has any F&C soldiers on board and if there are any civilian afterguard entering the US. It will take time at each location and that must be factored into the passage plan and voyage. It is an RAYC responsibility to ensure St Barbara sails with all the correct yacht registration documentation and for skippers of each leg to check.
YACHT ISSSUES
18. Yacht Booking. The much improved online booking system is ready to receive all Ex AU charter bookings for Legs 6 onwards, which all UELs must do. When UELs confirm their charter, the system will show the correct first and last day, and the cost of the charter. The charter fees have been centrally paid and thus UELs can ignore the actual rate which (for technical reasons) may not be correct. As soon as the yacht bookings are made, the Offshore Booking Secretary will issue the Account Sheets & Crew List forms. These need to be completed and submitted as email attachments, and the account paid up (to cover individuals’ RAYC Membership), as soon as possible after completion of the leg.
19. Handover/Takeover. The handover/takeover (HO/TO) of St Barbara V must be completed by skippers on board the yacht unless, in exceptional circumstances, this cannot be achieved. The format for the HO/TO will be in the yacht and exercise SOPs.
20. Yacht Maintenance. The RAYC will conduct a comprehensive refit and maintenance of St Barbara V prior to the first leg of the expedition deploying. Thereafter, there will be three periods of additional maintenance conducted in pre-identified marinas with facilities and connectivity (for comms and the movement of kit/crew). All Ex AU yacht maintenance periods will be overseen by the RAYC Senior Boatswain, assisted by one member from the off-going crew who is to remain behind for the duration of the maintenance period. Units affected by this arrangement are to plan this in to their crew movement/flight plan and financial preparations accordingly.