MAJ/MI - Senior Instructor
Defence Intelligence & Security School
Please choose from one of the below section titles or scroll through the page for information.
Description of duty position and work environment
I serve as the Senior Instructor (SI) of the Combat Intelligence Branch, Brackenbury Training and Development Wing, Defence College of Intelligence (DCI). The DCI is a part of the Defense Intelligence Security Center (DISC). The Brackenbury TDW is responsible for delivering training that is not specific to SIGINT, HUMINT, or IMINT. We provide tactical ground-oriented intelligence training, focused at battalion and brigade level. I supervise a staff of three British Army warrant officers - one WO1 (somewhat equivalent to our SGM) and two WO2s (equivalent to our MSGs). Our main function is to deliver four iterations annually of the Unit Intelligence Officer’s (UIO) course, and two iterations of the Senior Qualification (SQ) course (similar to our BNCOC). The UIO course is designed to teach officers and NCOs with no previous intelligence experience or training how to be battalion and brigade S2s or assistant S2s. It is mush like our four week transition course for junior officers. The SQ course is a career milestone course for British Army Intelligence Corps mid-grade NCOs. Both courses are four weeks long, and each class contains 20 students. The courses are quite intensive, hammering IPB and threat analysis into the students at a furious pace. The UIO course is a brand new course, in that we just completed the pilot course in September 2005. It is a high-visibility course for the school because it is the only tactical intelligence course available for non-Intelligence Corps personnel, it is always in heavy demand and is regarded as one of the most challenging courses in the British Army.
PTI normally use the camp gym facilities for weight training. The gym is adequate, but small. The hours for the gym are not very suitable for what we are used to (they don’t open until 0730) but I try to get away during lunch or when time permit. Early morning push-ups, sit-ups, and a run are becoming more of the norm. I take the US APFT twice a year.
Duty Uniform
I normally wear BDUs to work on camp. I wear business suits for all TDY trips. Additionally, most mess functions are black tie (tuxedo) or dress mess (Dress Blues in not an adequate substitute). I wear class "A"s for all memorial services I attend, which are not very many. The Exchange Officer is not authorized a clothing allowance. I recommend my replacement buy all US Army specific (patches, etc) prior to arriving in country. There is a small amount of Army uniforms and patches at RAF Alconbury (45 minute drive). You can order from AAFES, but the turn around time is about three weeks.
At a minimum, a male USAEO requires:
Mess Dress
Dress Blues
Tuxedo (with accessories)(UK: dinner jacket)
Two business suits
Two sports jackets
Black army wind breaker – though I have never used mine
Class A Uniform
BDU's |
Plus a number of dress shirts, dress slacks, etc. In addition to your clothing, your spouse will need several evening gowns and cocktail dresses. Any older children will also require clothing appropriate to any events they may attend.
Description of Housing
  The “American” house is a two-story, four-bedroom duplex that has been home to the US Army exchange officer since the DISC moved to Chicksands from Ashford, Kent in 1997. It is the largest type of quarters available on post and, like all other housing on camp, was built by the US Air Force. This particular set of quarters probably dates from the 1960s and could stand some renovation, but is in fine condition and quite liveable, and an easy five-minute walk from work. Although not large, the quarters are spacious enough for a family of six (though some might consider this tight). The living room, kitchen, and dinning room are adequate. There is a pantry/laundry room attached to the kitchen where the refrigerator is also.
The house is carpeted throughout except the kitchen and bathrooms, and draperies are included throughout the house. If you choose, you can lease/rent an entire house full of furniture to include dishes and linens from the Defence Housing Estates. The furniture is similar to our Quartermaster type furniture you could get in Germany. The house is wired for 220V. The house is only furnished with a stove (cooker).
 We have hand-receipted from the Air Force a washer, dryer, refrigerator, microwave, and a dishwasher. RAF Croughton will also supply a couple 1500W 50Hz transformers if they have them in stock. Appliance repair is handled through Croughton. There are sufficient transformers and adapters to pass on to preclude purchasing any.
As far as the U.S. Army is concerned, you are not living in Government Quarters. You will pay rent directly to the Ministry of Defence. The rent runs from £100 to £150 per month including water and trash pick up. You pay gas, electric, and phone direct to the provider (British Gas, Southern Electric and British Telecom, respectively). The gas and electric equal my monthly rent. The BAQ, OHA and Cola are based on Bedford.
Television
The US NTSB televisions will not work in the UK. You need to have a multi-system TV (the UK broadcast standard is PAL). TV in the UK consists of 5 terrestrial channels. Each TV in the house requires a TV licence. The annual fee for a color set is £116. A Direct Satellite decoder has been handed down that I too will leave for my successor. Additionally, the AFN satellite receiver can be rented from RAF Alchonbury. This will provide four or five AFN channels for around $20 a month or you can buy the decoder and dish for $400.
Telephone service
We use the basic British Telecom service. We have kept our phone bills to a very manageable amount by using secondary access numbers. There are numerous other phone service providers. Cellular (Mobile as they are know in the UK) phones are the rage in Europe and the UK is no exception. With our cell phone, we have a pay as you use plan which works quite well.
Internet service
I use Griffin Broadband to connect to the Internet from home and I am connected at work via the MOD T1 system. There are numerous other providers as well. Cable Modems and ISDN is not as prevalent here as in the rest of the world, but these higher speed connections, particularly broadband, are becoming increasingly more available.
Medical and Dental care
As an Exchange Officer you have two options
- The British Army Medical and Dental Centre at Chicksands Camp. They are quite good and will usually see you within the day even for routine care. The Camp Dentist will see us, but I have never had the need to see him professionally.
- RAF Upwood medical and dental clinics are about 40 miles away and you MUST call before making the journey. If required, they will send you to RAF Lakenheath. RAF Lakenheath provides quality service, but for routine checks the travel time doesn't make the trip worthwhile (1 ½ hours). My advice is to get a complete dental check-up and all work done before you come.
For the Family, there are three options
- National Health Service (NHS) through the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) provides free health care for you and the family. You must register after you get here (this can be done at the clinic on Chicksands). There is an NHS clinic on Shefford and the clinic on Chicksands will assist in making appoints for you.
- RAF Upwood, which we have used several times and for more complicated matters it has been the preferred choice for my wife. They also have a Tri-care manager that you should contact to learn all the available options (it can be quite complicated).
I have two small children, and I have actually signed the mup with the National Health System in case of any emergiences or extra care that may be needed, ie. speech therapy, etc. Otherwise, it is quite easy to get an appointment at Upwood for routine illness.
Description of Military Post Office, Commissary and PX Facilities
RAF Alconbury is the closet base for mail, shopping (PX and commisary), gas, etc. It is approximately 30 miles from Chicksands. The amount of items they have seems to increase and decrease based on the current deployment cycle. They generally have everything we need. However, RAF Lakenheath and Mildenhall are about an hour and a half away and they have all the services you would expect (furniture store, a Pxtra, four-seasons type store, etc.). I usually make a trip to Alconbury once every 7 to 10 days to pick up our mail and commissary shopping. We drive up to RAF Lakenheath and Mildenhall about once every other month or so.
What religious services are available locally?
The camp has a chapel (Church of England). Shefford and the local villages have several protestant churches (United Reformed, Methodist, Church of England and Christian). There are numerous Catholic churches in the local area. There is an LDS (Mormon) church in Hitchin, about 10 miles away.
Banking
You can open a pound sterling account either on RAF Alconbury (Community Bank) or more locally. Community Bank is owned and operated by Bank of America but they currently do not have any online services available. However you will need a sterling account to pay for rent, phone, utilities, Mess bill, etc. The British are quite comfortable with direct debits, standing orders, etc. Other exchange officers use Lloyds Bank, Barklay’s, Natwest, and others. The US military will not direct deposit into a non-US bank. We move money from the US account to the sterling account by either writing a US check that takes a while to clear or by going to the ATM, withdrawing the sterling out of our US bank and depositing the cash into our sterling account. A US bankcard will work at most shops and ATMs (they call them cash machines). The small disadvantage of this comes in reconciling the bank statement unless the US bank allows Internet access to check balances, etc. There are differences of opinions amongst the exchange officers on whether or not it is best to use a local bank or Community Bank. I would recommend you look at the other postings on this website and review those opinions.
Schools
Most of the children (all ages) go to the local schools. However, some families do send their children to boarding schools. There are one or two local schools for children under twelve. However, there is only one (Samuel Whitebread Community College, similar to our middle school and high school combined) that is reasonably close for teenagers. School placement in the UK is competitive and in order for your children to be placed in the local school I recommend that once you are identified to come here you contact the current exchange officer in this position to help get your children enrolled. Additionally, Exchange Officers with high school children can board them at the London Central High School at High Wycombe, approximately 90 miles (two hours) from Chicksands Camp or home school the appropriate subjects. For younger children, there is a nursery school here on base for 2 and 3 year old's, which runs 2 hours per day, 5 days a week.
POV Information
You can either ship your POV or purchase them once you arrive. I did both. Shipping my vehicle was relatively painless, but it did take the entire 45 days allocated. The port it ships into is just North of RAF Lakenheath. There is a POV Pam published by the Military Traffic Management Command that has all the details and points of contact. This can easily be found on the Internet. You can purchase used cars at the various US bases (RAF Alconbury, Lakenheath, or Mildendall) for a reasonable price and they have both US and UK spec cars. The car I bought was a UK spec car and it is working fine.
There are pros and cons to driving US spec cars here in the UK. The pros are that you already own (or are making payments on one) it and you get one year tax free. After that it costs approximately £160 per year. The cons are many. First, the US spec car is usually quite large and they have several narrow roads over here. Secondly, it can take a while to get parts for it as they usually have to be shipped from the States. Thirdly, with the driver being on the curb side vision is somewhat restricted when entering round-abouts and while trying to pass large trucks. With experience this all becomes easier. Despite these cons I would still recommend shipping your car. Riding the motorcycle is different from the US mainly because in the UK cycles are expected to "filter" through traffic. This is very different from the US where it is illegal. Insurance is high compared to the US. Two cars are not necessary living on camp, but it does give us flexibility for picking the kids up from school, church, etc.
For vehicles brought over from the US, certain modifications are needed. First, rear-turning indicators must be amber. Second, a rear red fog light must be installed. It must have a separate lit on/off indicator switch. Third, side-turning indicators are required. And fourth, the headlights must be adjusted. All modifications cost a total of £150 to £250 ($300-$500).
|
