MAJ/TC - Operations Officer
17 Port & Maritime Regiment
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Description of duty position and work environment
This position is Regimental Operations Major in the 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps. It is the equivalent to S-3 of a transportation terminal battalion in the 7th Transportation Group at Fort Eustis. As you would expect of a battalion S-3, I am responsible for planning, coordinating, and managing the execution of all Regimental operations, as well as Regimental collective training management.
Please visit the Regimental web site, (address coming soon). Because of the unique character of the Regiment, I routinely deal with staff agencies all the way up to Ministry of Defence (MoD) level and am deeply involved in the development of doctrine and future capabilities. The Regiment currently operates the Marchwood Sea Mounting Center, the UK's only military port facility. In addition, the Regiment provides support worldwide to any UK operation or exercise that requires a port, maritime, or railway operating capability.
The job is interesting, very challenging, and great fun.
PT
Physical fitness training is largely done individually among the officers and senior NCOs on the Regimental staff. McMullen Barracks, our home installation, offers a small gym facility, squash courts, and ample running routes in the surrounding areas. Our proximity to the New Forest is very convenient to long running and off-road bicycling routes. There is also a local recreation center that offers additional facilities, including a swimming pool, to the community at large. The Regiment follows the rest of the British Army in that it has a superb sports program.
Uniform and Wardrobe Requirements
The duty uniform in the Regiment is Combat 95, the British equivalent of BDUs. If you don’t own a Gore-Tex parka, I would recommend getting one as it will be very useful in this climate, and I prefer not to wear British gear unless I’m in the field. We are authorized to use and wear British field gear, so there is no need to purchase your own American gear.
The next most frequently worn uniform is “Mess Kit,” or the Army Blue Mess uniform. In my first four months in this assignment, I’ve worn mess dress five times. While it is an optional purchase for a U.S. Army officer, it is mandatory for a British officer. You would look very out of place at many social functions without American “mess dress.” It will be specified in your orders that you must bring it. The Army Green uniform and Army Blue uniform are also necessary, although you will wear those much less frequently, perhaps once or twice a year. From time to time I also have to wear the Class B version of Army Green. Owning the black pullover “wooly pully” is also a must in this Regiment. The bottom line on uniforms is make sure you have everything you’re required to own, plus your mess kit and black pullover. Make sure you have a black raincoat and your dress blue hat.
Come with a nice civilian wardrobe, as the Brits tend to dress up more than we’re used to.
Two conservative suits and a blue blazer is the minimum I would recommend.
Jeans or shorts are never acceptable in the officers’ mess or at a Regimental social function unless it is a cook out; the jeans and sneakers look is not widely accepted here.
Casual means a proper pair of trousers and a long sleeve collared shirt. I apologize to any female officers reading this, as I recognize that I’m speaking in terms of men’s clothing, but I think it gives you an idea of the level of dress required.
The last item you need in your wardrobe is a conservative black tuxedo. There are about three or four “black tie” social functions each year and you are definitely better off buying your own tux than trying to rent one here. It will be much more convenient and economical to own your own. Corresponding formal dresses for female officers and spouses is also required.
Description of Housing
My wife and I have three children and live in an Army “quarter” on the “patch” with the other officers in the Regiment. It is a two-story, four-bedroom, brick house with a detached garage in the back. The yard is huge and includes a tree house in one of the two apple trees. Our house is about a three minute walk from my office.
The house has wall-to-wall carpeting, steam heat (i.e., radiators) and is wired for 240V electricity. The master bedroom and another bedroom are large rooms. The other two bedrooms are quite small but adequate. The house has brand new double pane windows and doors that are very nice. It has an unfinished attic but no basement.
As a comparison, we have lived on post at Fort Eustis, Fort Campbell, Fort Lee, Fort Stewart, and Fort Leavenworth and I would say that this is the nicest set of quarters we have ever occupied. The biggest problem for us is a lack of adequate closet space. The intent is to make this house the regular quarter for the exchange officer; however, that will inevitably depend on family size and what is required and by whom at any given time. Even though the house is about 50 years old, we have had no maintenance problems yet. Our house is as nice as any in the Regiment.
Appliances
You will be provided with major appliances from the U.S. Air Force at RAF Croughton, about two hours away. You are entitled to a refrigerator, a washer, a dryer, a microwave oven, a freezer, and two 1200-watt transformers. You can choose to have American or British appliances. British stuff is significantly smaller than what we are used to. Based on the configuration of the house, we chose to get an American refrigerator (wired for 240V power) and a British washer and dryer. We are grateful for the added space of an American refrigerator. There realy isn't room for American laundry appliances. Our laundry loads are smaller and they take a bit longer, but they do the job well. Using an American dryer requires significant alteration to the dryer and the house. I recommend against bringing your own; put it in storage and use the USAF stuff. It is just fine.
Televisions, VCRs, DVD players
If you don’t have a multi-system TV, you won’t be able to get British TV. We don’t. We use our American TV and get AFN via satellite, the supporting hardware for which was graciously provided to us free by the commander of CEB-Hythe, a nearby American unit (see below for details). If you have a TV compatible with the British system you can get about 10 channels for free or you can subscribe to SKY, a satellite network that gives you more channels than you can watch in your two years here! SKY seems to be quite good and is the choice of many of the British families. The bottom line is it’s a personal choice as to what you want. The DVD and VHS formats are different here than in the States, so you won’t be able to rent or buy British videos and play them in your American machines. You can buy a combination VCR/DVD player here for about $200.00.
Internet connectivity is available through many providers. I use AOL broadband for 20 pounds per month. One of the bedrooms upstairs has a phone jack and well as the living room and dining room, so there are several locations you can choose to set up your home computer and hook in to dial up or broadband networks. Your computer and monitor are probably dual voltage and as long as you switch them to 240 before plug in you won’t need a transformer. Your printer is probably not dual voltage.
TelephonesThe British telephone jack is different than in the U.S. so you won’t be able to use your telephones here. We bought a two-handset cordless phone and a regular phone. These will be a gift to our successors!
Medical and Dental care
As an exchange officer, you are entitled to medical and dental care in the British Army system. Your family is eligible to use the National Health System (NHS). This is the free health care system that serves the entire UK population. My wife and kids are all registered with the NHS and we use a doctor at the local clinic (call a “surgery”), which is within walking distance of our house, for primary care. NHS seems to be very good for children.
There are U.S. facilities about an hour and a half away at RAF West Ruislip. We have been satisfied with the care we’ve received at the local surgery, and probably will not go to a U.S. military facility unless something unusual were to happen. Recommend you register in TRICARE Prime. IN the event that an NHS doctor refers you to a specialist, which you will have to pay for, TRICARE Prime will reimburse 100%. Medical TDY is authorized if you need or desire to go to a military facility and have to stay overnight because of distance.
Description of Military Post Office, Commissary and PX Facilities
Mail
You will receive mail at you home address, but you will also have an APO address at a small American base at nearby RAF Hythe (see below). We go pick up our mail about once a week from there. We take our packages and U.S. mail to RAF West Ruislip or RAF Croughton (American bases) about every other week on our PX/Commissary run. The mail works well for us.
PX and Commissary
The U.S. Navy base at RAF West Ruislip has the largest exchange close by (1.5 hours) although it is small by stateside standards. It has a decent small commissary as well. RAF Croughton and RAF Fairford, USAF bases each about 1:45 away, both have fairly decent commissaries; in fact; we prefer their commissaries to West Ruislip’s. Their exchanges are much smaller and more sparsely stocked. My wife usually goes to one of them about every other week while the kids are in school to do the bulk of our shopping. She takes a cooler for meat and other frozen items. All three installations have gas stations and you can purchase gas coupons there as well, so you don’t have to pay over $6.00/gal. like the Brits pay! We generally buy milk, eggs, bread, and produce in the local British markets.
What religious services are available locally?
There is a Church of England parish in Marchwood village. The church is within walking distance of our house. We are Roman Catholic and belong to the Waterside Catholic Parish. Masses are held in Hythe, about four miles away, and in Holbury, about seven miles away. Churches of other denominations are within easy reach, mostly concentrated in nearby Southampton. There is no 'Regimental Chaplain' as we might be used to in the U.S. Army.
Banking
This is probably the most difficult thing to cope with until you get used to the system, but it really isn’t that hard. Unlike living in Germany or Korea where you can spend $$ on post and readily exchange $$ for the local currency, you are very isolated here. You will need to open a British Pounds Sterling account in order to pay your rent and other bills and to be able to get cash easily. I recommend that you open a Pounds account at the U.S. Community Bank branch at West Ruislip. Set up an allotment each month that will go directly to this account. Then you can open another account locally and make deposits by check from your Community Bank account to allow you ready access to cash throughout UK. Strangely, even though the Community Bank account is in Pounds, their automatic teller card can only be used in their machines, which are all on U.S. bases, none of which are close to you! For convenience, many recurring bills can be paid by direct debit from your Pounds account.
Schools
The school system here is very different than in the States and can be quite a daunting labyrinth for parents to negotiate. For starters, within limits, you get to pick the school your kids will go to. This can be a very long and involved process. My predecessor did not have school age children so we did a lot of discovery learning. As an exchange officer, you are entitled to send your children to private schools at U.S. Government expense. This is a tremendous benefit and one we take advantage of. There are some truly outstanding private schools in the area and we will be more than happy to help you through the process of application and enrollment in schools. Our kids, ages 11, 9, and 5 were aligned well with their British peers in terms of academic ability. Our youngest was a little behind at first because the British begin reading earlier than we do; however, within the first six weeks he had caught up to the class with no problems.
POV Information
You will ship your POV to West Ruislip. If your car does not meet British specifications, and unless you bought it here or have lived here before it won’t, you will have to have it modified here to pass inspection. Costs vary depending on the type of car. We have a Plymouth Grand Voyager; it cost about $300.00 for the modifications and inspection. The modification can be done at the Naval Exchange garage at West Ruislip. Ship your POV early so that it is here waiting for you when you get here. You need a car here and it would be very expensive to rent one. The sooner you get your car, the better.
Miscellaneous
CEB-Hythe. Four miles down the road in the town of Hythe is RAF Hythe, and American base that is home to Combat Equipment Battalion-Hythe. There are three Americans stationed there, a LTC, a DA civilian, and a CW3 supply technician. The rest of the unit is made up of about 250 British civilians. They maintain propositioned watercraft for the U.S Army. The current commander is my next-door neighbor on the patch. You will get your mail at Hythe. There is also an AAFES fuel pump where you can buy gasoline. We borrow VHS tapes from them as well. The current commander provides me with a free AFN satellite dish because the CW3 doesn’t use it. You may or may not be that lucky. Other than that, there is no support structure at Hythe. We do some mutually supporting work between CEB-Hythe and the Regiment, so you will get to know the key people through the job.
Feel free to email me at peter.haas@us.army.mil or pmhaas@aol.com with any other questions you may have.
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