Having recently taken up the ‘reigns’ as the Officer Commanding Hunter Company this seems an appropriate time to introduce myself and to explain what we do. 

The sole purpose for Hunter Company and my staff is to conduct constructive rehabilitation of Recruits following injury and then to successfully reintegrate them back into a Recruit Troop. Wherever possible they are matched to the week of training that they achieved prior to their injury. The focus for all of this work is the successful achievement of the Commando Tests and earning their coveted Green Beret.

Prior to taking up this appointment I commanded ‘Deal Company’ (one of the mainstream training Companies) in CTW and so I take on this role with a detailed understanding of how Recruit training is delivered across the Wing. So I understand the unique challenge of reintegrating Recruits following rehabilitation back into the mainstream training system.  From a personal perspective I have spent a significant period in Hunter Company myself following an accident in 2001 and I later served as the Company ‘Second in Command’. I also have a close and personal interest in what we do here in Hunter Company and I’m delighted to return to the Company, this time in command.

Key to any rehabilitation program is maintaining both short and long term achievable goals. The staff in Hunter Company are all trained specifically to identify an individual Recruit’s needs, devise a rehabilitation program that matches his physical injuries whilst ensuring that his military skills are not neglected. I also intend that whilst a Recruit is in Hunter Company we dedicate time and opportunities to them to better their personal development and confidence. Ultimately I believe that Recruits leave Hunter Coy better prepared for continuing with mainstream training than they were prior to their injury.

This is no small task however, and the ultimate key to its success is the man himself. My team can apply all the science, military training and good leadership available here at CTC but if a Recruit loses sight of his ultimate goal – passing for duty as a Royal Marine with a green beret on his head – then most of what we can do here will pass him by. The focus and drive for that goal must come from within.  As long as he remains 100% focused we will help him through the program devised for him. The Commando Qualities of Courage, Determination, Unselfishness and Cheerfulness in Adversity; are the mantras we expect Royal Marines to live by; and they could not be more appropriate head marks for a passage through rehabilitation. 

Psychologically, injury is one of the biggest challenges to overcome in Recruit Training, particularly when we as a Corps have a selection process that attracts the fittest and most capable young men available. It is probably a bi-product of attracting such high calibre Recruits that the realities of injury are that much more difficult to come to terms with.  Following injury a lot of recruits go through a period of denial. As the injury precludes him from continuing with his ‘original’ troop there is often an immediate reaction of wishing to leave Recruit training.  This is quite a normal reaction and it is in this phase that we must all work hard to inspire him to work through this dent in his confidence and focus on the goal. It is important that he realises that he is not isolated; there are a lot of his colleagues in a similar position and lots of men of Kings Squad Parades every week who have been in Hunter Company.

Most lads arriving in Hunter Coy haven’t ever been injured and probably have not had a significant ‘knock back’ to achieving success in their lives. Becoming a Royal Marine is different and we don’t apologise for demanding the highest standards; I’m sure no-one would expect anything less. After all, it is this reputation that is most likely the primary reason your man chose to become a Royal Marine in the first place. Injury is just another hurdle that is in the way of achieving that goal, but as long as he remains focused ‘on getting there’ my team and I will assist him through his recovery in every way we can.

Lastly, your support is more crucial now than ever, and I know – personally – that getting the balance right is hard. But together, I look forward to ensuring that each man in Hunter Company achieves his very best and successfully completes training