CND Visit Defence Academy of the UK
by Kelsey C, June 2024
In June 2024, two members of the CND Team had the privilege of attending the third Wessex RFCA visit to the Defence Academy in Shrivenham. The visit allows staff from private sector organisations and businesses who employ or sponsor RFCA personnel to view the facilities and receive an introduction to the purpose and function of the Defence Academy. The tour was arranged by Wessex RFCA and sponsored by Andy Lambert, DCMCI SO1 Technology Hub.
The following is an account of the day by CND’s Kelsey and Matt.
"Upon arrival to the Defence Academy, we met with the rest of the group and were then escorted to the DCMCI Boardroom, where we received an introduction from Andy Lambert. Andy’s introduction provided us with an overview of the different training that is provided by the Defence Academy, as well as a summary of the facilities.
After the introduction, we were taken into the Technology Hub and shown a collection of guns that would usually be stored in their DCMCI Light Weapons Wing. It was interesting to learn about the different types of weaponry, and to be given the opportunity to handle them.
The next stage of the visit was to tour the Technology Hub, which was filled with various tanks, vehicles, and gadgets such as simulators, drones and even a robot dog.
The final element of the tour was a visit to the Cormorant Building, Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) where we were given a mobile briefing of several areas of the building, including accommodation, training rooms, and the library. The main entrance was decorated with flags from various countries, which signified each of the different countries that students had come from to study at the college. The entire building was lined with beautiful historical paintings, and we learned that the halls were apparently inspired by the inside of a prison.
The day finished with a delicious lunch in the Fieldhouse Café, which was provided by Wessex RFCA, before being escorted back to the Main Gate.
The whole day was a wonderful and fascinating experience, and we would both highly recommend attending the visit in future years."