What unit were they Geo?
Sounds like Pl Sgt should have reminded Pl Comd who is really in charge and gripped him. But that said, its all conjecture - as even those who have seen the film would not be privvy to other issues in the background and the 'bigger picture'. I'd also be wary of creative editing too. Quite a few times I've watched the news aghast of what is reported - when knowing what the ground truth is...so alot of things that appear in the telly/papers I take with a pinch of salt tbh (something that links in well to the misreports spoken about in your other thread)
Welsh Guards
I don't totally agree with the first sentence.
I did mention that the Pl Sgt had indicated that it was the Pln Comds decision to do the patrol. In my experience I find it hard to believe that this sort of decision would be made at less than Company Commander level.
To be blunt, I wasn't impressed with the Pl Sgt throughout the programme, when you've done the role you get a "feel" for individuals, my feelings were that he wasn't up to the job. In the film they have him as a "Lance Sergeant" which is the Corporal equivalent, maybe he had been put into acting Sgt's job.
Regards the role of the Pl Comd, he is ultimately in charge of the Platoon. The Pl Sgt's main job is the admin and discipline of the platoon and will obviously supply guidance to the Pl Comd when he feels it is warranted. For some this can be often, for others very little.
Officers are trained to as high a standard as the soldiers, some would argue even more. As well as the basic training, officers have to cover so much more - tactics - politics and many other subjects.
Officers will only be at 2nd Lt/Lt level for aboput 4 years normally, during that time they will spend a lot of time completing other courses that are required for promotion. Pl Comds rarely spend more than 2 years with a platoon and I have been in Platoons where we have had 3 different Pl Comds in a year.
Platoon Sgts will generally spend upwards of 4 years with a Platoon, therefore the Pl Sgt is the link between the men and the Pl Comd, he knows the men, he gets to know the Pl Comd very quickly and as said before will offer guidance when meritted.
Ocassionaly you will get a Pl Comd who hasn't got a clue, lots of intelligence but little common sense, these are the dangerous ones, these are the ones which the Pl Sgt needs to "get a grip" of.
Most officers are there as a career and often it is through family/Regimental links, however quite often there are some who join up short term. A personal example:
In 1979 I deployed on my first tour of Belfast http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=li82ee8nmd8bs2g2dt4gs1rct4&topic=35641.135
Prior to this we had undertaken a 6 month training package culminating in 4 weeks or so at the Cinque Ports of Lydd and Hythe where the Army had a huge mock up of a village set up similar to the streets we would be patrolling in Belfast.
During this period we would be put through the various scenarios we would face, reaction to patrol being attacked, reaction to bombs, riot training, probably the most frightening thing I have endured is an 8 hour stint on a "baseline" during riot control being pelted incessantly with anything that could be thrown, from bricks and bottles to petrol bombs and bottles or packages of piss and human shit. I have been involved in 3 gun battles in NI, one mortar attack on our base in Crossmaglen and a fire-fight/trench clearing in Kuwait and none of them compare to how much I was scared on the baseline in North Belfast behind a 6ft perspex sheild.
Anyway, off I go rambling again.
Prior to starting our training package for NI we had a new Pl Comd, this chap was not a career soldier, he was heir to part of a huge fortune as the son of a shipping merchant who at that time owned probably the largest shipping/container company as well as various other businesses. Trouble was the Pl Comd - "Frankie" as he came to be named had been told he would receive nothing of this without having served something like a minimum of 3 years in the Army.
Frankie had completed his officer training at Sandhurst and had arrived at our Regiment, not without a few stories having already reached us. Frankie was a genuinely nice bloke, intelligent, yes no doubt about that, sensible no way. His family background meant Frankie had some powerful friends and by all accounts without these friends would never have passed out of Sandhurst.
On one of the first days with the platoon we were doing some live firing on the ranges at the base of the Pentland Hills here in Edinburgh (I can see the site of the old ranges from my house balcony) in those days the issue equipment was 58 pattern webbing, a belt to which you attached the various different pouches, all designed for a specific purpose i.e. Ammo pouches to left and right which held your rifle magazines, "kidney pouches" so called as the were positioned to the rear of the belt, covering the kidney area, which contained wash/shaving kit, cooking kit, including mess tins, rations and the old hexamine block cookers (for hexamine blocks, think firelighters for those of you old enough to remember, however with the consistency of Kendall mint cake.)
Webbing was usually uniformally set up - ammo pouches front left and right, water bottle to the left hip, kidney pouches to the rear with "poncho roll" a canvas cover containing a waterproof poncho which also doubled as a bivvi tent or lean-to and in between were various other pouches. If memory serves normal issue was an additional 2 pouches over and above what I have detailed above. At times if you had "acquired" additional pouches then you could attach them allowing you to carry additonal stuff. Thing was, space was limited to the width of your belt. A skinny runt like me had less opportunity to add pouches as opposed to the 6ft and 38" waisted rugby types.
Frankie appeared this day with his webbing all over the place, pouches incorrectly situated, most half empty as he wasn't in possesion of half the stuff he should have had, empty water bottle, no magazines as he had "left them on his bed" etc. The Pl Sgt then was real old school, within minutes he and Frankie were having words round the back of the target shed. The Sgt appeared after 10-15 mins with Frankies webbing, threw it at me shouting "Dickson, Steer (Sandy, an old pal sadly gone now.) go round and show that fanny how to set this up properly."
20 mins later Frankie could return to the range looking a bit more like a soldier, Sandy and I also distributed a couple of our magazines each on loan to him for the day so he could complete the days firing exercise. The thing being that the Sgt took him out of earshot of us and more importantly the other Platoons to do the rollocking and ensured that this was kept in house within the Platoon.
To be contiued......................
Geo
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