Anyone from any unit can apply for the AACC, as long as you are fit enough. That being said however, places are limited and always go to people who will serve in one of the support units previously mentioned.
In regard to a CIC badge I do get what you mean, possibly they don’t wear it as it is a given that every infantryman in the unit has gone through the CIC course to be where they are.
David, I’ve explained how and why a Guardsman might have earned the Commando badge.
I was unaware of any reinstating of the wound badges but then I’ve been out of the green machine for around 8 years and haven’t been to Afghanistan. However, there is no mention of it in Army Dress Regs 2016 (which doesn’t mean of course that it could not have come in afterwards).
Maximus: Thanks for clarifying what I was trying to clarify(!)
As Max said, it’s an all arms course, but spaces are very very limited. If you are serving, or attached to 3 Commando Brigade you will get loaded on as a priority like Max said, 29 Arty, 24Eng, CDO Logs etc. We (HCR) always have had a Sqn ready to deploy with 3 Cdo Brigade and also 16 Air Assault so have CDO and Para trained guys wearing the dagger and wings. The Gdsman in question could be a transferee in from a Commando Unit, from an Army unit which he had already done the course in, or he could of been attached long term to a commando unit and done the course, or he could of been lucky and volunteered for it and got on it due to course spaces available.
Going back to the CIC, and all other trade badges they are pretty much things of yesteryear in the army nowadays.
It’s not a case of the CIC being really beneath anyone it’s more like Max said above, everyone comes out of ITC is a combat infantry trained soldier so the actual badge is pretty redundant and all these trade badges are things that were worn donkeys years ago. Same goes for Mortar badge, Anti Tank badge, Assault Pioneer etc etc…
Recognition now is now buy pay and just doing additional courses, so Cpls will do the Section commanders battle course at IBS Brecon, Sgts (inf) will do the seniors battle course which have no badges etc etc.
The main ones worn nowadays on MTP or Service dress and ceremonial dress, are Para wings, Commando dagger, some will have spurs as a riding Instructor in HCMR or HCR, some have the crossed flags for Sigs instructor, I used to wear crossed rifles for small arms instructor, some units like engineers will have EOD badge or maybe master diver and the same for REMEwho have some artisan courses. There will be a few I’ve missed but you get the idea…
And as far as I know, there is no wound badge.
@BootsDMS you alright mate, you sound a bit grumpy. for the record i wasn’t to sharp reading this thread, i literally woke up and was reading this in bed this morning.
i appreciate the clarification from everyone, it’s alwaus good to learn something new…below is the ginger kid story regarding medals for wounds.
Sorry David - I just meant you might want to re-read what I’d posted re a stray Guardsman possibly doing the Commando course(!) as a solution to the question - no gumpiness intended.
I’ve just discovered that the Dress Regs I referred to is online - or at least part of it:
ADR Part 9.pdf (whatdotheyknow.com)
for those interested in further reading; lots of illustrations and explanations but a fair bit of scrolling required.
Incidentally, back in the day, I was very pleased with my (somewhat lowly perhaps) status as a “B” Class tradesman when I passed my B1 upgrading trade course; I was then authorised to wear the trade badge above my Corporal’s chevrons on my No 2 Dress (best khaki uniform) jacket and my heavy duty pullover:
@BootsDMS don’t worry about it mate my eyes were still blurry and i wasn’t reading stuff to clearly.
well done you for your tradesman exam… the only thing i have to show on parade as a civilian is my 50m swimming badge an a “O” grade in woodwork lol
Brilliant! I didn’t learn to swim until I joined the Army and it was one of the tests in my basic training. God, how I nearly, and so often, drowned.
I’ve racked my brains to try and remember what we covered: Spoiler Alert – it’s boring! And I don’t think this will add much to the sum of military history at all!
The RAOC B1 RAOC Clerks course took place at an RAOC depot in Dülmen, Germany; I was in a NATO HQ near Mönchengladbach at the time. I can’t remember what the depot actually did but would have been something in the BAOR logistic matrix. Anyway, there was a Clerical Training Wing within.
Day one started with a typing test; if you didn’t pass you were Returned To Unit (RTU) and nobody, no matter what the course (SAS selection and the like) ever wants that. Seriously, it was merciless as if you didn’t pass - something like 35 words per minute with 3 errors allowed in 10 minutes - these were the days of manual typewriters folks, (and if you don’t know what they were, then try a bit of Googling - you’ll be underwhelmed I’m sure) you were immediately sent back to your unit in disgrace, and guaranteed a bollocking from your Chief Clerk, the Superintending Clerk or both.
Obviously, I’m not really comparing the rigours of a physically demanding course such as SAS selection with the B1 Clerks’ Course, but the point is, it was all serious as one wanted to be upgraded for more pay and to be eligible for promotion. Once the typing test was out of the way we settled down to around 3-bastard-weeks of studying Army manuals, such as Queen’s Regulations for the Army, the Manual of Military Law, Joint Service Staff publications, the Leave Manual, the Pay Warrant, some, very few, NATO documents and I think we touched a little on map marking. I can’t remember much, save it was mostly dull, and to those working in a NATO HQ or even on the Staff elsewhere, irrelevant.
What didn’t help was that us few attendees who’d all come from the Army Group HQ tended to think ourselves a little bit superior with our NATO experience, and that was a bit of a problem; it sounds arrogant now, and perhaps we were, but I think we were somewhat more experienced, even as JNCOs than the instructors. Of course, such hubris comes at a price and we were suitably admonished from time to time but our enthusiasm was such, at times it must have seemed like we were taking over the lessons a bit, after all, when one’s daily work consists of preparing targets for nuclear weapons, it’s hard to find the role of a Leave Clerk at unit level (important though it is) sufficiently stimulating.
Anyway, I ultimately passed – though not with a glowing report; as you’ve probably nodded off by now I promise no more stories of clerical derring-do(!)
not bad going for junior NCO.
iirc i also had a bronze and silver arrow in the cub scouts and two of those red triangle badges for book and map reading…i think thank makes me officer material in the TA lmao
Glad you guys cleared that up, Andy’s badge could otherwise have been mistaken for the Goldmember class of the Special Maxwell Underage Tactical Services award (aka the “Smuts”)…but complete loss of memory & serious wallet damage was required to qualify for that one
They’re so tough that the wound IS the badge!