Free personal development for the first 50 volunteers

Volunteers are wanted to pilot a three-day personal development course at Brathay Hall in Cumbria. The Remount Programme is looking for 50 Service people or Service leavers, and/or their partners, to trial the first four programmes, completely free, before the course is rolled out across the entire Service and ex-Service community. These first volunteers will shape the experience that will be offered in the future; it is a challenge that the organisers hope will attract well-motivated people who will contribute to and benefit from the course.

Training includes elements of very successful Armed Forces development modules already being delivered throughout the UK, as well as activities from other Brathay Hall courses. But there is also a chance for individuals to explore some of the personal issues that can arise from leaving the military to move into a second career and look at some possible consequences of prolonged operational deployment. Indeed, some of the subjects covered will be familiar to Service people who have undertaken ‘decompression’ periods after leaving operational theatres.

The stresses and strains of Service life impact upon the family, so there are some vacancies for partners or spouses as well. And difficult life experiences are not confined to people in uniform; issues like death, divorce, adjusting to all kinds of change, and even moving house are known to test many individuals and relationships. Changing from one culture to another can be particularly traumatic. Brathay Hall provides a safe environment in which people can discover a little more about themselves and share experiences with other people from a similar background.

Leaving the Armed Forces can be a time of personal anxiety for people who may be facing an unfamiliar world. And they are no different in this respect from anyone else making a major life change. Emotions and reactions range from anger, rejection and sadness to fear of the unknown, and many other feelings besides, and it can be strange for highly competent and able people to experience these. In extreme cases individuals can suffer greatly from their reaction to such circumstances.

But the Remount Programme is about more than this – it provides a framework in which people can, sometimes for the first time in their lives, have time and space to examine personal issues under the guidance of trained group leaders. Most of all, it encourages people to open themselves to new thoughts and ideas, and to share these with others, learning about themselves in the process. And there is the follow-up: the 15 Minute Club.

The well-known principle of mutual support is relevant to the management of change, and the best people to provide it come from a similar background. They may be making the same change, or they may already have completed the process. Course participants are asked to exchange addresses and phone numbers, and to agree to give each other 15 minutes of their time for a chat over the phone, or to meet to exchange advice and experience.

All these courses have been heavily sponsored by family trusts and leading companies, and are in no way subsidised by the Ministry of Defence. There are no military observers present and so complete privacy is assured in which people can exchange information freely and confidentially. Rank is irrelevant, as is Service, speciality, length of service, age and sex. All that is important is a desire to take advantage of this opportunity for self-examination and a wish to contribute so that others in the group can benefit from shared experiences.

Once the programme is up and running, this very generous sponsorship will enable people to attend programmes throughout the year for just £30, which includes course materials, accommodation and all meals. However, the first four pilot courses, which will run this spring and early summer, are free to all participants.

The course is the brainchild of Neville Barton, who has been working in this field for a number of years following service in the Royal Tank Regiment and careers in merchant banking and the TV industry. It has the support of a number of major companies and senior individuals who are retired from or serving in the Armed Forces. It is very much complementary to the range of resettlement facilities available through the Career Transition Partnership rather than an alternative to them. It offers opportunities for personal and inner growth, and does not seek to assist with job finding or resettlement skills training.

Many people make significant changes at various times in their lives. Some are through choice while others are forced upon them. A number find a quiet period of re-evaluation of themselves, their life objectives, their strengths and their weaknesses, and what they can do about them, to be of immense value. This can particularly be the case if a single incident or series of incidents have arisen to which the individual is finding it difficult to respond.

If this appeals to you, visit the website at www.remount.netfor more information, or phone the Remount Programme and 15 Minute Club on 01539 439722.

What have you got to lose?