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Abbreviations


 

Armed Forces - a8a2.1 - The Royal Engineers - Combat Engineer Training

THE ROYAL ENGINEERS

COMBAT ENGINEER TRAINING


All RE officers undergo officer training at RMA Sandhurst (44 weeks) before taking the Royal Engineers Troop Commanders Course (RETCC) with 1 and 3 RSME Regiments. The RETCC is 27 weeks long. All RE officers are expected to have or to obtain university degree-level engineering qualifications, and many qualify for higher degrees in the course of their career.

Recruit training for other ranks involves three phases:

  • Soldier training (12 to 32 weeks)

  • Combat engineer training (10 weeks)

  • Trade training (10 – 49 weeks)

For both officers and other ranks, specialist engineer training is mainly conducted by 1 and 3 Royal School of Military Engineer (RSME) Regiments based at Chatham and Minley. 1 RSME Regiment is the support regiment for training.

During a year, some 8000 students may pass through 1 RSME Regiment, many of whom have recently joined the army and who have arrived at Chatham for a long engineering course lasting, in some cases, up to 44 weeks. 1 RSME Regiment incorporates the Construction Engineer School at Chatham, where civil and mechanical engineering skills are taught.

3 RSME Regiment is responsible for combat engineer training. The Combat Engineer School is located at Minley. 55 and 57 Training Squadrons are responsible for Combat Engineer and Assault Pioneer training, and Driver Training Troop, 63 Training Support Squadron, is responsible for ABLE and RE Module Driver training.