Adam Macdonald

What he said.

@RestoreBil @thinkdefence As I read it - the old UY/SUY schemes are gone. Nobody should repeat the first 10 weeks. If no leadership training has been done then all 14 weeks at BRNC are done. LRLC done - the second 7 weeks. SRLC done - 4/5 weeks (a mash up of SUY course and the WO commissioning course).

They seem to change what he'll be doing on a weekly basis. Daughter UY did the full 29 weeks at Dartmouth. For his intake the direct entrants start at Raleigh for basic, he'll attend an inital couple of days but then skip the rest of basic. It's all very convoluted and changes regularly.

Officers and other ranks should do a joint service phase 1 common syllabus. A single, modern facility. We will soon be in 2030, yet have separation like its 1930. We need to move on and reflect the reality of today's young people.

@RestoreBil @thinkdefence Obviously I can’t speak for what he’s being told or what he’ll end up doing (the policy change is relatively recent and probably isn’t well understood - and it’s not impossible my understanding is wrong).

@Crunch1point1 @RestoreBil @thinkdefence No. They’ll be doing the same training, but not in the same divisions.

@RestoreBil @thinkdefence Are they all in the same troop? Cause I'm not sure about that. "See that Commander? he proper shit himself on a run with us in basic, dirty grotty little bastard he was" 😁

@RestoreBil @thinkdefence If he’s a UY he shouldn’t be doing the Raleigh phase. All in-service candidates do some or all of the Officer Commissioning Course (OCC) at BRNC, but nobody that’s been through Raleigh should be repeating that phrase.

@thinkdefence I believe they do in the RN now. Son-in-law due to start his officer training (UY) at Raleigh rather than Dartmouth in September.

@SomersetWasBlue @DrChrisParry @GavinBullick They will be in separate divisions. The training they do will be the same, but they won’t be training together.

Presumably, at that stage, they are not yet 'officers' so will they be distinguished in any way? If yes, they may get a 'rough ride' from the ratings. If no, then it's all for one and one for all - but showing any 'officer qualities' may not do them any favours! Seems fraught to me!

There are going to have to be some conventions in place and a tight regime enforced with regard to social over-mixing, predatory behaviour and harassment; otherwise it will be a military version of speed-dating. The Lympstone model won't necessarily migrate successfully to the rest of the @RoyalNavy Hope it does, but people need to be honest if it does not work.

@BO3673 @pinstripedline Same training, done alongside each other (an Officers course starts every 7 weeks - there won’t be a Ratings entry that week), but not mixed.

@pinstripedline So is the 11 weeks integrated with ratings or is it just “alongside” i.e distinct officer course, on the same estate?

The Royal Navy is making huge changes to Officer training. BRNC will no longer carry out initial naval training. Now all junior officers will spend 11 weeks at HMS RALEIGH alongside ratings before conducting leadership training at BRNC. royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2026/may/…

@tiredverytired @pinstripedline They will conduct the same training, but will be separate.

@pinstripedline Will they go through as a seperate intake or mixed in with the new entry ratings. I can see advantages in both. In the Hong Kong Police new entry Inspectors lead new entry PCs at training school

@__Nonsensical @pinstripedline No IST in initial Training now, which was 6 weeks.

@pinstripedline Unless I'm reading the wrong page this looks like shorter initial training not longer Curently 15 weeks militarisation + 15 weeks marinisation versus 10 + 14 in the new plan What do I have wrong? royalnavy.mod.uk/careers/joinin…

@RoyalMail How much can I claim for my fuel and time for delivering this to the correct address? Kitley Walk and Kitley View may look similar, but they’re in different villages with different postcodes - delivery to the right property shouldn’t be a challenge.

@pinstripedline Is this the first step to admitting that CASD is unachievable with the current material state of our SSBNs by paving the way for our nuclear safety blanket to be sometimes provided by the Marine Nationale?

Interesting. Worth noting that the UK was seriously looking at far closer nuclear cooperation with French in early 1990s and even thought about it in early 1970s. Good to see progress here.

@BournemouthF1 @jameswharton @ForcesNews Not impossible, he was 1SLs Flag Lieutenant for a bit.

@jameswharton @ForcesNews Had a complaint and took it direct to 1SL? Right..

Exclusive: The Royal Navy dismissed a service complaint alleging discrimination — without investigating it The independent ombudsman, who oversees the complaints system, told @ForcesNews : “Trust and confidence in the system remain low” The officer concerned says he will appeal

@IntercityFC @TomSharpe134 There is - provide the Virginia Class boats that are supposed to bridge the gap between the near future and the delivery of the first new platforms. If Trump decides it’s not in his interests the Aussies may be forced to look at buying new SSKs instead

@TomSharpe134 Sack off the US out of AUKUS. Go CANAUK. We can build nuclear boats in the UK. There is nothing the US can do in this sphere we can’t.

Have only been in the air a few hours and it seems the following are in trouble: AUKUS Iran HMS Bristol NATO Who to save?

@pinstripedline I agree (genuinely) - and am thinking that I might go down the wig route.

@Adam_Papa_Mac Brilliant news and very sensible approach.

Word reaches me that the Royal Navy has abolished the long standing ban on male sailors growing moustaches. Less than a week after the Royal Marines have taken over as 1st Sea Lord, and the absorbing of the RN into the Corps is clearly well underway! :-)

@NatashaMDay @Thehullboy1 @PrideOfBritain Done. Outstanding young man, deserving of far more recognition that he’s had so far.

THE YOUNGEST PERSON AND FIRST UNDER 18 TO RUN THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE UK🫡 £111,000 Raised for @mindcharity 1347KM Ran (837 miles) 1 car crash and 2 of the most difficult but greatest months of my life. I’m an emotional mess tonight but I just want to say, no matter how dark a place you are in. It can and WILL get better. 2 years ago I was in the darkest place in my life, 2 years later we have made history. Thank you to everyone who believed in me. I love you all very much. I’ll do a post when I’m able to process what’s just happened. MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS ❤️

£100,000 RAISED 🤯 Truly speechless. When I began running I said my all time goal was to raise 100K for @mindcharity - never did I imagine we would do it on this challenge alone. I don’t even know how to word this, this is already the greatest day of my life and I haven’t even finished the run yet. To whoever donated £20,000 anonymously, you have a heart of gold and thank you so much for believing in the challenge. Thank you to EVERYONE who has supported, I will forever be grateful for you all ❤️ 16 miles to go!

@eclectic500 @TBrit90 5th Watch change. Entirely normal. The Ships Company is larger than that needed at sea, allowing people to take leave, attend courses and such. Also allows for trainees and qualified personnel from other units to qualify/stay in date.

@TBrit90 Is that true about the original post, that it's unusual to swap sub crew on a deployment?

@IntercityFC @NavyLookout @dparody Sorry, I very rarely ever reply to anything because I don’t want to get dragged into online arguments, but… …sail is an American term, we call it ‘the fin’.

@NavyLookout @dparody I think it’s Anson. Look at these pics of Astute taken as part of #csg25. She has some discolouration on the upper forward end on the starboard side of the sail. This isn’t present in this picture as far as you can tell.

HMS Astute arriving in Gibraltar this morning #CSG25 Via @dparody

@dparody @RoyalNavy @NavyLookout @IBallantyn @WarshipsIFR 5th watch change - been going on for as long as I’ve been in the mob, and has happened in Gib countless times.

@RoyalNavy HMS Astute (discoloured sail) arriving at #Gibraltar to collect a number of "toys" (white crates on the quayside) and what looks like a replacement crew that was also waiting quayside. This hasn't been seen before. @NavyLookout @IBallantyn @WarshipsIFR