SO3 Band DRM

Captain JR Burcham MMus PGDip LRSM Royal Marines

As I begin to write this Blue Band article I have to ponder and consider what aspects of the SO3 Band’s role are of particular interest to the majority of readers. I suppose the fact that this job brings with it the nomenclature of ‘Drafty’ must mean that drafting would be the primary concern of most, so that is where I’ll begin. Recent visits to the Bands (apologies to Scotland) have provided the opportunity to make some points about drafting, which I’d like to reiterate here. In order to provide a balanced and varied career all individuals should expect to be drafted, and most (with only a few exceptions) are eligible. Ultimately, the aim is to provide the best balance of instrumentation, bearing in mind the various subtleties of each instrument category and particular strengths and experience of those within it. A great deal of consideration is given to each drafting decision, which is made in consultation with the Corps Bandmaster and Corps Bugle Major before being ratified by PDM. There have been a number of drafts issued in recent months and these are made to achieve that balance of instrumental capability, experience and rank in each Band. I’m hopeful that the latest drafts broke all previous records but disappointed that despite drafting 90% of the trombonists, Bd CSgt Bateman has remained in Portsmouth Band; but my work is not over yet...

The encouraging news is that the manning shortage is improving and by April 2007 the shortfall will have reduced to 12. This is due to the reduction in applications for PVR, the rate of which has returned its steady state, and a rise in applications to join the Band Service thanks to the excellent work by Bd CSgt ‘Taff’ Davies MBE; our special envoy embedded within DNR.

The Promotion Selection Board (PSB) convened in January and implemented the change in policy to Merit Based Promotion. This means that the previous system of Promotion on Points (POPS) has finally been superseded by a system different in many respects, but fairer. PDM is now the 2nd Reporting Officer for all RMBS personnel, which creates parity of reporting throughout the Band Service. Every candidate for promotion is considered at the PSB regardless of his or her RORRS grade rather than a percentage of the requirement. The PSB selects candidates for promotion; those individuals are then loaded to command training before promotion to substantive rank with a collective promotion date of 31 Mar annually. This means that in future, attendance at JCC/SCC will not be a requirement for selection. The demise of the POPS list will affect Promotion Prospect Assessments, the information for which will now be results of the PSB. Ultimately, Merit Based Promotion is a positive step ensuring that we promote the best candidates from the whole of the Band Service.

By and large the daily workload in this office consists of engagement requests. The demands for Band support to the MOD and to the civilian community are great and require careful management to achieve the correct balance of engagement, rehearsal, training and down-time for our personnel. On average we receive 30 requests every week, that are in addition to those for the Engagements Conference. I would like to add our thanks at this point to the Band Secretaries, who manage to process those requests and respond promptly. Whilst on the subject, our gratitude must also go to the Buglers, who manage the many requests for Last Post and Reveille regularly attending funerals at such short notice.

Captain Jason Burcham has some new methods of sorting out the drafts

I would like to end this brief article by returning to the drafting situation and provide a drafting forecast, which may prove useful. On Mondays we draft buglers; Tuesdays, clarinet players; Wednesdays we devote to the latest attempt at prising Bateman out of Portsmouth (the remainder of trombonists have already received their drafts); Thursdays, VBIs; and Fridays, cornet players and Bateman again. That said, Band Service personnel can rest assured that drafting and personnel matters are taken seriously and that preferences are taken into consideration together with information available concerning domestic situations. Every effort is made to draft individuals to their preference, but the primary duty is to populate the Band Service with the right mix of skills and experience. Unless your name is Bateman, in which case it’s personal.