Ammunition Technician

The AT Badge.

An Ammunition Technician (AT) is a British Army soldier trained to inspect, repair, test and store, and modify all ammunition and explosives used by the British Army. They are trained to safely dispose of ammunition and explosives (EOD), and those who show the appropriate qualities are given extra training to render safe Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) by a process called Improvised Explosive Device Disposal, and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO).

Training

To qualify to attend the class 2 Ammunition Technician course^[1], a soldier must first pass a pre-select course, during which time he will be assessed for suitability for role. The pre-selection includes psychometric testing, leadership skills, problem solving and numeracy tests.

The basic AT course is 6 months in duration, part of which is spent at The Royal Military College of Science. The course covers conventional land munitions, conventional munition disposal, guided weapons and explosive theory and safety. The majority of the course takes place at the Defence EOD Munitions Search School Kineton, formerly the Army School of Ammunition.

The Royal Logistic Corps Ammunition Technicians trained at the Defence EOD Munitions Search School, Kineton are regarded throughout the world as the subject matter experts in Improvised Explosive Device (IED) disposal as a result of their combined experience in Palestine, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan, Aden, and other conflicts.

Commissioned officers are known as Ammunition Technical Officers and for the Sandhurst entrant follow a long technical course in the rank of Captain. ATs that become commissioned are also referred to as ATOs.

Scope of work

ATs are employed within the Royal Logistic Corps within the British Army, but are not exclusively a UK MoD, but similar personnel also exist in the Canadian, Australian RAAOC^[2], and New Zealand armed forces. Ammunition Technicians trained at the Defence EOD Munitions Search School, Kineton also work in a number of African, Far Eastern and Middle Eastern armed forces.

In the United Kingdom, bomb disposal is carried out in all three services (Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, and the Royal Logistic Corps and Royal Engineers of the British Army). The British military carry out bomb disposal within their specialities. Much of this is carried out by the Ammunition Technicians of the Royal Logistic Corps, the Royal Navy Clearance Divers deal with shoreline and underwater tasks, the Royal Air Force deal with tasks on their own property and from UK aircraft, and the Royal Engineers deal with area clearance, minefields, conventional, biological and chemical weapons, enemy aircraft bombs (especially German WWII bombs that continue to turn up).

Operational Honours

The trade of Ammunition Technician is one of the most highly decorated professions in the British Army. The trade has been awarded 222 gallantry awards as follows:

• George Cross - 9
• George Medal - 80
• Conspicuous Gallantry Cross - 1
• Military Cross - 3
• Queen's Gallantry Medal - 100
• MBE for Gallantry - 10
• BEM for Gallantry - 19

In addition, Ammunition Technicians and Ammunition Technical Officers have also received over 180 Mention in Dispatches or Queen's Commendations for Bravery.

These decorations have been awarded since 1940 and in places such as Aden, Afghanistan, Burma, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Iraq, Italy, Malaya, Malta, Northern Ireland, Pacific, Sicily and Yugoslavia.

George Cross

• Warrant Officer Class 1 Barry Johnson GC. Royal Army Ordnance Corps. 6 November 1990.
• Staff Sergeant Kim Spencer Hughes GC, Royal Logistic Corps 19 March 2010
• Staff Sergeant Olaf Sean Schmid GC, Royal Logistic Corps 19 March 2010

George Medal

• Warrant Officer Class 1 JRT Balding GM Royal Logistic Corps 12 October 1993, first GM awarded to member of the newly formed Royal Logistic Corps.
• Warrant Officer Class 1 NB Thomsen GM Royal Logistic Corps 1995.
• Warrant Officer Class 2 A Islam GM QGM Royal Logistic Corps 1997.
• Warrant Officer Class 2 Gary John O'Donnell, Royal Logistic Corps. 15 December 2006.^[3] O'Donnell was later killed by an IED whilst serving in Afghanistan.^[4] He was later posthumously awarded a second GM in March 2009 for "repeated and sustained acts of immense bravery" for his actions in Afghanistan in two separate incidents in May and July 2008.^[5]
• Warrant Officer Class 2 Karl Ley GM Royal Logistic Corps 24th September 2010

Conspicuous Gallantry Cross

• Staff Sergeant James Anthony Wadsworth CGC, Royal Logictic Corps. 7 March 2008

Queen's Gallantry Medal

• WO1 Eamon Conrad Heakin QGM, Royal Logistic Corps. 7 September 2004
• Warrant Officer Class 2 Colin Robert George Grant QGM, Royal Logistic Corps 11 September 2009 [3]

References

1. ^ [1] MOD Website
2. ^ [2] RAAOC AT Website
3. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58183. p. 17359. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
4. ^ "Warrant Officer Class 2 Gary 'Gaz' O'Donnell GM, 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, killed in Afghanistan". MOD. http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/WarrantOfficerClass2GarygazOdonnellGm11ExplosiveOrdnanceDisposalRegimentRoyalLogisticCorpsKilledInAf.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-02. 
5. ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/03/06/posthumous-award-for-bomb-disposal-expert-gary-o-donnell-115875-21174932/

See also

• William DG Hunt
• Bomb disposal
• RAAOC - Royal Australian Ordnance Corps
• Ammunition Technical Officer (ATO)