THE Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Lady Mary Holborow, has visited HMS Raleigh for an update on how the Royal Navy trains its sailors for the challenges of modern operations. Commodore David Pond, Commanding Officer of HMS Raleigh, was delighted to welcome Lady Mary and her deputies to HMS Raleigh for a briefing and a tour of the establishment. Lady Mary, who has always had a keen interest in Raleigh, met with some of the Royal Navy's latest recruits and watched as they were put through the recently changed training routine. Other highlights included a tour of the Cookery School and the opportunity to get afloat and experience the Navy's latest Rigid Inflatable Boats. Lady Mary and her deputies were also able to go inside the Ship's Damage Repair Unit where sailors learn how to shore up damaged vessels in a realistic training setting. Commodore Pond said: 'It is always a pleasure to have Lady Mary and her deputies with us, as Her Majesty The Queen's representatives in Cornwall. It was good to be able to update them on the renewed operational focus of what we do. Turning 'civvies into sailors' is a part of our business but increasingly our focus is to hone our people's skills in preparation for operational deployments. Lady Mary and her deputies were really positive about what they saw and were impressed with the enthusiasm shown by those they met and the enormous contribution Raleigh makes to the Fleet 's operational capability.'
