THE last few weeks of my professional stores accountant training at HMS Raleigh have flown by and, in just one month's time, I will be leaving my home since January to take up a position in the fleet. As the course rapidly progresses, things are steadily falling into place and I have a far better understanding of what to expect from my new job. We have already taken our newly acquired knowledge into the workplace, spending time working in real naval clothing stores. Having never visited a warehouse before, I was amazed by the massive sizes that cardboard boxes can come in! I have even learnt to drive a pallet lifter, something I would definitely not seen myself doing had I not joined the navy! We also spent the day on HMS Monmouth, a type-23 frigate, which is Plymouth based. I got to see all the storerooms onboard and, more importantly, sample what the food could be like on my first ship! Improve The storage space on HMS Monmouth was much smaller than I imagined it would be, and I'm sure that with practice that my technique of scaling some of the precarious ladders will improve! It was great to see what to expect from a real working environment, and after moving a mountain of fizzy drink cans, I really enjoyed taking the opportunity to talk with people who are actually doing the job. However, I was slightly concerned by the size of my locker space onboard. Being less than a third of my current space, I'm definitely going to have to streamline my wardrobe! My glamorous life has not all about classrooms and the lifting and shifting of stores, I spent a fab day out at the army verses navy rugby game! We took a coachload of supporters from HMS Raleigh, but despite the fairly conclusive defeat, the Royal Navy can be proud that we definitely had the best looking team! With just two more exams to go, I am excited at the prospect of getting out of the training environment. In a couple of weeks' time we will find out where we shall be going for our first six-month shore draft. So it's back to the books for me to make sure that I pass the course, not long to go now!
