How to get to phase 2 with all of the kit????

mhoc

Son is on leave and getting ready for phase 2 in April.

To me the simpliest way of doing it is for us (parents) to drive him down to Phase 2 and for us to then to stay over in Southampton on Sunday night and then come home. To me this is simple enough, we have Sat nav and we have done most of the trip before so the road is not unfamiliar.

MY OH does not see it this way.

If son was to go on the train there is only one train on a a Sunday Morning and this gets into Cosham about 13.45 - he has to be at Southwick Park at 14.00 so he would need to let them know he was going to be late. The joining instructions say is £10 in the taxi so I think it must be quite a way from Cosham station to Southwick Park.

On the train he will have with him two huge army body bags with all of his kit, a huge suit carrier (or 2) his ruck sack, boots and shoes, iron and goodness knows how much other stuff. His kit filled the car when we collected him from phase 1. So when he gets into Southampton central on Sunday morning he will need to get all of this stuff off the train and across to the other platfrom and again off the train at Cosham.

Or I suppose its possible to actually come down the day before, the Saturday when there will be less time pressure (but still only one direct train from here to Southampton, otherwise you end up with 2 changes, changing at Wolverhampton as well)

My OH has suggested though to try sending the big body bags down via DHL. Son has made a few enquires about this and some one has said they would need to go to the nearest army carears office to be checked over before DHL collected them. I cant figure out the DHL website, seems to need the exact dimensions of the bags, weights etc - looks very complicated and expensive.

Any suggestions?

intranicity

Why doesn't other half see it your way? Seems the easiest thing all round personally, what are his objections?

escortg3

travel lodge have some £29.00 for double rooms available. Would it not be cheaper for you to take your son down and stay over than him get a train and taxi.

Alias_Omega

Travel between Phase 1 and Phase 2 training is usually provided by the use of Military Transport (MT). If there is a break between Phase 1 & Phase 2 training, the recruit may be given the option to take leave of absence, clear from the unit and arrive at the next unit on the date.

The recruit can opt out from taking leave, and remain on the station, living in the accomodation, eating in the mess until the date to move, then take MT to the next unit. The other option is to take leave, and still remain on the unit. This could be done for those that live too far away to travel home, as seen with some overseas recruits etc.

As i assume that leave was taken between the Phase 1 & Phase 2 training, funding can be helped via the use of a Travel Warrant. JSP 752 covers this.

Duty Travel with Associated Leave Journeys

04.0112. Inter-assignment Leave. When assigned to a new unit either temporarily or permanently the Service person, and where appropriate their accompanying immediate family, will be entitled to travel at public expense. A Service person granted leave between assignments may, when they have an entitlement, travel using a Get You Home (Early Years) (GYH(EY)), GYH(Islands), GYH(Seagoers) (GYH(S)) or GYH(S) Additional journey from their former duty station to an appropriate qualifying address in the UK or Republic of Ireland (ROI). Irrespective of the method of travel, the Service person should, in these circumstances, be debited one appropriate journey from their overall entitlement. The following options are to be considered when establishing entitlements:

a. Rail Travel (see Section 2 of this Chapter). A warrant/Service arranged ticket is to be provided from the nearest rail station at the current duty station to the nearest rail station to the leave address and another warrant/Service arranged ticket is to be provided from the nearest rail station to the leave address to the nearest rail station to the new duty station. If the new duty station is not known when proceeding on leave, hence no warrant can be issued, the Service person should pay their own fare and claim a full refund for the cost of the ticket on joining the new unit. Public transport or taxi fares can be claimed to and from the rail stations (see Section 3 of this Chapter) when no Service transport is available. HM Forces Railcards are not to be used for duty journeys.

b. Private Motor Vehicles (see Section 3 of this Chapter). The direct mileage between the current duty station and the new duty station can be claimed at Motor Mileage Allowance (MMA) at Private Car Rate (PCR). Additional fees such as bridge and road tolls and congestion charges to achieve the most direct route can be claimed if taken into account when costing the journey. MMA at Converted Leave Rate (CLR) can also be claimed from the former duty station to the appropriate qualifying address in the UK or ROI and from this address to the new duty station, less the distance between the former and new duty station.

In short, your son (the recruit) will have 4 return journeys a year GYH (Early Years) to an address within the UK. He will be able to claim for getting home & back, and should be also allowed to claim as a passenger.

You dont say how he got home from the base, or how he plans to return. Though with a little digging with the JSP 752, you/he should be able to refund some of the costs, leaving him 3 return journeys remaining.



Though, the easiest answer is to drive down on the Saturday, check him into the base and offload all his stuff. Left him stay on the station, you stay in the local travelodge. Meet up the next morning. Say goodbye and depart for home..

samm1551

Is there a National Express Coach he could go on? I come from Southampton way, and know there is a depot not too far from Cosham. Failing that as his Mum I would drive him, but I'm a soft touch and would want to see him off.

Esoog

Tell him to man up and get on the train, he better get used to lugging kit bags all over the place

Ditch the DHL idea, it would be more hassle than its worth.

Alternatively tell your other half to stop being stupid? :A

intranicity

Esoog wrote: »

Tell him to man up and get on the train, he better get used to lugging kit bags all over the place

Ditch the DHL idea, it would be more hassle than its worth.

Alternatively tell your other half to stop being stupid? :A

One of the most concise and useful answers to a question I've ever seen :beer: Straight to the point on every count :cool:

Esoog

intranicity wrote: »

One of the most concise and useful answers to a question I've ever seen :beer: Straight to the point on every count :cool:

Animo Et Fide

CWCDiver

Porchester station is the closest one to South Park. It takes about ten minutes to get there.

Don't send it via DHL, it will get lost and/or the guardroom will not sign for it, it is a quick way for his kit to go missing.

Exemplo Ducemus

PasturesNew

Do most people we send off to war carry an iron and get a lift with their mum everywhere?

Your suggestion is clearly the easiest on paper - does your OH work all week and not fancy the drive/faffing about? Can you not do the journey on your own with your son and leave the OH to snooze all weekend at home?

Does your son have any mates doing the same journey who live en-route, where he could be dropped off and you could bung some other hapless parent £30 to complete his journey?

coldstreamalways

Late to this thread but we don't call them body bags as far as I can recall.... I call mine a "grip". Body bags are for something else. Esoog, I thought your motto was "because pay won't c0ck itself up", thanks for the correction:p;)