Aloysiad 15-12 2006.indd - St Aloysius
Aloysiad 15-12 2006.indd - St Aloysius
Aloysiad 15-12 2006.indd - St Aloysius
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cadets<br />
A Bridge to Nowhere...<br />
As I’m always looking for something new to keep<br />
cadets occupied at camp, when Mr Turner suggested<br />
they build a bridge, I thought... Why not!<br />
Planning started in Mr Turner’s usual format, a hasty<br />
sketch on the back of an envelope, accompanied by his<br />
technical mantra, “you don’t need to write the measurements<br />
down son, we’ll fix it as we go”.<br />
Michael Curtin (Year 10), Sam Levy (Year <strong>12</strong>), Andrew Pendlebury<br />
(Year <strong>12</strong>), Michael Bryant (Year <strong>12</strong>), Richard Alessi (Year 11),<br />
<strong>St</strong>ephen <strong>St</strong>anton (Year 11), Mr Simon Turner, Christian McMahon<br />
(Year <strong>12</strong>) and David Michel (Year 11)<br />
Being a feat of engineering, sort of, the Pioneer Platoon<br />
was tasked with the assembly and construction of the<br />
bridge. Timber, paint and rope were ordered and at some<br />
stage during the planning stage, the bridge was changed<br />
from a single span to a suspension model. Friday parade<br />
afternoons for the Pioneers were spend drilling deck plates,<br />
dipping suspension ropes and pre-packing all the parts for<br />
assembly in the field.<br />
We needed a site on Singleton Range that offered a<br />
reasonably challenging crossing yet allowed construction<br />
to proceed with a modicum of safety. That accomplished<br />
after an extensive search, the Pioneers set to work. They<br />
were given two days to complete the build before Charlie<br />
Company was to turn up for a crossing. The team, led by<br />
<strong>St</strong>aff Sergeant Michael Bryant and assisted by WO2 Adam<br />
Pendlebury were slow to start and their motto of “work<br />
hard, rest harder“ did little to instil a sense of confidence,<br />
however, by the end of Day 1, at least the shape of the<br />
bridge to come was visible.<br />
Like construction sites anywhere, tidiness was not<br />
a driving force with the Pioneers. Because of the tight<br />
deadlines they were allowed to camp beside their project<br />
and the construction site soon resembled their bedrooms at<br />
home. They left equipment and personal gear everywhere<br />
and regular inspections were required to achieve even a<br />
hint of any military discipline.<br />
Their claim that they started work at 6.00am each<br />
Adam Pendlebury (Year <strong>12</strong>), Richard Alessi (Year <strong>12</strong>), Sam Levy<br />
(Year <strong>12</strong>), Michael Bryant (Year <strong>12</strong>), Michael Curtin (Year 10),<br />
<strong>St</strong>ephen <strong>St</strong>anton (Year 11), Christian McMahon (Year <strong>12</strong>) and<br />
David Michel (Year 11)<br />
morning, met with some scorn by the other cadets, may<br />
have been accurate. Despite our misgivings construction<br />
proceeded apace and by the end of Day 2 they had<br />
decking laid and all that remained was to adjust the<br />
risers so that the deck was something close to horizontal,<br />
horizontal being a descriptive term for Pioneers meaning<br />
anything from five to twenty degrees above or below what<br />
the rest of us class as horizontal.<br />
Load bearing tests were conducted, Doctor Forrest<br />
kindly volunteering his load for the test, and then side<br />
swivel tests with the building team lending their weight to<br />
the exercise. By daybreak on Day 3 the bridge was open<br />
for business and Charlie Company successfully negotiated<br />
the route without mishap.<br />
It was quite an experience, both for the builders and the<br />
passengers who crossed. The entire Pioneer platoon should<br />
be congratulated on their efforts. SSGT Michael Bryant,<br />
SGT Andrew Pendlebury, SGT Andrew Fitzpatrick, SGT<br />
Richard Alessi, SGT David Michel, SGT Sam Levy, LCPL<br />
Michael Curtin and WO2 Adam Pendlebury.<br />
Major David Clancy<br />
Commanding Officer<br />
Doctor Allan Forrest (Current Parent) tests the bridge<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 1