AMMUNITION TECHNICIAN - ROYAL LOGISTIC CORPS
The Ammunition Technician is the Army's expert in explosives, counter-terrorist bomb disposal, and everything associated with ammunition, and plays a vital part in delivering the operational capability of the Army in peace and on operations. This means testing and maintaining everything from ammunition clips for SA80 rifles to guided missiles for anti-aircraft systems.
Ammunition Technicians need to be bright and self-motivated and demonstrate the qualities necessary to fill a position of great trust and responsibility. They must have good self-discipline, be capable of working with the minimum of supervision and have a keen eye for detail, as well as displaying good manual dexterity. They should also display a genuine interest in weapons, ammunition and explosives.
Ammunition Technicians firstly learn the basic scientific knowledge to enable them to undertake their technical and practical training. They will then be taught about British ammunition and how it works, how to inspect, repair, store and dispose of it safely. Training later progresses to learning about guided weapons, conventional munitions disposal and the wider aspects of explosive ordnance disposal.
There are future opportunities to remain in an operational bomb-disposal role, doing further training and becoming a key member of a specialist capability team, or to work in the intelligence field.
Sergeant Sam Shaw, 22, from Torquay, is an Ammunition Technician in the Explosive Ordnance Regiment.
"I did two six-month courses at the Army School of Ammunition where we learn everything from how missiles work to how to deal with a chemical bomb. I wanted to do something that used my brain. There's opportunity to move up the ranks. I'm a Sergeant and I'm only 22. It takes most guys until they are 30."
