Chris Groves – Not making it through Perisher Driving Test

It is a simulated ‘Driving Test’ so the ‘Eyes-Only’ Phase where you’re trying to keep the submarine safe. It’s the first time where Teacher looks at you and says, “You can either do it or you can’t.”

It’s certainly the place where Teacher has, will have his suspicions aroused if you’re not performing particularly well. Some people don’t make it past the end of that bit of the Course.

Now, we’ve changed the rules around Perisher a bit. Previously if you were taken off the Course, you never could go back again, and you wouldn’t go back to sea in a Command role of a submarine. That was your sort of Command career over in submarines.

They’ve amended those rules a bit now and they’ve recognised that there are people that either through a lack of experience or lack of exposure take a little bit longer to get to the right place, so now for certain individuals if they’re just not quite cutting the mustard in the Shore Phase, either in the ‘Eyes Only’ piece or the Tactical Phase, Teacher can remove them from the Course and say, “Needs to go back to sea and needs some more experience but should come back again.”