University Royal Naval Unit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Flag of the United Kingdom
Naval Service
Components
Royal Navy
Royal Marines
History
History of the Royal Navy
History of the Royal Marines
Future of the Royal Navy
Ships
Current Fleet
Current deployments
Historic ships
Personnel
The Admiralty
Senior Officers
Uniforms
Officer rank insignia
Ratings rank insignia
Related Civilian Agencies of the MOD
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service

A University Royal Naval Unit (URNU) is a Royal Navy training establishment connected to a university, or a number of universities concentrated in one area. There are 14 URNUs nationwide in the UK, and each URNU has land-based facilities near the university in question, up to four training officers (members of the Royal Naval Reserve) and a dedicated training vessel (an Archer-class P2000 fast patrol boat).

Contents

[edit] Units and ships

HMS Example (P165) on the River Tyne at HMS Calliope, Gateshead
HMS Example (P165) on the River Tyne at HMS Calliope, Gateshead

The units and their ships are

URNU ships are part of the 1st Patrol Boat Squadron, 1PBS. 1PBS is commanded by Commander 1PBS, who is also Commander URNU (a role currently filled by Cdr Ben Carrol RN). The mission statement of the 1PBS is to "provide support to allow the conduct of safe and effective P2000 operations in support of the URNU sea-training syllabus".

[edit] Aim

"The aim of the URNU organisation is to educate a wide spectrum of high calibre undergraduates who show potential as society's future leaders and opinion formers in the role and need for the Royal Navy."

The aim of a URNU is to provide an insight into naval life for undergraduates - however, there is no commitment for the students to join the Royal Navy or Royal Marines after graduation (although a significant proportion of the Royal Navy's new officer intake each year comes from the URNUs). Even if the students do not choose to join the Navy afterwards, they will take away a greater understanding of modern naval forces with them into civilian life.

[edit] Membership

University Royal Naval Unit training vessels HMS Charger (P292) (on the left) and HMS Trumpeter (P294) in Bristol in 2004. The vessels' peacetime role is to train students in navigation and seamanship.
University Royal Naval Unit training vessels HMS Charger (P292) (on the left) and HMS Trumpeter (P294) in Bristol in 2004. The vessels' peacetime role is to train students in navigation and seamanship.

While the URNUs are commanded by Commander URNU (also Commander 1PBS) they fall under the overall jurisdiction of Commodore BRNC (the officer-in-charge of the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. Each URNU is commanded by an RN Lieutenant (OiC) or an RN Lt-Cdr (OiC) who also takes command (CO) of the unit's P2000. Each URNU comprises 51 undergraduates who join for the duration of their degree, with the option of taking years out or leaving at any time.

Undergraduates join for three years, or in some cases the duration of their course. Members hold the rank of Honorary Midshipman in the Royal Naval Reserve. A notable difference between this and other ranks in the Royal Navy is that there is no call-up liability and members may leave at any time.

[edit] Training

Training focuses on navigation and seamanship, and this is put into practice during sea weekends, and longer deployments during the summer and Easter vacations.

There is also a social element to URNU life from formal Mess Dinners including the main Naval social event of the year, Trafalgar Night, to informal drinking in the unit's mess.

There are sporting activities held within the URNU units, informal contests between the units and an annual sports weekend between all units.

[edit] See Also

[edit] References

[edit] External links