Hi there,
My name is Frank Baldwin. I am a historian and battlefield guide. I have created this website and blog to help people planning Staff Rides, Battlefield Studies and Realities of War Tours.
Staff Rides and Battlefield studies are a popular and challenging way of deepening professional knowledge. They are an effective form of conceptual training for participants and are seen as a good test of planning and organisational skills for junior officers.
Planning and organising a staff ride or battlefield study is likely to be an unfamiliar experience. It can also be challenging. Guidance stresses extensive and thorough preparatory work. The exercise planner needs to have sufficient historic knowledge to find parallels with modern relevance and design an exercise which will develop professional knowledge. The expertise to undertake this, and preparation time is easier to find in a staff college than at regimental duty.
The exercise planner faces a number of questions:-
- Where to go and what battles to look at?
- How much do you do yourself – and what do you buy in from historic expertise, battlefield guides and tour companies?
- What objectives are you going to set that can be seen to be achieved on the exercise?
This website contains a collection of articles and information gained from planning battlefield tours of various sorts. There is a forum and access to a collection of papers and reference material supporting destinations and historic periods is available through a drop box for those who sign up to our newsletter.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like any advice planning a staff ride or battlefield study, or to source a subject matter expert. There is no obligation to use my services, but appreciate the opportunity to quote.
Email: frank @ frankbaldwin.co.uk
Telephone +44 781 317 9668