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LEJOG Day 0 – The Journey to Penzance

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Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

Getting to the start is no mean feat. After 10 hours on a train I’m in serious danger of getting saddle sore before getting on the bike! The day started with a full Orr family farewell at York station before boarding the 0745hrs direct train to Penzance. Or so I thought. It transpired that due to ‘schedule changes’ the train actually terminated in Plymouth, some 2 hours from Penzance. This in itself wasn’t a problem as there are frequent trains between Plymouth and Penzance, but of course my bike booking wasn’t valid on any connecting train. All worked out in the end though, thanks to some fast talking and fast moving! Travelling by rail in the UK never fails to sprinkle some spice on any adventure.

I arrived at Penzance just as the first thunder storm of the day began its deluge. A rather resigned and soggy mile took me to the Youth Hostel on the outskirts of town, and it seems perfectly pleasant as Youth Hostels go.

Tomorrow I will tackle the (roughly) 80 miles to Tintagel. Hopefully the (just over) 1000 miles of training will have prepared me well enough – and let’s face it, if I struggle on day 1 the next few weeks are going to be very tricky indeed!

Penzance seems to be in something of celebratory state this evening; there is much fancy dress and staggering as you might expect on a bank holiday weekend Saturday. In my own way I’m going to join the party by taking myself to the Pirate Inn (where else) and ordering a beer and whatever on the menu has the most carbs.

Packing For LEJOG

What to pack when cycling the length of the country? Over the last few days I’ve been trying to refine my kit list to minimise weight whilst also (hopefully) ensuring I have everything I need. As I am cycling solo and unsupported I need to fit everything into my two rear Ortlieb panniers. I could have opted for more load carrying options on the bike, but I decided that limiting myself would force a degree of discipline; I dare say if I had front panniers too the coffee maker might have made the cut! Because I am staying at Youth Hostels and B&Bs I don’t need to worry about carrying any camping kit, which also helps with the minimalist approach.

The photo above is pretty much the final version. At the end I’ll update this post with a view of how close I was to getting it right!

· Cycling Kit – I packed 3 sets. I will be able to access laundry facilities en route so I should be able to recycle (pun intended). I have a huge degree of confidence in the British weather so I will be wearing cycling shorts exclusively and I only have one long sleeved cycling top. I also only have a very light waterproof. I have pretty much accepted that if it rains I will be getting wet. Finally, my cycling shoes (SPDs) are the only shoes I am taking. A pair for the evening would have been a nice luxury, but shoes are just too bulky.

· Non-cycling clothing – I have a pair of trousers (that transform to shorts), 3 t-shirts and a fleece. That’s about it!

· Bike maintenance – Perhaps a gamble, but again I have erred on minimalism. I have two spare inner tubes, which seems enough to start with given I had no punctures in 1000 miles of training. Clearly I have jinxed it now so I fully expect to have a double puncture within sight of Land’s End…. I also have a quick link and chain tool so I can fix simple broken chains. Other than that, if it can’t be fixed with a multi-tool then I will be walking to the nearest pub!

· Food and drink – I will have 3 bottles on the bike with the option of a further one in a pannier, which I’ll fill if I’m cycling a long stint. For hydration I’ll dedicate one of the bottles to SIS electrolyte, which is a ratio that seemed to work in training. I’ll be buying food as I go, but I intend to have plenty of emergency Wine Gums and Mars Bars with me at all times. Things get slow and painful when you suddenly need sugar and it is 10 miles to the nearest shop.

· Medical – Factor 30 and Chamois cream. I’ll try not to get them mixed up. I’m not taking anything more substantial on the basis that if I’m not well enough to cycle to a chemist then I probably shouldn’t be cycling at all.

· Gadgets – My Garmin 800 has the route programmed in. I would be literally lost without it. For photos and videos I’ll be using a GoPro with handlebar mount. For entertainment I have my Kindle. Frustratingly, none of these devices use the same charging cable!

NCSC Alert – A Welcome Approach to Defending Critical National Infrastructure

Last week the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued an unprecedented alert regarding malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian government. This marked a significant milestone in the international fight against the cyber threat that our country, and in particular our Critical National Infrastructure, faces. The alert was particularly noteworthy for 3 reasons:

  • The alert was written and issued in full partnership with colleagues in the United States from both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security. This is the first time this has happened; whilst there has long since been excellent cooperation across the pond (this is one area where the ‘special relationship’ is alive and well) there has never before been such a clear demonstration of the strength and depth of the partnership. Such a unified approach will ensure resilience capability develops at pace whilst also sending a powerful message to our adversaries.
  • The alert speaks clearly and with certainty about attribution. It unequivocally calls out Russian intent to exploit our cyber infrastructure and records it plainly in the public record. This level of certainty will be rooted in robust intelligence and it is reasonable to surmise that clear evidence of Russian intent and activity exists. Until very recently this level of intelligence and its associated analysis would be heavily classified and distribution would be limited. Releasing such intelligence product into the public domain is a game changer. To my mind the fact that this can now happen is one of the biggest successes of the NCSC.
  • The technical note actually offers simple and practical guidance that can be implemented by organisations of all sizes. It explains Russian tactics and techniques, offers tips on how to identify compromises and suggests mitigation actions. In short it is a useful guide to those at the coalface working in cyber defence. Similar notes in the past have often been overly generic and bland to the point of uselessness.

It is difficult to overstate how important and welcome this more open and more technically useful approach is. The cyber world is becoming more collaborative and more open – this trajectory must be maintained if we are going to overmatch the threat and generate genuine resilience.

Getting this right is nationally important. We are beginning to talk openly and in detail about the threat to our Critical National Infrastructure, indeed the Joint Technical Report released last week explicitly spoke about Russian prepositioning on Critical National Infrastructure targets.

This is an extremely positive development; the first step to addressing a problem is to be honest about its existence. With aligned leadership at the national level on both sides of the Atlantic it is really encouraging to see that process beginning.

LEJOG Training Update

With only 5 weeks remaining before the ‘grand depart’ on my LEJOG attempt this is a good time to reflect on my preparations.

Training: The seemingly eternal winter coupled with a particularly busy work schedule delayed the start of my training effort by a couple of weeks. I didn’t really get going until the middle of February, and even then most rides were a fairly dark and cold experience. The improving weather and longer days have brought the fun back and in the last couple of weeks I have started ramping up the miles to an average of 100 per week. From the outset I have attempted to train at a sustainable pace (10-12 mph including stops) and at full weight including loaded panniers. This has meant adopting a different mindset and a style of riding that is all about efficiency; it doesn’t matter how quickly you get to the top of the hill but it does matter how much energy you preserve getting there. As I start to do longer rides my main concern is being able to ride significant distance day after day. Having done multi-day endurance events before (albeit not on a bike) I am heartened by how quickly physical exertion becomes ‘normal business’ for the body. I’m hoping that happens to me pretty soon after the start of LEJOG!

So with just over 500 miles on the clock I’m a little behind where I hoped to be but overall not too far off the pace.

The Bike: Back in January I bought a new Ridgeback Panorama touring bike. In short, I’m delighted with it. It does exactly what it is supposed to. It is at its best fully loaded and gliding along at a stately pace. It is comfortable, smooth and unexciting – perfect for touring! The big gear range is invaluable and I have made it up some pretty chunky inclines even with maximum weight. With Schwalbe Marathon tyres fitted as standard, I have gone off road with confidence (or at least more confidence than I have in my navigation, which was probably the reason I was off road in the first place…) And the disc brakes are excellent; without doubt they saved me on a particularly steep country lane – or more accurately they saved the bumper of the car in front of me! Special mention needs to go to the Ortlieb Classic panniers which are genuinely waterproof and carry everything I need (rear panniers only) whilst being ridiculously easy to clip on and remove.

Fundraising: I am riding to raise money for the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund and the Gurkha Welfare Trust. I have set up JustGiving pages, which can be accessed here:

This is the first I have advertised these pages, but I plan pushing them quite hard over the next few weeks. Consider this a pre-warning of the pestering to come! In all seriousness, I would be hugely grateful for any contribution in sponsorship you can make. Every penny of the money raised will go to the two life changing charities mentioned above.

And finally, if you want to ride any sections of the route with me, or if you just want to say hello en route, please get in contact and we can arrange it.

Now back to the training……

Cyber Operations – The Challenge of the Three Sided Coin

As cyber operations have increased in scope and credibility their integration into wider military operations has developed organically. The organisations that design and deliver cyber capability have similarly evolved over time rather than being designed from first principles. This agile approach has served a purpose, but we have now reached a level of maturity where a well-conceived structure and governance model would bring substantial advantage. However, meeting this challenge will mean overcoming a conundrum that lies at the heart of all military cyber structures.

Operating Defence communications networks is something that we have done well for many years. Like most other organisations, the UK military maintains a network operating centre, which acts as a hub from which global networks are managed. Also in common with many large organisations the MOD has a security operating centre that is responsible for preventing and reacting to cyber attacks. It is evidently desirable that these organisations are conceptually (and physically) very close to each other. It would be nonsensical if those who operate our networks and those who conduct defensive cyber operations on our own networks weren’t in the same business space; they are two sides of the same coin.

If we now consider cyber’s contribution to Full Spectrum Effects operations then it is immediately apparent that all elements of cyber operations must be considered in tandem during the planning process. PROTECT is just as much a mission verb as DISRUPT, and for a plan to be successful both offensive actions and defensive actions must be considered simultaneously. This concept is well established in military planning; it is inadvisable to go on the offensive unless you start from a well-established and secure base. Offensive cyber operations and defensive cyber operations must also be conceptually close; they are two sides of the same coin.

The structural problem is that there is no three-sided coin – defensive cyber operations cannot easily be bedfellows with both offensive cyber and network operations concurrently. In the UK our organisational model has evolved to structurally separate network management and military operations. This has had the effect of splitting defensive cyber operations in two so that routine defending sits with network management whilst defensive cyber planning is considered operationally as part of Full Spectrum Effects planning alongside all offensive options. This solution works, but it is inelegant and inefficient. The division of defensive cyber operations makes a unified defence more challenging to achieve than it could be.

It may be that there is no perfect solution to this; certainly none of our international partners have found the ideal solution. However as we consider designing the next generation cyber enterprise it is important that we give this structural challenge all due consideration so that our future operating model is as efficient as it can be.

Planning a Route for LEJOG

Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

I’ve spent some time over the last few weeks planning my route for this summer’s cycling adventure. I’m not out to break any records so I’m aiming for a relatively modest 80 miles a day. Equally I have no intention of playing ‘dodge the juggernaut’ so the route I designed makes use of smaller roads and the occasional cycle path. Whilst this will mean more miles it will give me a chance to enjoy being in the countryside rather than just seeing it flash by over the top of an A-road crash barrier. I wanted to personalise the route too, so I will visit places where I have lived and worked, the town where I grew up and I’ll have a stop at home where I have allowed myself a sneaky rest day!

Having decided I wanted to average around 80 miles a day I used the Garmin Connect route planner to design a detailed plan for each day, bouncing Youth Hostel to Youth Hostel along the master route. The application is really easy to use and it is tailored for the cyclist, maximising use of national cycle routes and minimising time on main roads. I’ll then upload these to my trusty Garmin 800 so in theory I shouldn’t have to worry about navigation when in the saddle! I’ve used this method when training in unfamiliar areas and it works well – although I’ll definitely need a spare battery!

Below is an outline of the final version. If anyone fancies coming along for a ride on any of the days then you are more than welcome – just drop me a message and I’ll give you RV times and a more detailed route for the day. Likewise if you want to say ‘hi’ as I pass by then that would be appreciated too. Frankly I’d welcome the excuse to stop for a few minutes!

Date Day Start End Miles
27-May-18 Day 1 Land’s End Tintagel 73.68
28-May-18 Day 2 Tintagel Tiverton 69.75
29-May-18 Day 3 Tiverton Glastonbury 42.06
30-May-18 Day 4 Glastonbury Gloucester 77.65
31-May-18 Day 5 Gloucester Nuneaton 70.04
01-Jun-18 Day 6 Nuneaton Eyam 82.95
02-Jun-18 Day 7 Eyam Boroughbridge 82.22
03-Jun-18 REST REST REST REST
04-Jun-18 Day 8 Boroughbridge Langdon Beck 64.2
05-Jun-18 Day 9 Langdon Beck Melrose 95.35
06-Jun-18 Day 10 Melrose Glasgow 82.6
07-Jun-18 Day 11 Glasgow Glencoe 83.99
08-Jun-18 Day 12 Glencoe Inverness 84.65
09-Jun-18 Day 13 Inverness Crask Inn 65.43
10-Jun-18 Day 14 Crask Inn John O Groats 83.1

The Combat Effect of The Royal Signals

In many organisations there is a sharp divide between the ‘doers’ who deliver the final product and those who support them. Nowhere is this division as stark as in the Army. We have it cemented in the lexicon – every soldier either belongs to a combat arm or a support arm. Needless to say it is the combat arms that are first among equals. They provide the majority of the Army’s senior generals and they almost exclusively occupy the key decision making posts on the path to senior leadership.

The Royal Corps of Signals are traditionally anchored in this supporting role. As a corps we are seen (and indeed we see ourselves) as a cohort of communications specialists who enable everything the Army does; never have communications been as critical as they are now on the modern battlefield. Despite this vital role we are like stage lighting – when it goes well we go unnoticed but when it goes wrong the pointed ‘wrong crystals’ jibes come thick and fast. By being comfortable in this ‘supporting actor role’ we are selling ourselves short and adopting a position from which it is difficult to exert influence. 

The reality is that Royal Signals are already well established as agents of combat effect. The Corps has long been the Army’s proponent of Electronic Warfare providing offensive capability in the electronic spectrum. More recently Royal Signals personnel have been at the vanguard of developing cyber capability tactically in the Land Environment and at the operational and strategic level in the Joint battlespace. The importance of these contributions to full spectrum targeting is both growing at pace and quickly increasing in relevance. Cyber operations provide the targeteer with options throughout the spectrum of conflict including when kinetic strikes are not militarily or politically viable. Likewise, EW and cyber effects are a potent force multiplier when woven and synchronised with other effects.

As this fundamental evolution of warfare unfolds before us it is imperative that the Royal Signals moves quickly to ensure its ambition and influence match an increasing contribution to effects delivery. A cultural change is required; the Corps must see itself differently by thinking in a J3 (Operations) way alongside the more traditional J6 (Communications) mindset.

The Royal Signals must be better at training our people to be war fighters and we must work to place our best people in crunchy planning, operations and targeting jobs at all levels. Concurrently, of course, an influence campaign will be required with the old guard of traditional Army leadership who will understandably be wary of a newcomer to the party.

There are elements of the Royal Signals that effectively perform the function of a combat arm now. Let’s have a moment to let that sink in, then pull up our socks and take our rightful place at the table.

Buying a Bike for LEJOG

Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

Every cyclist knows that the number of bikes they need can be determined by the formula ‘n+1’ where ‘n’ is the number of bikes currently owned. It is therefore entirely unthinkable that I might tackle cycling the length of the country without a new steed to take the strain. After all, an expedition of that magnitude requires a touring bike and nothing in the garage quite fits the bill. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

I set about doing some pretty extensive research guided by two simple principles: buy British (because of the strong touring heritage) and buy from a local, independent bike shop. It didn’t take much research to determine that my principles were somewhat flawed. I discovered that all but bespoke high-end bikes are manufactured in a small number of very large, multi-brand Far East factories so the closest you get to ‘buying British’ is to buy a bike designed in the UK (much as the iPhone is proudly designed in California). I also made the painful discovery that independent local bike shops aren’t necessarily better. I went to several and was generally treated fairly poorly by people who reverted to the Internet to answer my questions. They also invariably had nothing in stock to actually show me and they were unable to offer much in the way of discount or finance options. It was with a feeling of distinct unseemliness that I found myself in Evans Cycles….

When it came to researching the bike I learned a lot very quickly. I found the best source of information was cycle forums and independent bike reviews. I discovered that weight is far less important than when buying a traditional road bike; after all, the plan is to strap panniers on so what is the point of saving 700g on the frame? In the world of bike buying this is a really liberating realisation. It means that there is no need to worry about all that carbon nonsense, which in turn means that a fairly high spec bike is much more affordable than a true road bike equivalent. And there is the added advantage that steel makes for a much more comfortable frame. I then set about finding a bike with as many of the classic touring features as possible within budget (max £1500). Ultimately I settled on the Ridgeback Panorama. It offered everything I needed: comfortable geometry, big gears (for getting up hills with weight), big disc brakes (for getting down hills with weight), resilient components and a rear pannier rack. I had chosen my weapon!

After the disappointment of the independent bike shops my experience at Evans Cycles in Cheltenham couldn’t have been more different. A very friendly and extremely knowledgeable assistant called Craig spent literally hours with me going through the finer details of the bike to confirm my choice was right. Evans also offered a finance option – interest free for 2 years (although I did have to buy some much needed accessories to get the total price up to £2000 to take full advantage of the deal!) It isn’t how I expected it would happen but I can’t recommend Evans Cycles highly enough.

So I’m now the proud owner of a touring bike. There can be no excuses now – I better get training!

The Value of the Specialist

I once served with a Warrant Officer who worked as a technical supervisor within an operational military team. Highly qualified and self motivated he did his job ably, but unremarkably. He left the Army and, due to a reorganisation he was immediately re-employed as a civilian doing exactly the same job. Within weeks it was apparent something special was happening to him; in a very short period of time he had become much better at his job. He quickly established himself as a leading expert and soon the organisation became utterly reliant on him for all technical decision making. The reason was simple; he had been freed from all the additional and distracting responsibilities that come with being in the Army. He didn’t disappear on exercises, physical training or weapon ranges – he simply did his core job, and he got very good at it very quickly. Over time he stayed in that appointment far longer than would ever be possible if he were still in the Army and as a result the effect was multiplied several times over. He became utterly indispensible.

This tale highlights a flaw in the way the British military views the profession of soldiering. We are an organisation of generalists and as a result we rarely let our people become specialist, and if we do we immediately move them on to another job. Even pilots must give up flying at a relatively junior rank because practising their core skill quickly becomes detrimental to their career prospects.

Perhaps the clue is in the rank of our senior officers; in the Army it is ‘generalism’ that gets you promoted. I agree that there is merit in leaders having a breadth of experience but it should not be such an all-pervasive philosophy that it is ruthlessly applied to everyone. There are some aspects of any business where it is important to specialise, and those that choose to do so should be valued, respected and rewarded for making that choice.

The generalist versus specialist debate has never been as important as it is now in cyber operations. As we build the cyber force it is abundantly clear it is not a discipline that people can ‘dip in and out’ of. It takes years to accrue the requisite skills to plan and deliver cyber operations. Subsequent operational experience only adds to the richness of that skill set making our best surely indispensible. Yet it is exactly these skilled and experienced practitioners that we so frequently fail to reinvest into the cyber enterprise, preferring instead to broaden their profile rather than deepen it. If we are to truly excel in cyber operations we must keep our people in the business. We must learn to value the specialist and give them opportunities to advance within cyber. Doing so is practically achievable, but it will require a change in culture and mindset that will be hard to win.

Time for a Change

After nearly 20 years of regular Army service I have decided it is time to end this chapter of my career and explore opportunities beyond the Armed Forces. The reason is simple – having decided as a family to settle in North Yorkshire I face a career of weekly commuting if I stay in the Army. Having experienced this for the last 18 months it is clear to me that living apart from my family 5 nights out of every 7 is untenable, especially as there is always the possibility of additional separation of 6, 9 or even 12 months on an operational employment that could happen at any time. After 20 years I simply need to spend more time with my young family.

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Even though the decision was the right one and somewhat inevitable, pressing ‘the button’ still felt odd and disloyal. With the click of a mouse I surrendered my job, my career (which was guaranteed to age 55), my vocation and, in part, my identity (I still get introduced as ‘David, the Army officer’). I am fortunate though; I was never one of the ‘Army Barmy’ crowd who couldn’t imagine doing anything else, helped in part by joining a little older than the average and by working in ‘Civvy Street’ before going to Sandhurst. I was fortunate too to join the Royal Signals, a capbadge that gave me a career wonderfully balanced between traditional Army officer leadership and more technical appointments. Indeed, the skill to effectively lead technical teams is probably the most valuable I learnt over the years.

I will always be eternally grateful to the Army for my career, the highlights of which read like a clichéd advert to ‘Be the Best’. I was invested in hugely; approximately 4 years of my time in the Army was spent in training or education, including an invaluable MSc in Information Systems Management. I had a daunting but character building amount of responsibility from the very beginning of my career – aged just 24 I was leading 36 soldiers. I served in British Forces Germany at a time when the sense of community and, quite frankly, fun pervaded everything we did. I learnt to ski, mountaineer and SCUBA dive, and have since instructed others in the latter two. Most importantly I deployed on operations, commanding 150 fantastic Gurkhas in Afghanistan, without doubt the career highlight. The same Gurkha connection took me to Nepal where I was able to spend time in the remote east of the country helping to ensure the money raised by the Gurkha Welfare Trust is spent effectively. There is no question I would tell my 20 year old self to do the same again.

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I might be naïve but I’m excited at the prospect of finding a new opportunity that is the right fit for me. It feels like the market is ripe with possibility and there is no question I am lucky to be in the Cyber specialism at a particularly exciting time. Old habits die hard so I have written a ‘Leaving the Army Campaign Plan’ (I’m not kidding – it has 6 Lines of Operation that subdivide into 59 Lines of Effort). Hopefully the same tried and tested methodology that planned countless operations over my Army career will be just as effective at finding the right opportunity for me. It is certainly going to be fun finding out!