Unit History: MCTC
The Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC), in Colchester, Essex (also known as the Glasshouse) was established in 1947 as a wartime Prisoner of War Camp and is the only remaining Armed Forces detention facility since the closure of the Royal Navy Detention Quarters and the Royal Air Force equivalent.
The principal function of MCTC is to detain personnel, both male and female, of the three Services and civilians subject to the Services Disciplinary Acts. Up to 316 detainees can be held at the MCTC. It is an establishment that provides corrective training for those servicemen and women sentenced to periods of detention; it is not a prison.
The Military Corrective Training Centre seeks to restore the self-esteem, self-respect and confidence of those sentenced to a period of detention. The intention is to restore Service personnel to their Unit, ready to face the Operational challenges and the order of battle. MCTC aims to improve their efficiency, discipline and morale, and instil in them the will to become better servicemen and women. This is achieved by creating the conditions for teamwork and commitment within the routine. The MCTC regime works on a basis of hard work and reward for excellence. The ethos of the Field Gun; team-spirit, grit, determination and the pursuit of excellence epitomises what MCTC seeks to achieve in its day to day training.
The staff employed at the MCTC are a mix of Royal Navy (RN), Royal Marine (RM), British Army and Royal Air Force (RAF) Senior Non-Commissioned Officers plus one Senior Education Officer, one RN Officer and one RAF Regiment Officer although the training and custodial staff are predominantly from the Adjutant Generals Corp (Military Provost Staff) (AGC(MPS)).
The principal function of MCTC is to detain personnel, both male and female, of the three Services and civilians subject to the Services Disciplinary Acts. Up to 316 detainees can be held at the MCTC. It is an establishment that provides corrective training for those servicemen and women sentenced to periods of detention; it is not a prison.
The Military Corrective Training Centre seeks to restore the self-esteem, self-respect and confidence of those sentenced to a period of detention. The intention is to restore Service personnel to their Unit, ready to face the Operational challenges and the order of battle. MCTC aims to improve their efficiency, discipline and morale, and instil in them the will to become better servicemen and women. This is achieved by creating the conditions for teamwork and commitment within the routine. The MCTC regime works on a basis of hard work and reward for excellence. The ethos of the Field Gun; team-spirit, grit, determination and the pursuit of excellence epitomises what MCTC seeks to achieve in its day to day training.
The staff employed at the MCTC are a mix of Royal Navy (RN), Royal Marine (RM), British Army and Royal Air Force (RAF) Senior Non-Commissioned Officers plus one Senior Education Officer, one RN Officer and one RAF Regiment Officer although the training and custodial staff are predominantly from the Adjutant Generals Corp (Military Provost Staff) (AGC(MPS)).