in
Gosport, home of ''Lads' Army
and Bad Lads' Army: Officer Class'' The programme format is relatively simple. The recruits are issued period uniforms and equipment and fed, quartered and trained according to the standards of the era. Their free time is limited to visits to the
NAAFI with period refreshments and facilities. The recruits form a single
platoon made up of two
sections, each under the care of a section commander, either
Richard Nauyokas or
Joe Murray. In series three, Nauyokas was replaced by Glenn Thomas (who appeared as the Company Sergeant Major in series two), although he still appeared as a relief corporal. During training the sections compete against each other, building a sense of competition but also of teamwork and loyalty. Success brings modest rewards. Praise is given for whole-hearted attempts at tasks. The
NCOs and
officers running the training are all, or have been, professional British soldiers. Each series had a slightly different format to its predecessors, although the theme of 1950s military training is common to all series. The 3rd series (known as ''Bad Lads' Army: Officer Class
) had the volunteers train to become officers while the 4th series (known as Bad Lads' Army Extreme'') had the volunteers train to become paratroopers. ==Series==