About now, the Harrier strip was being laid at San Carlos by the Royal Engineers. Great folk - we were used to their strips in Germany on exercise, and their amazing efforts on our behalf.
It was decided by someone that what was needed was for two GR3 pilots to be at San Carlos, and the concept was for two GR3s to fly from the carriers which were well to the east of the islands, sit on the ground ready to respond to the need for a quick response to ground force task requests. The strip could provide fuel, but no weapons, so once weapons were expended, then the aircraft needed to return to the carrier to be bombed up again.
So two of us were sent ashore. We transferred to the LSL Sir BEDEVERE. The vessel had BCRs on board - what's a BCR I asked. Battle Casualty Replacement was the answer. In other words, they would fill whatever was left of the shoes of someone killed or badly wounded if they had the necessary skills. Great for morale being a BCR, I thought. But for us - I had a cabin with freshly laundered linen and a pillow. Sheer luxury. And we had an evening meal that was amazing, provided by a superb catering staff.
When we got ashore, we went to HMS FEARLESS which was being used as the Command Centre for the ground forces, and then went by helo to San Carlos. Health and Safety had either not been invented then, or it had been thrown overboard on the way down. The helo crew had clearly considered doors to be a hazard - they could jam or delay folk getting onto or off the helo - so they had removed them. Seats? Another potential hazard or delay, where weapons or backpacks could get caught - so they had been removed. Seatbelts? Clearly a trip hazard, so they had been removed. So the cabin of the helo was basically bare. So we sat on the floor, looking out of where the doors would have been, and made the short flight from FEARLESS to where the strip was being laid at very - I mean very - low level. The helo stopped momentarily to let us off. Well, I think it stopped, but when I turned to smile at the driver and give him a thumbs up, he had already gone!
We went to the Chinook BN crew and they told us how to find somewhere to stay for the night. We spent several nights there which included an air attack warning and a ground attack warning which required us to jump into a muddy slit trench while we waited to see what happened. Fortunately, nothing did.
After a few flip-flop flights to and from the carrier, it was decided that the tasking system either didn't exist or could not cope - plus the limited space for aircraft at the strip was better used by SHARs which could make use of it to extend their CAP time. So we were told to return to the carrier.
For the return trip, we went on a P&O ferry - I think it was the ELK. We left for a nighttime transit, and we were sitting at a table with the Captain having dinner. The steward apologised that he was short of menu cards, so would we mind sharing! The Captain then apologised and said he needed to leave the table because he had heard that there might be a land-based Exocet launcher on Pebble Island which we were due to pass close to. The SAS had done their business on the Pucaras there, but an Exocet launcher was something different. I then asked a question that I should not have asked - ignorance can be bliss - What have you got onboard? Oh, several tons of artillery shells - but we had a lot more when we came in. Clearly not the place to be in the event of an Exocet hit. It wasn't a problem - but these Merchant Marine folk did not get the recognition that they deserved in my opinion.
When we got back to HERMES, it seemed like a tranquil and safe haven - so we then got on with the rest of the business from there, having spent a few days on the islands we were trying to liberate.