They briefly toyed with the idea of including NI in TACEVAL in the 80s. Not a good idea to go lurking around when all the guards are live armed and looking for some target practice.
An ex-colleague of mine saw someone pointing a handgun at him in the dark as he drove round the peri track at Aldergrove. He accelerated to top speed, squealed to a halt outside the guard post and called the boys out.
The RAF policeman holding the speed gun on the peri track didn't half get a nasty shock.
Yes, he did know it was a policeman all the time
.