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Old 21st Oct 2015, 22:52
  #100 (permalink)  
MAINJAFAD
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: A Fine City
Age: 57
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Mid 80s - Marham - one that sticks in the mind.

Was tasked with mighty Wokka to pick up some paras from Aldershot (in itself an adventure worth telling) and deliver them to Marham at about midnight. Paras had gone to town - all dressed in Spetsnaz kit, AK47s and plenty of blank ammunition - only they hadn't actually told the taceval team about that bit! We arrived on time, lights out and on goggles for a 'tactical' insertion, and put the troops out near to an active HAS, which they immediately assaulted because the gate was open. Apparently the engineers' faces were a sight to behold as a load of Russian SF all firing in the air bore down on them - they bolted into the HAS leaving all the doors open and mayhem ensued. In the meantime we hopped across the airfield doing a couple of dummy drops, overflying at low level a couple of RAFP and their dogs at which point the crewman on the ramp threw out a couple of thunderflashes - apparently it was 24 hours before they found the dogs (or may be the other way round!).

By now the pandemonium had reached fever pitch with 'armed intruders' running riot - they had captured a bus full of aircrew driving round the peritrack to go to dinner (617 ?) thanks to centralised messing, put dummy bombs on all the Victor Ts and the Taceval team were having kittens. We went back to pick the troops up at endex and were declared persona non grata! All in a day's work!
I heard the story of that one as a very young JT on the first Minival I was involved in 5 days after passing out of Trade Training (though the guy who told me it said it was at Honnington). The story included the fact that just as he landed the pilot of the Chinook came up on the radio and said "Hello Comrades, I'm carrying some people who are very interested in your country!!!".

Last edited by MAINJAFAD; 22nd Oct 2015 at 00:30.
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