Taceval Tales
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Giutersloh, either 87 or 88.
Next day is a station stand-down, so the whole station goes on a bender. Officers Mess v Sgts Mess games night, plus various do's in the bowl, Malcolm club etc. Possibly the only staff sober are the RAFP on the gate and the Duty Ops Officer and two Ops staff in the COC.
3 in the morning, entry phone rings - "Taceval team here - part 1 initiation".
Awake Ops Clk tries to wake sleeping Ops clk - "X - Taceval team, wake up". X says "Pi$$ off", X very rapidly wakes up when he's kicked and is told it's no joke. X wakes up Ops O, both start the Exec callout (many of whom probably said the same thing!) and the Taceval Team are let in through the airlock VERY slowly, being individually checked, one at a time. (Much to the chagrin of the team leader whose cries of "I can vouch for my team" fell on very deaf ears)
Staish arrives, not a happy bunny - "Gentleman - I am spitting blood!" Seems Flt Lt Ops was meant to notify Ramstein of dates when we weren't available for part 1, and managed to leave this one off the list. Sods law....................
Anyway. Station still managed to get to deployment status in the required 8 hours. Nobody got done for drink driving due to judicial use of RAFP to guard the road which ran past the gate. Taceval team awarded the station "1's" for everything with the additional comment "We can guarantee that complete surprise WAS achieved!"
And Flt Lt Ops? Was VERY intimate with the duties of SDO for sometime after the event. Needless to say that mistake was never made again
Next day is a station stand-down, so the whole station goes on a bender. Officers Mess v Sgts Mess games night, plus various do's in the bowl, Malcolm club etc. Possibly the only staff sober are the RAFP on the gate and the Duty Ops Officer and two Ops staff in the COC.
3 in the morning, entry phone rings - "Taceval team here - part 1 initiation".
Awake Ops Clk tries to wake sleeping Ops clk - "X - Taceval team, wake up". X says "Pi$$ off", X very rapidly wakes up when he's kicked and is told it's no joke. X wakes up Ops O, both start the Exec callout (many of whom probably said the same thing!) and the Taceval Team are let in through the airlock VERY slowly, being individually checked, one at a time. (Much to the chagrin of the team leader whose cries of "I can vouch for my team" fell on very deaf ears)
Staish arrives, not a happy bunny - "Gentleman - I am spitting blood!" Seems Flt Lt Ops was meant to notify Ramstein of dates when we weren't available for part 1, and managed to leave this one off the list. Sods law....................
Anyway. Station still managed to get to deployment status in the required 8 hours. Nobody got done for drink driving due to judicial use of RAFP to guard the road which ran past the gate. Taceval team awarded the station "1's" for everything with the additional comment "We can guarantee that complete surprise WAS achieved!"
And Flt Lt Ops? Was VERY intimate with the duties of SDO for sometime after the event. Needless to say that mistake was never made again
Coltishall, mid-80's. 5 a.m. Still fairly dark. Exercise IED has been discovered and the relevant sections are evacuated. A makeshift cordon is set up and manned at all the routes in. The cordon is marked with whatever can be used (no such thing as "Police. Do Not Cross." tape). Sqn Ldr distaff goes rushing down the road on his bicycle in order to gauge how the IED situation is being dealt with. As he approaches the cordon two chaps on control of entry duty step forward. "You can't go that way, sir, there's a...."
Sqn Ldr doesn't slow down, but yells, "Yes, I know there's an IED. I'm distaff, out of my way!"
"But sir, there's a.."
"Step aside, man! I'm distaff!"
"But sir, there's a..."
WHACK - Sqn Ldr is caught around the throat by a rope strung between two lamp posts as part of the improvised cordon. Sqn Ldr is now flat on his back as his bicycle continues towards the IED incident and the two chaps roll around in agony trying to stifle their laughter.
Sqn Ldr doesn't slow down, but yells, "Yes, I know there's an IED. I'm distaff, out of my way!"
"But sir, there's a.."
"Step aside, man! I'm distaff!"
"But sir, there's a..."
WHACK - Sqn Ldr is caught around the throat by a rope strung between two lamp posts as part of the improvised cordon. Sqn Ldr is now flat on his back as his bicycle continues towards the IED incident and the two chaps roll around in agony trying to stifle their laughter.
I was a Pilot Officer at Buchan in 82 when during a very boozy night in the Mess, the sirens go off hailing the start of our Pt 1.
The staish, a certain Gp Capt Bunny St A***** comes over to me, hands me the key to his car and tells me I am driving him and the Execs to the Ops Site.
'I have been drinking Sir' was my reply.
'Yep, and noone cares if a Plt Off goes to prison' was his.
Not Taceval, but, during a visit to a German Armoured AD Sqn in 87 we are sat having coffee and stickies with the German boss and his execs. Our Boss, an F4 Nav (Ned K****) asks two questions to keep the conversation going:
1. 'Do you fuel up in the field using Jerry Cans'
'No, we use Tommy Cans'.
2. 'Do you deploy regularly overseas'?
'Not since 1939'.
We all looked embarassed and the Germans were wetting themselves laughing.
The staish, a certain Gp Capt Bunny St A***** comes over to me, hands me the key to his car and tells me I am driving him and the Execs to the Ops Site.
'I have been drinking Sir' was my reply.
'Yep, and noone cares if a Plt Off goes to prison' was his.
Not Taceval, but, during a visit to a German Armoured AD Sqn in 87 we are sat having coffee and stickies with the German boss and his execs. Our Boss, an F4 Nav (Ned K****) asks two questions to keep the conversation going:
1. 'Do you fuel up in the field using Jerry Cans'
'No, we use Tommy Cans'.
2. 'Do you deploy regularly overseas'?
'Not since 1939'.
We all looked embarassed and the Germans were wetting themselves laughing.
Harrier deployment (Op Horrendous Farce) late '80's
All is quiet, all is dark. Groundcrew sitting outside mess tents prior to turning in when the night is ripped asunder by the lights of a Land Rover turning into the site. Hides are lit up, comms centre is illuminated, and, heaven forbid, the beer stash is exposed.
The site commander jumps from his seat screaming "Turn those bl***y lights out!" as he storms towards the offending vehicle. THUNK, the lights go out. SPLASH "Turn those bl***y lights on!" BLINK, the lights go on and there to the amusement of all is the site commander up to his chest in the slop trench outside the mess tent.
The site commander jumps from his seat screaming "Turn those bl***y lights out!" as he storms towards the offending vehicle. THUNK, the lights go out. SPLASH "Turn those bl***y lights on!" BLINK, the lights go on and there to the amusement of all is the site commander up to his chest in the slop trench outside the mess tent.
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Wattisham wing, mid-80s. Launched a number of F4s to attack Leuchars - who I think were on TACEVAL/OPEVAL at the time. Wattisham groundcrew and aircrew had conspired to load the airbrakes/speedbrakes (whatever they were called - I'm sure I'll be corrected) of aforementioned F4s with large amounts of bog roll. Off up to Leuchars for briefed airfield attack, over the HAS sites, pop the brakes out and numerous bog roll bombs fly gracefully down onto terra firma.
May just be fokelore, but seem to remember it caused a minor ruck at the time?
WJMcP
May just be fokelore, but seem to remember it caused a minor ruck at the time?
WJMcP
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Yeah, I had one of those at St Mawgan. Hooter went.
Phone call - you are for Gibraltar Ops. Stay at home - simulated flight to Gib.
Two days later, phone call. Where the hell are you, the exercise finished yesterday?
How was I to know at St Evil
if no one tells you. Brill.
Phone call - you are for Gibraltar Ops. Stay at home - simulated flight to Gib.
Two days later, phone call. Where the hell are you, the exercise finished yesterday?
How was I to know at St Evil
if no one tells you. Brill.I was down as reforce to Gib Movs flt.
Real flight in Albert...arrived to be told no idea why I was and the other 2 were there as they had no aircraft so have 4 days on the beach. turned into 5 days as flight back went u/s. Best TACEVAL I did.
he TACEVAL team used to stay in a pub some 20 miles away from 'El Adem With Grass' so that they would retain the element of suprise on the day. However, due to the fact that the landlord's daughter was married to a Victor captain, the element was often lost!
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Coningsby - Late 70s
For reasons too boring to explain, officers were not permitted to make official calls to their off base homes from the Squadron, even if they paid for them. However, the TACEVAL callout relied on a cascade telephone system. An officer much agrieved by not being allowed to phone home was one of the 2 people first called in the system. When his phone rang at 0300 hours to initiate a call out he told the Ops Officer that his was a private telephone and he didn't take Service calls on it - unpluggesd it from the wall and went back to sleep. Half the aircrew on the squadron turned up for for work at 0830, many hours late but with the excuse that they hadn't been contacted. Rules re home phone calls were relaxed pdq! The officer concerned was a VERY stroppy navigator of South African origin and a real top bloke! Al ?????? if anyone remembers him.
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Puma Tacevals
Why was it that the SH force generated so many! Such happy days. Anybody remember the poor herbert getting the Unimog bogged down on the farmers pristine lawn, then said farmer holding guy at shotgun point.
How about when Prince Big Ears came to see the Gordon Highlanders in the field and his lovely red chopper came to our site for a refuel. Then treated to the site of the pilot picking his way across the mud, not in flying kit but blues, with a china cup and saucer to ask if he might have some tea.!!
By the way I was on shift at secret airbase in wilts when oncoming shift got taceval killed, there was nearly a bl***y mutiny with the shift that had to stay on for another 12 hours
How about when Prince Big Ears came to see the Gordon Highlanders in the field and his lovely red chopper came to our site for a refuel. Then treated to the site of the pilot picking his way across the mud, not in flying kit but blues, with a china cup and saucer to ask if he might have some tea.!!
By the way I was on shift at secret airbase in wilts when oncoming shift got taceval killed, there was nearly a bl***y mutiny with the shift that had to stay on for another 12 hours
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Having diverted into E Mids from an Exercise up north we popped into the cafe for a coffee. Security guard got a bit high and mighty over our aircrew knives that were attached to us for the purpose of stabbing the dinghies that we werent carrying, any way he wouldnt have any of our explanations so I was despatched back to the aircraft to get the other weapons and hand them in for safe keeping for an hour. Two x GPMG's, 4 HK 33's and a 6 pistols later he had had a heart attack and called the local politzei who told him not to be so stupid and that they would keep an eye on the airtcraft if we wanted to get a brew.
Saw him at an E mids party later on in the year but he didnt find it funny at all........some people!
Saw him at an E mids party later on in the year but he didnt find it funny at all........some people!
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Not Taceval but
81 in Belize at the 6 monthly exercise we had to man everything for 72 hrs with 1 shift, whilst the ready battalion GR3's etc in UK saddled up and moved across the pond. Sat at Butcher radar as the only 1 left alive cause I was down at JOC whebn the OPFOR wasted the radar site. Spots a slow moving contact on the AR3. Informs the rapiers who blind fire and splash 1. But due to exercise constrants i.e. there was only the 1 servicable Puma is allowed to continue its attack. Puma come to a hover over the main and muggins gets call from the Rocks to put some flares up. So I load the Very pistol and let fly. great says the rocks we can see now, as this is the days of stage 1 NVGs and the sodiums around the Williamsom comlex was "whiting out the NVG". Only thing was the para flares were comming down into the rotor disc of the Puma. So a V V irate Puma mate calls on the radio to stop the flares before they do serious rotor damage.
On the subject of blunt dinghy knives used to turn up the Waddo check in to have the Plods confiscate them and then parcel them up to give to the NATO ALM on the TCA. Being german and with no sense of humour he promptly refused to take them from the plod and gave them straight back to us.
Told every skipper I ever had that if we ever had a Plod pax I wanted to do the Pax escort and do the baggage check on them right on the pan!!!
On the subject of blunt dinghy knives used to turn up the Waddo check in to have the Plods confiscate them and then parcel them up to give to the NATO ALM on the TCA. Being german and with no sense of humour he promptly refused to take them from the plod and gave them straight back to us.
Told every skipper I ever had that if we ever had a Plod pax I wanted to do the Pax escort and do the baggage check on them right on the pan!!!
Avoid imitations
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Another one from Gutersloh - this time in the generation phase.
Myself and a couple of other crew were making our way out of the rear door of the hangar when we spied, next to the footpath, an olive drab round object, about 18 inches in diameter lying in the grass, behind the standby diesel powered generator trailer, which was running full tilt due to a "mains failure" inject.
"AHA! a TACEVAL land mine." said we.
I went back inside to report it to Sqn Ops whilst one of the other guys guarded the door and the other went round the other way to prevent pedestrians getting close to the scene. Our tame Rockape ambled over to inspect it, and the technical opinion was "£uck me - it's a bomb!"
The tannoy message went out to evacuate the hangar. As we all legged it, the TACEVAL Team Sqn Leader said quietly to the duty Flt Commander "Er...by the way, it's NOT actually one of ours.....
!
A real bomb scare then ensued, with much concern caused for hours. Disrupted many of the TACEVAL team's planned injects.
However - it was eventually found to be the only top of the air filter housing which had fallen off the standby generator's big diesel engine! The wing nut supposely securing it had vibrated off its thread and the top of the canister had fallen down and rolled 15 metres neatly into position.
Looked just like a pukka landmine, even had the EOD team going for a while
Myself and a couple of other crew were making our way out of the rear door of the hangar when we spied, next to the footpath, an olive drab round object, about 18 inches in diameter lying in the grass, behind the standby diesel powered generator trailer, which was running full tilt due to a "mains failure" inject.
"AHA! a TACEVAL land mine." said we.
I went back inside to report it to Sqn Ops whilst one of the other guys guarded the door and the other went round the other way to prevent pedestrians getting close to the scene. Our tame Rockape ambled over to inspect it, and the technical opinion was "£uck me - it's a bomb!"
The tannoy message went out to evacuate the hangar. As we all legged it, the TACEVAL Team Sqn Leader said quietly to the duty Flt Commander "Er...by the way, it's NOT actually one of ours.....
!A real bomb scare then ensued, with much concern caused for hours. Disrupted many of the TACEVAL team's planned injects.
However - it was eventually found to be the only top of the air filter housing which had fallen off the standby generator's big diesel engine! The wing nut supposely securing it had vibrated off its thread and the top of the canister had fallen down and rolled 15 metres neatly into position.
Looked just like a pukka landmine, even had the EOD team going for a while
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Tacevals
Funny story relating to a Hospital located near JHQ 70's ish.
Flash signal arrives announcing Taceval. OO replies 'Hospital received direct hit can no longer participate in exercise'.
Happy days.
Flash signal arrives announcing Taceval. OO replies 'Hospital received direct hit can no longer participate in exercise'.
Happy days.
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Late 70's Wildenrath snow clearance call-out plan. One of the new generation realises that to send MT to the lucky stand by's on all the remote marriage patches is inefficent . Surely much better to reorganise the plan so that each patch in turn is "on" so that only one bus is required. Clever Boy.
One day, as night falls, it begins to snow. As usual the prevarication option kicks in as the "will we,won't we?" discussion mounts.
Finally the decision is made to send the bus out to the lucky guys at "Gielers" ( about 25 k away.)
Unfortunately, it couldn't get through the snow.
Result: F4 Aircrew on QRA helping snow clear the operating areas, including the main runway.
One day, as night falls, it begins to snow. As usual the prevarication option kicks in as the "will we,won't we?" discussion mounts.
Finally the decision is made to send the bus out to the lucky guys at "Gielers" ( about 25 k away.)
Unfortunately, it couldn't get through the snow.
Result: F4 Aircrew on QRA helping snow clear the operating areas, including the main runway.
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Yet another Gütersloh Harrier Farce....
Sennelager mid 80's 4Sqn out camping and photographing inner German Border. Myself and fellow HSF Electrician on guard; sat comfortably in green deckchairs, small hours, sipping coffee enjoying peace and quite.
Next minute much grinding of gears and billowing of smoke, weapon convoy turns up. Halt who goes there etc etc..
Di staff emerge from nowhere...
"Right lads your chemical detector has gone off this convoy is contaminated what you going to do ?"
Us in unison
"Call the guard commander"
So we both looked at each other, a little history existed between us and said guard commander and it was just to good a situation to miss, so I called him on the batphone.
Me-
"Hello is that the Guard commander ?..........hissss crackle static noises..."
Guard commader-
"Speak up speak up...."
Me-
hisss crackle....your breakking up sirrrrr....there's a contaminated....pause...silence....
Guard commander
"Speak up whats the problem..."
and so it went on...Eventually he turned up just as we we're being relieved.
Sennelager mid 80's 4Sqn out camping and photographing inner German Border. Myself and fellow HSF Electrician on guard; sat comfortably in green deckchairs, small hours, sipping coffee enjoying peace and quite.
Next minute much grinding of gears and billowing of smoke, weapon convoy turns up. Halt who goes there etc etc..
Di staff emerge from nowhere...
"Right lads your chemical detector has gone off this convoy is contaminated what you going to do ?"
Us in unison
"Call the guard commander"
So we both looked at each other, a little history existed between us and said guard commander and it was just to good a situation to miss, so I called him on the batphone.
Me-
"Hello is that the Guard commander ?..........hissss crackle static noises..."
Guard commader-
"Speak up speak up...."
Me-
hisss crackle....your breakking up sirrrrr....there's a contaminated....pause...silence....
Guard commander
"Speak up whats the problem..."
and so it went on...Eventually he turned up just as we we're being relieved.
Last edited by ARINC; 26th Jan 2007 at 21:29.
Not Taceval, but Callout related
Gut, 84 ish. The station had 2 minivans (remember them?) which MT maintained 100% since they were the married patch tannoy wagons ready for Ivan's arrival.
Mrs Golf was the station's civvy internal mail person, using said minivans to constantly run around the Sqns and sections dropping off the mail. Every day the MT sarge (anti civvy, anti women drivers etc) warned her about the minivan status. She's a strong character, and often commented that he ought to STFU for a change, and stop droning on.
This day, the one where Mrs G finds out she is warming a bun in the oven, she comes over all uncharacteristically weepy.
In this lowered alert state- hers not station's- she returns to MT, only to crash her minivan. Into the other one! Sarge goes tv rental, Mrs G cries, sarge melts enough to tell her to get the f... off home, and the night shift gets a special treat.
Those were the days.
CG
Mrs Golf was the station's civvy internal mail person, using said minivans to constantly run around the Sqns and sections dropping off the mail. Every day the MT sarge (anti civvy, anti women drivers etc) warned her about the minivan status. She's a strong character, and often commented that he ought to STFU for a change, and stop droning on.
This day, the one where Mrs G finds out she is warming a bun in the oven, she comes over all uncharacteristically weepy.
In this lowered alert state- hers not station's- she returns to MT, only to crash her minivan. Into the other one! Sarge goes tv rental, Mrs G cries, sarge melts enough to tell her to get the f... off home, and the night shift gets a special treat.
Those were the days.
CG
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Yet another Gutersloh one (or two)!!
As a variation on Chilli's post earlier but I'm sure I can remember a generation game the morning after a big do on camp. Everyone was still suffering from a surfiet of Wobbly so the whole thing was called off after an hour or two until we could all walk and see again!!
Another generation game involved everyone getting all the kit together, being marshalled over to the other side of the airfield (near the golf club/off road driving area) and then Staish says game over, go home. This time Staish says - 'Sennelager! Oh, borracks, says we ....
As a variation on Chilli's post earlier but I'm sure I can remember a generation game the morning after a big do on camp. Everyone was still suffering from a surfiet of Wobbly so the whole thing was called off after an hour or two until we could all walk and see again!!
Another generation game involved everyone getting all the kit together, being marshalled over to the other side of the airfield (near the golf club/off road driving area) and then Staish says game over, go home. This time Staish says - 'Sennelager! Oh, borracks, says we ....
A few ancient memories
Like others I can remember lots of tales from exercises
RAF Wyton 1978: Two guards on taxiway barrier duty under ‘Air Raid Black’ armed with pick axe handle when a car pulls up, a voice calls the two guards over and asked are they aware of the state of the station, we are under NBC conditions was the answer given. Next question was “where is your helmet and NBC suit”, both pulled out a bit of paper, it turned out that the person in the car was the CO and was not amused and wanted to know if they were being insubordinate, when it was explained and corroborated at a later time that we have never had suits or helmets he was not happy as nobody had told him.
18 Sqd: deployed on exercise, gets the taceval BDR inject, the only bit of helicopter we had to use was of some small helicopter with small winglets on the tail boom. The metal almost fag paper thin attached to the framework with tucker pop rivets, BDR (expert, fixed wing only) punches a hole through the skin and asks what are you going to do, answer “ put a speed tape patch over it” expert announces that we have failed the BDR inject as the correct course of action was a large slab plate attached with a double row of jo-bolts (as per fixed wing BDR repairs to wing structure) IAW the ‘formula’ in the BDR manual, When it was pointed out what would happen to a helicopter if it was repaired in this way he was not convinced, we asked him how we would repair blade damage his answer again was slap a patch on with double row of jo-bolts as per the ‘formula’, at this point we gave up and accepted our failure.
18 Sqd again: deployed, in a farmers field somewhere in Germany at night when a couple of Health & Safety personnel turned up in the evening and promptly informed us all that climbing onto the top of a Chinook was dangerous as it comes under ‘Working at Height’. Questions were asked and their response was that we had to attach a wire rope between the two heads and then get some safety harnesses and then attach them to the wire rope and there we were all safe and sound. When they were asked how do we get up to attach the wire rope and then attach the slings to it, their response was well you climb up the side and walk along the top and then when it is attached you are then safe, we then asked what happens when we scramble, it was at this point they realised what a stupid idea it all was and left.
18 Sqd again deployed and we had our annual army support for training practice who used to man one sangar, sat in the ops truck at night when the officer comes in holding his hand over one eye, I asked if he needed medical attention and his response was "thank you, but no I am just maintaining my night vision" after his coffee he went out with his other eye covered, fell down the last two steps and still declined medical attention.
27 Sqd, Marham: We occasionally had some trainee officers from Cranwell who supplemented the guard shift, it was quite amusing as in the crew room between shifts you heard them saying things like "this is great fun" and "pity we are not here longer" and they could not understand why the groundcrew were so cheesed off with guarding.
RAF Wyton 1978: Two guards on taxiway barrier duty under ‘Air Raid Black’ armed with pick axe handle when a car pulls up, a voice calls the two guards over and asked are they aware of the state of the station, we are under NBC conditions was the answer given. Next question was “where is your helmet and NBC suit”, both pulled out a bit of paper, it turned out that the person in the car was the CO and was not amused and wanted to know if they were being insubordinate, when it was explained and corroborated at a later time that we have never had suits or helmets he was not happy as nobody had told him.
18 Sqd: deployed on exercise, gets the taceval BDR inject, the only bit of helicopter we had to use was of some small helicopter with small winglets on the tail boom. The metal almost fag paper thin attached to the framework with tucker pop rivets, BDR (expert, fixed wing only) punches a hole through the skin and asks what are you going to do, answer “ put a speed tape patch over it” expert announces that we have failed the BDR inject as the correct course of action was a large slab plate attached with a double row of jo-bolts (as per fixed wing BDR repairs to wing structure) IAW the ‘formula’ in the BDR manual, When it was pointed out what would happen to a helicopter if it was repaired in this way he was not convinced, we asked him how we would repair blade damage his answer again was slap a patch on with double row of jo-bolts as per the ‘formula’, at this point we gave up and accepted our failure.
18 Sqd again: deployed, in a farmers field somewhere in Germany at night when a couple of Health & Safety personnel turned up in the evening and promptly informed us all that climbing onto the top of a Chinook was dangerous as it comes under ‘Working at Height’. Questions were asked and their response was that we had to attach a wire rope between the two heads and then get some safety harnesses and then attach them to the wire rope and there we were all safe and sound. When they were asked how do we get up to attach the wire rope and then attach the slings to it, their response was well you climb up the side and walk along the top and then when it is attached you are then safe, we then asked what happens when we scramble, it was at this point they realised what a stupid idea it all was and left.
18 Sqd again deployed and we had our annual army support for training practice who used to man one sangar, sat in the ops truck at night when the officer comes in holding his hand over one eye, I asked if he needed medical attention and his response was "thank you, but no I am just maintaining my night vision" after his coffee he went out with his other eye covered, fell down the last two steps and still declined medical attention.
27 Sqd, Marham: We occasionally had some trainee officers from Cranwell who supplemented the guard shift, it was quite amusing as in the crew room between shifts you heard them saying things like "this is great fun" and "pity we are not here longer" and they could not understand why the groundcrew were so cheesed off with guarding.
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and some non-aircrew / non-officer memoirs ....
some personal memories from the 80's...make me laugh anyway....
1- After 50 hours straight awake in Denmark as Jaguar ground crew/ Mobile Reaction Force, finally succumbed to the pleasures of sleep. Will never forget being shaken awake by Sgt 'RAF Regt'., who insisted on waking me just so he could show me his ID, fair enough I suppose, as I was 'guarding' HQ at the time!
2- Will never forget sitting in the back of a 4 tonner in Denmark, with two rows of NBC masked people all staring at me, because I had decided not to play anymore and just didn't bother putting mask on. I had months left to do by then, and it showed! Felt a bit sorry for the Sgt., put him on the spot a bit.
3- Again, Denmark, walking across dispersal, two Buccaneers come streaking across very very low. Turns out later, they'd come all the way from Scotland to do an air raid on us, except no-one had the courtesy to tell us it was an 'air-raid' prior to their arrival - bless!
4 - Coltishall, TACEVAL staff set off a smoke generator in the hangar. Corporal Bloggs next to me does nothing. DI Staff comes bounding over shouting 'Come on, look sharp, there's a bloody fire over there'. Corporal replies 'No there isn't, anyone can see it's just a smoke generator' and does nothing. He instantly became my personal hero.
5 - BT were doing some work at Colt, just as an exercise was called. Air raid siren goes off, we disappear in to Sanger. BT van pulls up at check-point, waits a bit. Starts to get annoyed. Gesticulates to us to come out and let him through. We mumble back (NBC masks on) 'auiw waid! auw waid!'. BT van starts to get p#ssed off. Bt guy get's out, opens barrier himself and drives through, shaking head in disbelief.
Pretty low key I know, but it's all I've got.
some personal memories from the 80's...make me laugh anyway....
1- After 50 hours straight awake in Denmark as Jaguar ground crew/ Mobile Reaction Force, finally succumbed to the pleasures of sleep. Will never forget being shaken awake by Sgt 'RAF Regt'., who insisted on waking me just so he could show me his ID, fair enough I suppose, as I was 'guarding' HQ at the time!
2- Will never forget sitting in the back of a 4 tonner in Denmark, with two rows of NBC masked people all staring at me, because I had decided not to play anymore and just didn't bother putting mask on. I had months left to do by then, and it showed! Felt a bit sorry for the Sgt., put him on the spot a bit.
3- Again, Denmark, walking across dispersal, two Buccaneers come streaking across very very low. Turns out later, they'd come all the way from Scotland to do an air raid on us, except no-one had the courtesy to tell us it was an 'air-raid' prior to their arrival - bless!
4 - Coltishall, TACEVAL staff set off a smoke generator in the hangar. Corporal Bloggs next to me does nothing. DI Staff comes bounding over shouting 'Come on, look sharp, there's a bloody fire over there'. Corporal replies 'No there isn't, anyone can see it's just a smoke generator' and does nothing. He instantly became my personal hero.
5 - BT were doing some work at Colt, just as an exercise was called. Air raid siren goes off, we disappear in to Sanger. BT van pulls up at check-point, waits a bit. Starts to get annoyed. Gesticulates to us to come out and let him through. We mumble back (NBC masks on) 'auiw waid! auw waid!'. BT van starts to get p#ssed off. Bt guy get's out, opens barrier himself and drives through, shaking head in disbelief.
Pretty low key I know, but it's all I've got.