The origins of the Taceval

[Krystal n chips]

" In RAFG, particularly when General Haig was SACEUR and concerned about a Warsaw Pact attack at very short notice over a weekend or bank holiday "

Which must have made him unique I suppose....alas, along with the rest of RAFG, I confess to not being overly concerned about the Warsaw Pact during the times mentioned...strangely..

[Pontius Navigator]

Originally Posted by FantomZorbin

PN
Remember that well! Lots of faces with question marks on foreheads I also remember that OC Chips got a lot of flak for not 'warning' the rest of the station as it was normal for the Catering Sqn to receive large quantities of steak for the aircrew feeder in advance of exercises ... allegedly

That be the Bomber Command 4-hour eating cycle then. The young PN, when weight gain was unimportant and no Mrs PNagger around) remembers a memorable Micky Finn to Ballykelly. It went something like this:

Hooter, crew muster, breakfast 0500, early lunch around 1030, disperse - inflight sarnis 1115, BK for post flight 1300, afternoon tea around 1700 (ham and chips), stack for the night, 1930 beer steak and chips in the OM, 2300 supper - more ham and chips. Regular food intake on day 2, then day 3 on state 0600, 0700 breakfast, 1100 eat the first two crews lunch (we were 3rd and 4th), 1200 scramble - inflight, 1600 land and post-flight and in time for the beer swill at 1800.

Magic.

or the time at ISL when they deployed all the rations forward. Huge block of mouse trap, and I mean huge, appeared on the counter in flying clothing. Now what did aircrew have in those days ?

After 3 days very small piece of cheese returned to stores. Sqn fund had to pay for the cheese.

[Rossian]

German Navy

At Nordholz I had lots of fun flying with the same crew on 3 consecutive days, 10 hrs each trip,and finally having to spend Friday morning with the same crew in the sim!!"
In Ops when the alarm sounded, evryone responded to "Luft alarm luft alarm luft alarm" by sitting up straight behind their desks, putting on gas mask and tin lid then after a suitable check by the senior man that all were suitably attired, taking them off and getting on with the job. This at a time when we in the RAF were torturing ourselves by wearing all the kit for hours (and days in some cases).

The Ancient Mariner

[Rossian]

"The Bear"

I think taxy dual had it right there, alledgedly, the Staish had to strip off and approach the helo and was spirited away.
I never understood why the man seemed to enjoy humiliating people in front of their subordinates.

The Ancient Mariner

[fantom]

The bürgermeister (mayor) at Brüggen was always given advance notice of taceval so the whole village knew; we were the only ones not to know when the hooter was going to hoot.

Buggah.

[Rigga]

TaxiDual:
"AFAIR, wasn't it 'The Bear', when AOC Training Group in Support Command, who did it to Valley in the late '70's? "

He did the same at Shawbury too - (but the staish didnt need to strip off AFAIK) no GDT training and no guns because it was Training Command. I remember running around the Armoury trying to stun the ruddy intruders (on the Armoury roof) with stones and "Live" Pick-Axe handles!

[polecat2]

Decontaminating Jets with brushes, plastic oversuits and buckets of soapy water..... and thinking is this the best we really have? same goes for the Bodge tape and plastic sheet decontam areas in hards.....

I remember we used to marvel at the wisdom of the decision to use white Bodge tape instead of the usual black stuff as it would reflect the heat of the nuclear blast.

[dkh51250]

PN, The Friday afternoon fiasco,was that the one that involved a recently liberated country?

[taxydual]

More TACEVAL Tales here

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircr...val-tales.html

[Pontius Navigator]

Originally Posted by dkh51250

PN, The Friday afternoon fiasco,was that the one that involved a recently liberated country?

dkh, yes, if by recent you mean in the '90s and now a member of NATO, yes.

[foldingwings]

Going back to the OP, I think that the incident referred to did result in the introduction of Mineval, Maxeval and UK Taceval (rather than NATO) on Strike Command bases! Prior to that only RAFG/NATO etc ran such a regime.

Certainly, when I arrived on 12 at Honington in '74, after a first tour on XV at Laarbruch, I was surprised to be free of the Taceval circuit! However, there were plenty of JMCs etc to keep one on one's toes!

UK Taceval etc then arrived and we all jumped onto the circuit again!

Foldie

[sitigeltfel]

Originally Posted by Pontius Navigator

Largeson, when AOC 18 Gp, was always known to pull tricks. At ISK one year he briefed his ADC to leave his unmarked briefcase in the hall of the Officers' Mess.

AVM Lagesen, despite his upright bearing, had a sense of humour. While in the Ops room at Bawtry during a Taceval he collared an Ops clerk and said, "Any chance of a coffee for the boss?"
He was about the only one who didn't turn purple when the clerk replied, "I don't think so sir, S/L Ops only drinks tea!

[Pontius Navigator]

Originally Posted by sitigeltfel

AVM Lagesen, despite his upright bearing, had a sense of humour. While in the Ops room at Bawtry during a Taceval he collared an Ops clerk and said, "Any chance of a coffee for the boss?"
He was about the only one who didn't turn purple when the clerk replied, "I don't think so sir, S/L Ops only drinks tea!

When Phil was first there as Wg Cdr Ops he had noted that UK based MBF had priority on the El Adem range. One Groupex we planned a UK route as normal but were instructed to carry mapping out to 2000 odd miles.

Once established on the profile Group started to issue orders. The first order was for a flight to Akrotiri via El Adem and drop 3 x 100lb PB. The next aircraft was ordered to make its drop at Jurby. So it went on, alternate aircraft were sent to Cyprus. We drew a Jurby slot. IIRC the flight out took about 5-45. When they landed they were instructed to return the following day dropping at El Adem once more. They had absolute priority and it really put NEAFs nose out of joint. They all made it home but there was a lot of teeth sucking and quick glances towards Manston. They did about 6-15 or more.

One of his first Groupex coincided with my arrival at Coningsby. The place was like a morgue. On the far side were 3 QRA ac and the only people in the bar were ATC. Phil had diverted the entire group to landaways and recovery the next day. He must have known there would be no Mick the following day.

[Waddo Plumber]

Was Lagerson AOC 18 as well as AOC 1 Gp? I remember him from Waddo as AOC in the middle 70s.

[Over the lights]

Phil Largeson

Yes. He was AOC 1 Group when I was on 51 Sqn and caught up with me again in 18 Group when I returned to the Kipper Fleet when tourex. He was a hard man, but fair.

[Over the lights]

TACEVAL Philosophy

When TACEVAL was first introduced I was a supporter - we had become a very much 'office hours' air force. Sadly, it grew very much too big for its boots, and instead of being a means to an end it became a means unto itself. There was even a Taceval Trophy!

I recall the TACEVAL mafia arriving in Malta in the mid-1970s and calling off their simulated intruders when it was revealed to them that the guards at RAF Luqa were armed - for real!

[Pontius Navigator]

Waddo Plumber, he was AOC 18 Gp after 1 Gp as AOC 18 Gp was a senior dual hatted post as AOC 18 Gp and also ComAirEastlant and ComAirChan both 3* posts whereas AOC 1 Gp was a mere 2*. He retired prematurely with, IIRC, a heart murmur.

Fair? He was also a bully. As I went through a door he caught me with a double fisted punch to the stomach and then bid me good morning. I was speechless ...............

PS

Bully was perhaps a bit strong for that era, shall we say a robust sense of humour?

[The Blue Parrot]

Mactlsm1

Ah, the Lossie Raft Race 1983, I remember it well. Most sections entered a raft, the race took place on a Sunday during the summer, most of the town and the camp were there (those playing or watching cricket excepted of course) and the ale flowed from the numerous waterside establishments, namely the Clifton at the time. The race itself normally lasted an hour or so with most, if not all, entrants heading for the bars afterwards to either celebrate or drown (excuse the pun) their sorrows. Circa 16:00 on that Sunday afternoon, the Hooter went off and most, if not all, trudged back to camp to report for TacEval Part 1. It would be a good estimate to say that at least 60% of the base was over the legal drink driving limit but not a problem for those who lived on base or on the Lossie patch. I for one, reported for work in the Radar Bay, certainly well over the limit and was told to stand down once my name was taken as having reported so no major drama!
As was the way with most TacEval Part 1s at ISL (this being the exception on a weekend), the Camp Hairdresser (aren't they all?), sorry, the Unit Hairdresser generally knew when the Team were due to hit either us or ISK as they were always accommodated at the 8 Acres in Elgin and news travelled fast! Happy Days!

[Barksdale Boy]

Tacevals didn't come to UK quite as late as PN suggests in post #7. My log book records a Taceval fly off out of Waddo in 599 (of blessed memory) on 9th December 1970.

[Yellow Sun]

Tacevals didn't come to UK quite as late as PN suggests in post #7. My log book records a Taceval fly off out of Waddo in 599 (of blessed memory) on 9th December 1970.

Agree about the year and month, but I have a date of the 3rd in 538 with John Burleigh.

Not that it matters.

YS