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Army to recover bodies from Didcot

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Army to recover bodies from Didcot

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Old 9th Jun 2016, 15:27
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Army to recover bodies from Didcot

Talk about getting the sh*t jobs, and it begs the question why when there are dedicated professionals whose job is to carry out these type of operations in the uk, hell we even send experts abroad to earthquake zones, it rather sounds like using the military as canon fodder, I understand the desire to recover the poor guys, but does anyone else wonder the logic of sending troops in, that are not really trained for the task.

Army Sent In To Recover Bodies Of Didcot Victims

Army personnel are being drafted in speed up the search for the three victims, after it was ruled too dangerous last month.
The deployment comes weeks after the search was called off after it was ruled too dangerous to proceed.

In a statement last month, the company in charge of the site, RWE npower, said the remainder of the structure was considered "unstable."

It has been suggested that the rest of the building should be brought down in a controlled explosion before the start of a renewed recovery operation.

Thames Valley Police said the deployment of military support had been approved by the Home Office and Ministry of Defence.
What ever happened to risk assessment?
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Old 9th Jun 2016, 15:47
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The report I heard on the radio earlier, suggested that the army personnel being drafted in had 'specialist equipment', whatever that may be, so maybe not just Cpl.Bloggs and his/her mates rummaging round in the rubble with gay abandon, oblivious to any remaining risks...

-RP
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Old 9th Jun 2016, 16:31
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Rhino power,

Wouldn't put money on it. Recalls the times at Leeming, when we all donned white overalls and gumboots (?) and trailed off to Dishforth, equipped with Geiger Counters, to scour the airfield for the radioactive sources with which it had been "seeded".

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Old 9th Jun 2016, 16:40
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suggested that the army personnel being drafted in had 'specialist equipment'
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Old 9th Jun 2016, 16:56
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Poor Bloody Infantry (again)
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Old 9th Jun 2016, 17:23
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More like the Pioneer Corps.
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Old 9th Jun 2016, 19:26
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Would like to know just which units of the Army are being deployed.


The REME have heavy recovery teams, usually for tanks etc. equipped with a variety of machinery. The RE have an assortment of cranes, bulldozers and other lifting equipment. If it is just people to lift and carry etc. then the options are greater. Without knowing anything of the problems involved my money would be on a mixed unit of RE and REME plus Pioneers.
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Old 9th Jun 2016, 19:58
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...or some students from Sandhurst on a leadership project....
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Old 9th Jun 2016, 20:20
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Radio Oxford often has the editor of Demolition News (or whatever the professional trade journal is called) on to discuss the ongoing recovery.

From what he has been able to find out, he suggests that the support will be in the form of kit such as Wheelbarrow, so as to remotely lay charges to bring down the remaining structure of the collapsed power hall.

From what I can make out from the fairly detailed discussions heard on the Radio (involving other demolitions experts as well as the chap from Demolition News) the problem is that of recovering the remains; if they were not there, then the remnants of the power hall would've be brought down by now, with their fall being directed upon the extant rubble pile. Clearly, to do that would complicate recovery of the bodies.

They thus need to place the explosives very precisely, and the speculation is that the specialist military support may be seeing if the Wheelbarrow (EOD, not garden variety, obviously) can get into a position where it can use its extensible arm to precisely lay the explosives required; from what I recall, the latest version's extensible arm can lift about 150kgs.

Equally, as parabellum has said, it might be heavy recovery, but the demolition contractors who have taken over the task from the original company appear to be well provisioned with that sort of equipment themselves.
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Old 9th Jun 2016, 23:24
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Thanks Archimedes, that makes a whole lot of sense and what the article missed out. One just hopes the families do not have much longer to wait to get closure.
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Old 9th Jun 2016, 23:49
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To bring you guys up to date, there is no such thing as the Pioneer Corps now, it was absorbed into the Royal Logistics Corps in 1993, along with the RAOC, RCT, AAC etc. I'm guessing this would be a job for the RLC (Really Large Corps as it is sometimes known) in conjunction with REME Recce Mechs as referred to by Parabellum.
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Old 9th Jun 2016, 23:57
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TTN -

To bring you guys up to date, there is no such thing as the Pioneer Corps now, it was absorbed into the Royal Logistics Corps in 1993, along with the RAOC, RCT, AAC etc. I'm guessing this would be a job for the RLC (Really Large Corps as it is sometimes known) in conjunction with REME Recce Mechs as referred to by Parabellum.
A common typo and oft repeated to write AAC instead of ACC. The easy way to remember is one Corps consists of very unfit people whose day job revolves around terrible food, and the others are Cooks.
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Old 10th Jun 2016, 06:42
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Is there a possibility of using helicopters? There, that gives the thread at least a hint of military aviation content!
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Old 10th Jun 2016, 07:48
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Pioneers were disbanded some time ago......
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Old 10th Jun 2016, 08:53
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A common typo and oft repeated to write AAC instead of ACC.
Thanks for the correction, Two's In, and I liked the aide memoire . I should also have remembered that ACC stood for Aldershot Concrete Company!
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Old 10th Jun 2016, 10:45
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So plus ca change,

Whenever there is the short end of a ****ty stick that nobody else wants it is time to call out the troops.

Separately, while it is traditional to take the rip out of the slop jockeys, in fairness to them I have seen them produce some excellent meals out of a No1 burner 'T'

As cookie says in zulu: "Do you know what it is like to make soup for a hundred men in this heat?"

When they were given their freedom on formal occasions they have produced food as good as, if not better, than I have had in some michelin starred restos. I particularly remember the individual hand made sweets produced for ladies nights.

I suppose that has all gone in these days of pay as you starve.

Anyway, I am off to dust off my old 3 Shock Army orbat as that appears to be coming back into vogue.

EG
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Old 10th Jun 2016, 12:27
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Is there a possibility of using helicopters? There, that gives the thread at least a hint of military aviation content!
Well, you can see Didcot from RAF Abingdon-um, Dalton Barracks. Oh, still no military aviation content. Well, I guess there may be a Chinook or Puma passing by at some time...
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Old 10th Jun 2016, 14:05
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The Air Cadets have nothing to do at the moment.
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Old 10th Jun 2016, 21:13
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I once did a lot of work with the RAOC/RLC and the Royal Engineers. One thing I learnt from that is give the Army a job and they will get it done.
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Old 10th Jun 2016, 21:16
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Originally Posted by Slow Biker
I once did a lot of work with the RAOC/RLC and the Royal Engineers. One thing I learnt from that is give the Army a job and they will get it done.
The gold in this pile of...
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