Tag: armed forces

Armed Forces personnel deployed to support UK’s Covid response

Over 5,000 Armed Forces personnel are currently deployed to support the response to the Coronavirus across the UK, working on 70 different tasks ranging from schools testing to the rollout of vaccines.


This is more than at any previous point in the pandemic and the biggest homeland operation the UK has ever seen in peacetime. Thousands more are supporting efforts through their day jobs in military planning, Defence Medical Services, Defence Science and Technology Laboratories and elsewhere.

More military personnel are being deployed to support community testing in:

  • Manchester – 800 personnel providing community testing support to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority
    • Kent – 390 personnel will support community testing
    • Swadlincote, Derbyshire – 130 personnel to establish and operate four lateral flow testing sites
    • Kirklees, Yorkshire – 75 personnel to establish and operate four lateral flow testing sites
    • Lancashire – 420 personnel to support asymptomatic testing

Another large scale task starts in Manchester today, with 800 personnel deploying from nine regiments across the British Army at the request of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), through the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

These personnel will prepare to work across all ten local authority areas of Greater Manchester to carry out targeted asymptomatic testing of specific populations that may be at a higher risk of infection including social care staff, key workers, public facing occupations such as bus drivers, and those in high risk environments such care homes and shared accommodation for the homeless.

The task builds on lessons from previous asymptomatic community testing in Liverpool, Lancashire, Merthyr Tydfil, Medway, and Kirklees.

In addition to community testing, military personnel remain on-task testing hauliers in Dover and helping to establish ten new testing sites to improve the flow of traffic across the Channel. As of today, 515 personnel are on task in Kent and elsewhere providing testing to hauliers.

1,500 Armed Forces personnel have also been provided to support schools testing, with local response teams providing virtual support and phone advice to institutions. Personnel also on standby to deploy at short notice to provide in-person support. Testing will continue as planned with two rapid Lateral Flow Tests available to all secondary school and college students and staff at the start of term to identify asymptomatic cases, break chains of transmission and beat the virus.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “The new year will see new levels of Armed Forces support to overcoming this pandemic. Thousands of service personnel are working throughout the United Kingdom, wherever they are needed to assist the civil authorities.

“Manchester is the latest of those tasks and will be an important contribution to protecting the highest risk groups as the city seeks to recover. As a North West MP I am acutely aware of the considerable time many of us have been labouring under some form of lockdown and I hope our soldiers will help us get to the day when these restrictions will start to lift.”

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We are enormously grateful to the Armed Forces for lending their support to these important community testing programmes. Around one in three people with coronavirus showing no symptoms, asymptomatic testing is crucial to identifying those who might be unknowingly infected, and protecting our most vulnerable.

“These community testing schemes are part of a national testing programme with millions of lateral flow tests arriving in schools tomorrow, for the testing of students and staff, to add to the hundreds of thousands of asymptomatic tests currently being conducted in care homes, across the NHS and in critical infrastructure workplaces and food manufacturers.

“While the Army, alongside thousands of medical professionals and volunteers, help roll out the vaccination programme, we must remember that the first line of defence against the virus remains to wash our hands, cover our faces and keep space.”

Lt Gen Sir Tyrone Urch KBE, Commander Standing Joint Commander UK said: “I am incredibly proud of all the servicemen and women who have worked tirelessly for most of this year on Operation RESCRIPT, the military effort in support of the government’s campaign to tackle COVID-19.

“In recent weeks, our amazing staff have deployed at short notice to set up and staff community testing centres across the country in support of the NHS, DHSC, Devolved Nations and local communities.

“They have conducted a successful testing pilot in schools and contributed to vaccine rollout planning. Both Regular and Reservist personnel stepped up on Christmas Eve to help clear the backlog of trucks in Kent, setting up testing facilities overnight when they would otherwise have been spending the festive period with their families.

“I am humbled by the sacrifice and dedication of all our people from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force as we continue to contribute to our nation’s fight against the coronavirus.”

The MoD has deployed 10 military planners to assist the Vaccine Task Force, with over 150 personnel deployed across the UK to support organisational and logistical components of the Deployment Programme.

Two separate military planners are seconded to support the Vaccine Task Force Director. Additionally, 20 personnel are assisting with regional vaccine planning, end-to-end logistics and delivery.

From 11th January a Vaccine Quick Reaction Force is being established, with their training for the role beginning today. This will initially be 21 teams of six personnel assigned to the seven NHS England regions, able to provide surge support to the vaccine roll-out if required by local health authorities.

In Scotland, military planners are supporting the testing and vaccine programmes.

Earlier during the pandemic Armed Forces personnel supported healthcare professionals to deliver testing at Glasgow Airport, and RAF Puma helicopters were deployed to Kinloss Barracks in Moray to provide emergency assistance to NHS boards and trusts across Scotland.

In Wales, 90 service personnel are deployed to support Health Boards in rapidly establishing and operating vaccination centres. For the first-time trained defence medics will also support the administering of the vaccine. Ninety-four military personnel, including medics and drivers, have embedded with the Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust to support them by driving Ambulances.

In Northern Ireland the Defence Estate is being loaned to the PSNI for their use and the Armed Forces have placed medevac capabilities on standby for Covid-19 patients when needed.

Charities join forces to support Britain’s wounded veterans

TV star Ross Kemp has backed a major fundraising drive to help Britain’s wounded veterans who are at risk, some battling the evils of unemployment, isolation and struggling with their mental health. Continue reading Charities join forces to support Britain’s wounded veterans

Lord Provost opens Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance

Frank Ross, the Right Honourable Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh, led a special group of wreath-layers at the annual Opening Ceremony of the Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance, at the Scott Monument in Princes Street Gardens yesterday.  Continue reading Lord Provost opens Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance

“A laugh, a joke, a tear and a beer”: veterans mark Anzac and Gallipoli Day

In a touching show of comradeship and remembrance today, representatives from all sides came together to attend the annual ANZAC and Gallipoli Day Service at the Scottish National War Memorial, at Edinburgh Castle, organised by Legion Scotland. Continue reading “A laugh, a joke, a tear and a beer”: veterans mark Anzac and Gallipoli Day

PTSD also takes its toll on families: public event at Napier University

A PUBLIC event will explore the impact of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on the families of members of the armed forces. Edinburgh Napier University has assembled an expert panel including a former Commando, an actress, a journalist and an academic researcher to assess whether enough is being done to support the loved ones of those living with the condition. Continue reading PTSD also takes its toll on families: public event at Napier University

How can we remember if we don’t know?

Vast majority of Britons don’t know how many military personnel have died in conflict

  • ·         84% of Scots don’t know that more than 7,000 of our Armed Forces have died in conflict (both combat and peacekeeping missions) since WWII
  • ·         Over a third (35%) of Scots are unaware of any of the conflicts which the British Armed Forces are currently involved in
  • ·         61% of Scots think that schools should teach pupils more about conflicts that the British Armed Forces have been involved in since WWII

 

  • 92% of British public doesn’t know how many members of the British Armed Forces have died in wars and conflicts (both combat and peacekeeping missions) since the start of WWI
  • 85% of Brits are not aware of over half of the conflicts which the British Armed Forces have been involved in since WWII
  • More than a third (37%) are unaware of any of the conflicts which the British Armed Forces are currently involved in
  • 59% of Brits think that schools should teach pupils more about conflicts that the British Armed Forces have been involved in since WWII

As the nation gets set to remember the efforts of our armed forces, new research released by the Forces Network highlights the lack of knowledge of many Brits, when asked about the conflicts we have been involved in since the First World War. How can we remember if we don’t know? 

The research has been conducted to mark the launch of the Forces Network’s Remembrance map www.forces.net/remembrance, which has been created in partnership with Ian Beckett, Professor of History from the University of Kent. The map identifies and commemorates all the conflicts (both combat and peacekeeping missions) which the British Armed Forces have been involved in since WWI, to enable a greater understanding of the commitments made by our service personnel.

The statistics show that 85% of Brits don’t know that more than 7,000 of our armed forces have died in conflict (both combat and peacekeeping missions) since WWII.Additionally, from the start of WWI to the end of WWII one million British personnel lost their lives but when asked 1 in 5 (23%) people thought that fewer than 5000 service personnel made the ultimate sacrifice.

The statistics also show that more than half of Brits think that we have been involved in 30 or fewer conflicts (both combat and peacekeeping missions), since WWII – when we have actually been involved in more than 60.  Only a third (35%) of people were aware of the British involvement in the fight against so-called Islamic State.

37% of respondents were unaware of any of the conflicts the British Armed Forces are currently involved in, including Operation TOSCA (UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus) (77%) and our participation in United Nations peacekeeping mission in Somalia (70%). The figures also indicated that 63% of those asked, think that the number of conflicts we are currently involved in is high.

The research also reveals that, as a nation, we have an interest in learning more about our military. Over half (56%) of 18 to 24 year olds are not aware that Britain’s Armed Forces were involved in the WWII, 52% of that age range said they would like schools to teach more about the role of our forces.

Ian Beckett, Honorary Professor of Military History, of the University of Kent said: “There is understandable emphasis upon the commemoration of the two world wars with the ongoing centenary of the Great War and of the 75th anniversary of the Second World War. The public is also aware of recent conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The significance and value of the Remembrance Campaign is that it reminds us of those many other occasions since 1914 on which servicemen and women have made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of this country.”

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux GCB CBE DSO, former Chief of the Defence Staff, said: “It is very disappointing that the public does not know more about the Armed Forces’ role in defending our country and our allies.

“It is always important, especially at this Remembrance time of year, to think about those thousands of people who have given their lives for our country since the end of World War 2. I would urge the government to make the history of modern conflicts a compulsory subject in our schools to help youngsters better understand and respect the freedoms and lives they enjoy today.  In truth, we don’t know where the next conflict will be but our armed forces stand ready for any eventuality.”

Silver award for Napier’s armed forces support programme

Armed Forces Covenant day

Edinburgh Napier University has been honoured by the Ministry of Defence for its commitment to the armed forces. The university is to receive a silver award under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme which encourages employers to support the defence sector and inspire others to do the same. Continue reading Silver award for Napier’s armed forces support programme