We have a guest blogger this week so please feel free to comment:
This weekend I have witnessed some of the best and the worst of our military planning, health and safety and taking care of the troops.
On Saturday I attended the Air Day at RNAS Yeovilton and it was superb. Starting at 11am, in 29° bright sunshine (40° at the runway!), it was constant display of precision flying for over 6 hours by the Army, Navy and RAF, starting with the Red Arrows and finishing with an amazing battlefield display. The use of flash bangs and flares gave a small insight into the noise and potential confusion seen in an operation and covering fire by Apache helicopters and fast jets allowed Sea Kings to abseil troops in full combat gear direct to the target to simulate a hostage rescue which was breath-taking. The spectacle of 6 Sea Kings flying towards you with Apache outriders and jets screaming overhead was a true realisation of the skill of our armed forces and the practice and dedication that is needed to serve this country in all weathers and over any terrain.
Meanwhile, on the Brecon Beacons, two men died and another is in a serious condition as they practiced to earn the right to begin the selection process for one of the toughest units in the armed forces, the SAS. The hot weather, whilst unusual for Wales, is commonplace in areas like Iraq (today it is 46°) and Afghanistan (where it is a cloudy 33°) so why, I ask myself, were they not better equipped to deal with the heat! The report will probably emerge in a couple of years’ time but it comes down to the fact that something went wrong. Either, mentally they pushed too hard or their support network was inadequate. Whatever the cause it led to the unnecessary deaths of two fit serviceman and lessons need to be learned quickly to avoid a repetition in a war zone where there are enough enemies to deal with.
Whilst we all joke about health and safety legislation going so far that we have become a nanny state it is situations like this that show common sense and looking out for each other is the best answer to health and safety. Lone worker policies come to mind in this situation and, had these two men been in regular contact with someone responsible, it is just possible the effects of heat and dehydration would have been noticed before it was too late.
M
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