| Exercise Troubled Seabird 2008 |
| Published:
09/09/2008
Author: Flying Officer Tez Cooling |
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What did you children do this year over the summer holidays? 40 Air Cadets from all over Central and East England gave up 5 days of their holiday to participate in a 86 hour non stop exercise at Hankley Common in Surrey. Surviving on Army rations.
The cadets arrived at Hankley Common control huts at 17:00 on 23rd August, there home for the next 5 days. Over the next 5 days they lived in field conditions, that sleeping out in the training area, under a small plastic sheet (a bivvi), and on the first night it rained hard, but the cadets just got on with the job in hand. The faced a series of challenges including first aid exercises, rope exercises, physical challenges, code breaking exercises and team work exercises. 
(Cadets of Yellow flight in their living area eating their ration packs)Food was the very first problem, each day the staff team would deliver army rations to the cadets, but always with a twist. Sometimes the rations were stranded at the opposite end of the training area several kilometres away, sometimes they were buried underground and the cadets were issued a metal detector and shovel to find them! Sometimes the rations were in the middle of a minefield. Every time the cadets raised to the challenge and retrieved their army issue ration packs. 
(Cpl Alex Smith makes an attempt to retrieve a ration pack)One of the big features of the exercise was the communications. The cadets were split into 3 flight that conducted the exercise, and a tactical control flight that had a direct link to exercise HQ using advanced radio equipment. The equipment the cadets used included HF, VHF, and UHF Radios as well as Field Telephones. With all this equipment the cadets completely on their own operated 3 different networks covering the whole of the training area and even linking up with TASCOM, the Terrestrial Air Sea Communications control station for all three services based at RAF High Wycombe. 
(Flt Sgt Luke Horsefield and his cadets running out over 250 meters of Don 10 cable for the field telephones – hard work!)One of the big surprises of the exercise came on Tuesday morning. The cadets reported to the control centre for an update on their mission from Sgt Nick Waltz. “The enemy forces have gone to ground through out the whole of the training area, you are now required to search the whole training area and report back any sightings of the enemy forces”. The cadets looked less than impressed to say the least, given that the training area was several kilometres long by a couple wide! They were informed that they would be searching the area from the sky with support from a Gazelle helicopter from 666 Squadron Army Air Corps. 
(cadets being briefed on working in and with the Army Air Corps Gazelle)Within a few minutes groups of cadets were taking off from the control huts and searching the training area. The cadets quickly spotted the enemy flight, swooped in for a closer look then using the air to ground communications set-up, radioed the location and details back to the control flight who built up a clear picture of what was going on around them. 
(Sergeant Dan Grosvenor from the control flight using a Clansman 351 radio to direct the Army Air Corps Gazelle)
(Cadet Barnaby Parkes Shortly after his reconnaissance flight) 
(Cpl George Ing on the radio, with Cpl Josh Blount and Sgt Simon Poyner directing the helicopter)Flt Lt Austen Colledge and Pilot Officer Kerry Hemstock, playing the part of some of the enemy forces, commented, “It was so hard to hide, just as you thought you hidden away the helicopter would come swooping in from a different direction”. 
(Flt Lt Colledge and Plt Off Hemstock wondering how do you hide a Land Rover from a Gazelle and highly organised cadets).Even after the gazelle had departed the exercise still continued for another day and a half. The cadets worked well into the hours of darkness as well as being up early in the mornings. After just over 82 hours the end of the exercise was in sight. The cadets had to make a exchange at a prearranged location to pick up their departure instructions. The exchange was made, and a briefcase was handed over. Flt Sgt Stuart Lowe opened the case to reveal just a Dictaphone, the message revealed that after 85 hours on exercise, the cadets had been double crossed, the finish location was over a kilometre away. Not only that but the enemy forces knew where they were and were closing in on their position fast. The controlling cadets had to break down all their equipment fast and run with it back to the control huts, the 3 flights in the field quickly caught sight of the staff closing in on them and made a dash for the control huts. With just a few minutes to spare all the cadets arrived to end the exercise back at the control huts. Flying Officer Dave Pink, the regional and exercise communications officer commented, “The exercise has been a complete success. Nearly every cadet has earned a qualification in radio communications, all of them have had experience in HF, VHF and UHF radio operating, run multiple networks, used military radio equipment, been in communication with active aircraft, and used air to ground communications equipment while flying. Not only that but the whole thing has been done in the theme of an exercise and the cadets have conducted real air observing, pursuit and searching missions. The Region Radio Team appreciate the chance to deploy the radios in this way and gives the cadets such a great experience to use them in the field. Every year the exercise staff award the best cadet on exercise award. This year it was won by Sergeant Jade Brock of 1360 (Stapleford) Squadron, who not only coped with a very physically demanding exercise, but also acted as second in command of her flight excellently, but also taught her cadets and looked after them to a very high standard. Commendations for excellence were also awarded to Sergeant Dan Grosvenor, Cadet Emily Edwards, Corporal Josh Ward and Cadet Barnaby Parkes. Exercise IC, Flying Officer Tez Cooling said, “This is the 4th year the exercise has run, and the cadets never cease to impress me. The exercise is extremely demanding on all the cadets, especially so this year as the training area was much bigger than we normally use, add bad weather on the first night. All the cadets are a credit to themselves and their squadrons. It's extremely encouraging to know that Air Cadets from all over the region are so keen to come and try something that is difficult and really rise to the challenge! I can't wait till next year!”. 
(The final camp photo)
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