Trainee commando fliers and engineers spent a week living and flying on Dartmoor as they were given taste of life as the wings of the Royal Marines.
Sea Kings with air and ground crew from 848 Naval Air Squadron decamped from the comfortable surroundings of Yeovilton to Okehampton to experience operating the helicopters in an austere, inhospitable environment.
Dear mum, last time we ever go camping on Dartmoor… A Sea King about to set down at the main camp as rain lashes down
WHILE their front-line colleagues are gearing up to enjoy Mediterranean autumn sun, the ‘Junglie Training Academy’ of 848 Naval Air Squadron spent a week on a wet and inhospitable Dartmoor.
Fliers and ground crew left Yeovilton behind and set up base at Oakhampton Camp on the edge of the moor to learn how to operate in the field – just as their colleagues in 845 and 846 squadrons do supporting commando operations around the globe.
848 feeds the two front-line Commando Helicopter Force Sea King squadrons with around 50 pilots and aircrew, plus more than 150 helicopter maintainers, engineers and technicians every year.
The relative quiet of Dartmoor and its infamously austere environment meant 848 could play out a wide-ranging, full-on war scenario.
Troops hunker down with supplies as a Sea King sets down at a forward operating base
The aim was to give trainees a taste of operating the Sea King Mk4 in a stressful environment outside the ‘comfort zone’ at Yeovilton.
For most of the trainee engineers, it was the first time they’d serviced the helicopters away from their well-equipped hangars back in Somerset. But beyond that, there were also assessed for their leadership skills.
And as the Commando Helicopter Force are the wings of the Royal Marines, there were plenty of green berets to provide expert instruction on security and field skills, plus defending a hastily-established forward operating base from a full-scale assault.
The engineers were also taught lessons from Afghanistan, where the Junglie force has served extensively, including how to strip out a Sea King potentially under enemy fire.
Back in 2009, one Junglie Sea King was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in an area occupied by insurgents. Experts deemed the helicopter ‘saveable’ – and decided to transport it back to Camp Bastion for repair.
Before it could be airlifted to base, heavy components had to be removed from the stricken ‘bird’ by the engineers, while troops provided cover for them to work safely.
Students map out and record aircraft debris on the moor during a crash management training exercise
That successful operation has now become a mainstay of training in the field for the Junglie engineers.
For the aircrew, sorties in the hilly terrain concentrated the minds on valley flying and approaches to pinnacles and ridges as they dropped off troops and supplies.
There was some epic flying for the students with the seasoned instructor in the left-hand seat constantly pointing out all the potential pitfalls that awaited the unwary pilot.
The detachment to Okehampton achieved all its aims and provided invaluable experience for trainee aircrew and engineers alike.
“The week-long military training exercise has always been an important test for aircrew as they complete their training, but it is also a great opportunity for the engineers on the squadron to demonstrate their leadership and professional aptitude in a challenging environment,” said 848’s senior engineer Lt Cdr Paul Barker.
“The week was an overwhelming success bringing together aircrew and engineers to work as a highly-motivated team and preserve the Junglie ethos.”
