Feature
Paras Put To The Test In No-Notice Exercise
British Army paratroopers have had their readiness put to the test in a fast-paced, no-notice exercise.
Exercise Emerald Atlas saw B Company 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (B Coy, 3 PARA) deployed without notice on a simulated mission to evacuate British citizens from a country where security is rapidly deteriorating, over the course of 72 hours.
The airborne rapid reaction force was alerted in the early hours of Monday morning at their base at Merville Barracks, Colchester.
They travelled to RAF Odiham to carry out mission planning and preparation with helicopter crews from the RAF’s 18 Squadron the next day.
The unit was then flown into Longmoor training area by Chinook helicopters, where they secured positions and gathered people to be evacuated while dealing with the threat from an increasingly hostile local population.
The troops and civilians were flown back to RAF Odiham late on Wednesday night, with B Coy resetting itself to be ready for further operations in the area.
3 PARA is currently the lead unit in the Air Assault Task Force (AATF), which stands ready to deploy anywhere in the world to conduct operations.
The battalion's airborne infantry is supported by artillery, engineers, signallers, medics and logisticians from 16 Air Assault Brigade, as well as support and attack helicopters from Joint Helicopter Command.
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