By Kate Johnston, Head of Communications
I recently travelled down to Kirkcudbright to spend the day with the RAF at their ACT (Annual Continuous Training) Camp. 603 Squadron is a Force Protection unit that trains personnel for both the RAF Police (they maintain law and order within RAF bases) and Regiment (they physically protect the bases and aircraft from hostile threats). This particular camp was focussed on developing the skills of those attached to the RAF Regiment.
The first activity we saw was CQB (Close-Quarters Battle) training. If you’ve ever seen a cop show, you’ll have a good sense of what CBQ looks like: haunted house, chaps in uniform, smashing down doors, and shouting loudly whilst armed. It was seriously cool and gave me some amazing filming opportunities. At one point I asked the Reservists to pretend I was the enemy and to storm the room so I could film it all happening, they obliged, and it was exciting to say the least!
The second part of the day gave us the opportunity to see the Reservists carry out ambush training. Placed at a safe distance in the adjoining field, we watched as the Reservists hid in the trees and ambushed ‘the enemy’. It was exceptionally wet, windy and cold (not my preferred climate, and yes, I did have to borrow a RAF coat) and yet the Reservists seemed to be in their element, waiting patiently to strike the enemy down.
Whilst it might sound like a bit of a cliché, I really was impressed by the teamwork on display. It was brought home to me that if a Reservist can hack ACT, smiling as they go, what a resilient and driven asset they will be back in their normal work place.
