February 2012

SPAG Trains for Submarine Rescue in Gibraltar - members of the Submarine Parachute Assistance Group (SPAG) drawn from all three services have been putting their parachuting skills to the test at Gibraltar with the Group's main task is to deploy a team of people with escape and rescue knowledge to the scene of a submarine in distress - and to do so as quickly as possible.     They are usually are on six hours' notice to take-off, twenty-four-hours-a-day, all-year-round, and, at RAF Brize Norton, there is always a HERCULES transport aircraft available in the event of a submarine emergency.

The exercise has seen a tri-service mix of medics, logistics specialists, radio operators, engineers, divers, and even trainee parachute instructors, taking part.       Exercise Gib Splash is also an important training event for the aircrew themselves as they need to learn how to fly as low as 1,000 feet over a precise target, and with parachutists jumping from the tailgate, and the exercise allows the boat crews on the water to gain additional water safety qualifications as Gibraltar is ideal for this kind of training.   The next part of the SPAG training will come in July when they rehearse the other part of the operation - that of building a floating triage and medical centre.