RAF Halton Police Flight Tested during Mass Casualty Exercise

RAF Halton Police and Security Flight played a huge part in the recent Station exercises conducted as part of the main Exercise FIVE ARROWS recently. The morning saw the reporting and reaction processes put to the test in an aircraft crash incident on the airfield. The Emergency Response Plan was followed by MPGS in calling out the necessary personnel to attend the incident. The cordon and Forward Control Point was immediately put in place by the MPGS whilst the RAF Police reacted by setting up an Incident Control Point.

The second half of the day saw the Police and Security Flight tested to the full with a Mass Casualty exercise. The scenario was based around a primitive attack at the exit gate involving a flight of marching airmen hit by a vehicle. The MPGS received the report and were first on the scene providing constant situation reports so that the right personnel were alerted to the incident. Upon arrival on scene, with Flt Lt Cotton, OC Police as Bronze Commander, who took full control of the incident, triage was carried out on all injured and passed on the Senior Medical Officer and Regional Medical Centre so that they could assist the local ambulance staff on arrival.

With varied amount of experience on the Flight it was commented upon by the medical services about the professionalism of the RAF Police assessment of the scene. This is testament to the huge amount of training and experience we have undergone throughout the last 13 years in order to support operations abroad.

Flight Sergeant Dawn Bellingham from the Police Flight, said: “This was a busy day for the Station as the follow up work completed by Personnel Management Squadron continued long into the afternoon in regards to their casualty notification procedures. This is where we find our initial reaction and reporting of incidents is a key point in these processes. The requirement to collate accurate detail and preserve life and evidence puts the RAF Police at the core of the provision of Force Protection in the Royal Air Force.”