Page 79 - Mercian Eagle 2012

Op Olympics by Capt Mark Polglase 4 MERCIAN
On a cool mid-summer’s day, apprehensive soldiers congregated outside a hanger in Lincolnshire to embark on a once–in-a- lifetime journey that would take them deep into the hearts of the British public on a wave of true British euphoria.
two en-suites, they were comfortable, and, although the cat would have had a sore head when swung, they were home for the next three weeks. Hainault, in the heart of The Only Way is Essex country was the principal base for the Olympic Park security personnel. Due to spending most of our time on night shift we never really discovered how orange the locals were.
It would perhaps be wrong at this stage not to mention the elephant in the room that is G4S; after all, without
the air as to whether the doom and gloom around the games, instigated by the media, would bring security/weather/gridlock/ ticketing (etc.) problems -- or would we survive intact? The answer came sooner rather than later.
It was evident as soon as the dress rehearsal that we were part of something very special. Tasked, along with volunteers, to assist in carrying the nations’ flags in place of the athletes for the rehearsal, it demonstrated that we were about to be part of a very special event. Watching Capt Andy Wignall employing his best ensign drills together with Miss Venezuela was a moment to cherish.
As the Olympics gained momentum the medals started flooding in. Through the VSA came GB athletes with gold medals clearly visible through the rapid-scan x-ray who were glad to be photographed with the soldiers.
As the closing ceremony approached the pressure increased in order not to damage this trusting and appreciative bond between military and civilian. Standards were maintained and security remained unbreached. The whole operation must have been a huge benefit for the Armed Forces, incalculable as to its long-term successes in the hearts and minds of so many of those who attended.
Op Olympic was a huge victory in the PR war and I was proud to be part of it.
The Reinforcement and Training Mobilisation Centre (RTMC) was not euphoric in any way. It had a difficult task to do and it achieved it. In five days it had briefed, trained, fed and processed 800 TA soldiers sufficiently well
to send them onward
to their tasking on Op
Olympic. As we left,
800 more rolled into
Grantham surveying
the rows of tents, the
neatly dressed-off lines
of portaloos and the
cookhouse queue that
wrapped around the
building like a scarf.
So, from Grantham to the Reception Staging and Onward Integration (RSOI) centre at Feltham with newly-organised groupings we were dispersed to our various venues
and camps. The exotically named Hainault Camp was a tri-service base on the edge of the Epping Forest, a mixture between Camp Bastion and Dale Farm. Most of the 3,000 service personnel were accommodated in Corrimex portacabins. Four to a room with
them the huge levels of gratitude that flooded
in on us throughout
the Olympics might not have been so great. The message was out that the service personnel on security had saved the games; now this was not entirely accurate, but we were in no real
position to stop the truth getting in the way of a good story.
Shifts on the Olympic Park were split into day and night shifts and were of twelve hour duration. Our tasking was at the brilliantly named Pudding Mill (we ate very well!), one of a couple of Vehicle Search Areas (VSA) for the park. After on-site training and a steady build-up to the Opening Ceremony there was some degree of apprehension in
it would perhaps be wrong at this stage not to mention the elephant in the room that is G4S
CO TAC Group ready for action
CO TAC Group ready for action
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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