Coronavirus: Everything The Military Is Doing To Fight COVID-19

The Armed Forces have been playing a leading role in the UK's response to the coronavirus pandemic. 1st May 2020 at 5:30pm

As more NHS Nightingale hospitals and mobile testing sites have become operational, UK Armed Forces continue to play a key role in the UK's response to the coronavirus pandemic. There are 20,000 military personnel on standby as part of the 'COVID Support Force', with 3,256 personnel currently deployed to assist with 92 open military aid to the civil authorities (MACA) requests. A total of 1,500 troops are currently involved in carrying out coronavirus testing across the UK.

As requested by a number of you here is what the British military has been doing in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. You will be pleased to see it is Tri-Service, as some of you have requested. I have attached some up to date photos, as well.

UK Coronavirus: Personnel Run New Mobile Testing Units Across UK 27th April 2020

Supporting the NHS Nightingale Hospitals A major focus of the military's work has been on assisting the NHS. Personnel have helped to set up Nightingale hospitals around the country, which provide additional care capacity for coronavirus patients. • The first was in London, at the site of the city's ExCeL centre. • A similar facility opened at the NEC in Birmingham. • A hospital at Manchester Central Convention Complex, formerly known as the GMEX, opened after being set up with the help of military personnel. • The helped convert Glasgow's SEC Centre into a temporary NHS hospital. • Army veteran Captain Tom Moore, who has raised more than £32 million for NHS Charities Together, officially opened NHS Yorkshire and The Humber via video link. These recently opened sites will also benefit from the military's largest medical deployment amid the pandemic. • The Earl of Wessex opened NHS Nightingale Hospital Bristol. • Nearly 300 personnel are being deployed to the two facilities, in Yorkshire and Bristol. One hundred and thirty five military medical personnel will be assisting NHS staff, helping with basic patient care and monitoring. A further 160 personnel will help with more "general duties", including porterage, equipment maintenance, stores management and distribution services.

UK Bristol's NHS Nightingale Hospital Officially Opens 27th April 2020

Mobile testing • Military personnel have started operating mobile coronavirus testing units. Forty-two drive- through sites are now open, with 17 mobile sites operational. • British Army soldiers and have been operating facilities across the country, as well as personnel training to operate the pop-up sites. Ninety-six mobile sites are now operational. • British military personnel will be involved in 92 of the 96 mobile coronavirus testing units by early May, the Government says. • Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced this evening that 122,347 tests coronavirus were carried out in the 24 hours up to 9am on Friday. Supporting ambulance services • Nearly 200 Armed Forces personnel from the COVID Support Force are being mobilised to support ambulance services across the country. • Members of the British Army, the and the will support NHS ambulance services as they face increased pressure. • Elsewhere, more than 100 tri-service personnel have trained to drive oxygen tankers in support of the NHS, if required. They are likely to respond to emergencies and be asked to drive ambulances when required.

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Training • Royal Marines have gone through specialist training to help the fight against COVID-19, getting them ready to deploy across the south-west of England to support frontline workers. • Troops from 247 Gurkha Signal Squadron, part of 16th Signal Regiment have spent 10 days training with pharmacists on how to conduct COVID-19 testing at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. Thirty-two military personnel are helping the fight against coronavirus by providing testing for NHS staff. • Similar programmes are taking place in Manchester and Glasgow, meaning the military is helping more frontline health workers get tested. Soldier shows NHS nurse how to ensure mask fits well (Picture: Army in ). Oxygen tank being loaded onto A400M Atlas aircraft bound as part of a delivery of equipment to the Falklands (Picture: MOD). Soldiers from 1 Anglian Regiment arrive at the ExCel Centre in London (Picture: MOD).

A soldier practises filling an oxygen tanker in Oxfordshire (Picture: MOD).Members of 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards load medical equipment for the NHS (Picture: MOD).Members of the Coldstream Guards prepare to move medical equipment for the NHS (Picture: MOD).Medical personnel from RAF Tactical Medical Wing arrive at MOD Boscombe Down after supporting the repatriation of Britons stranded in Cuba (Picture: MOD). Members of 1 Royal Anglian Regiment help build the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel Centre in London (Picture: MOD).Members of the Queen's Gurkha Engineer Regiment help with construction work at the ExCel Centre (Picture: MOD).

A Puma helicopter from RAF Benson prepares to fly to Kinloss Barracks as part of a coronavirus task force (Picture: MOD). A Puma helicopter and its support team gather for a brief after landing at Kinloss Barracks (Picture: MOD).RAF personnel unload medical equipment after Britons are repatriated from Cuba (Picture: MOD). Royal Navy personnel collect medical equipment in Nottingham (Picture: MOD). The collect face masks for the NHS (Picture: MOD). Members of 4 Regiment RLC deliver 40,000 surgical masks to St Thomas' Hospital in London (Picture: MOD).Soldiers receive medical training to prepare them for work with the Welsh Ambulance Service (Picture: MOD).Service member undergoes training in COVID-19 testing at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham (Picture: MOD).

Delivery of PPE • Regular and reservist personnel, from all three services, have been helping to distribute delivering personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline NHS staff. The PPE includes items such as masks, safety glasses, gloves, aprons and protective suits. They are stationed at seven distributions centres across the country, delivering to hundreds of NHS locations. • The British Army has teamed up with eBay to help healthcare workers find and order free personal protective equipment (PPE). • Royal Air Force aircraft have picked up personal protective equipment (PPE) for the NHS from Turkey. • During the Easter weekend, 250,000 items of PPE for medical staff were delivered to RAF Brize Norton ready to be distributed across the UK. • Alongside distributing supplies to medical personnel during the pandemic, the military have been 3D printing PPE components. Engineers from the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Army began producing the components following an appeal from 3DCrowd UK, a volunteer organisation crowdsourcing 3D printer owners to help produce protective equipment.

Increasing medical capacity • The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has also set aside "dozens" of specialist military planners to support public services, authorities and emergency services on a local level. • Forty Scots Guards soldiers have been deployed to help provide 200 extra beds for coronavirus patients on the Isle of Wight, at St Mary’s Hospital. • Meanwhile, RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire could be used as a temporary mortuary as the number of people to die from coronavirus in the UK continues to rise. • Scientists at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), Porton Down are helping deal with the spread of the coronavirus. "DSTL is providing hazard assessment, microbiological testing and operational analysis support to Government," the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said in a statement. • A £1 million fund to "fast-track innovation" and help the Armed Forces in the fight against coronavirus was launched by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA). It aims to discover an "idea or novel approach" that could boost the Ministry of Defence's capabilities amid the coronavirus outbreak or other similar future threats, DASA said.

Tackling fake news • The Ministry of Defence has sent a team to support the Cabinet Office in tackling online misinformation - part of the COVID Support Force effort in bolstering the UK's coronavirus defences. The group will help to identify and tackle fake online news about the pandemic and will set its sights on an increasing number of fraudulent phishing scams. • In addition, two experts from the British Army have joined a NATO team set up to combat disinformation during the pandemic.

Wales Military Help Develop NHS Field Hospital At Cardiff's Principality Stadium 9th April 2020

Evacuation, transportation and repatriation • Royal Navy helicopters based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall are to be used as air ambulances for the NHS. Three Merlin Mk2 helicopters and their crews from 820 Naval Air Squadron have been set aside for the task, providing assistance to the NHS and South Western Ambulance Service. The aircraft will also be used as transporters, moving both supplies and personnel. • Meanwhile, Royal Air Force helicopters are also supporting the NHS. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) said they are there to help with "medical transports", as well as general support including the movement of personnel and equipment. • Three RAF Puma helicopters deployed to Kinloss Barracks in Scotland to work alongside a Chinook and Wildcat helicopter, based at RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire, are to meet NHS requests in northern England and Scotland. Royal Air Force helicopters are supporting the Midlands and southern England, working out of RAF Benson, Oxfordshire. These southern areas are supported by Chinook and Wildcat helicopters. • In March, the RAF evacuated one person suffering from coronavirus from the Shetland Islands to Aberdeen.

A Chinook from Joint Helicopter Command has been rehearsing transferring patients to the mainland from the Isle of Wight, in the event it is needed. After a successful link up with the #NHS ambulance, it was quickly airborne and on its way

#InThisTogether#Coronaviruspic.twitter.com/3XE5MCpFSL — British Army (@BritishArmy) April 17, 2020

• Joint Helicopter Command, an aircraft force comprising all three services, is also on standby and will be used to reach "isolated communities that may not be able to obtain urgent medical care", the MOD said. • The military has also conducted repatriation flights, including bringing back British holidaymakers who were stranded on a cruise ship in Cuba. • During the Easter weekend, members of the Armed Forces conducted joint familiarisation training for potential medical evacuations with NHS emergency care workers to help with the fight against coronavirus. A Royal Air Force Puma and Chinook and a Royal Navy Merlin helicopter, which are all on standby as part of the Aviation Task Force, landed at Thruxton Airfield in . • Military families living in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) have been asked to identify if anyone in their household is self-isolating with suspected coronavirus. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and Amey, who are responsible for the maintenance of SFA, have put a plan in place aimed at "minimising the spread of the virus", according to a Royal Air Force Families Federation (RAFFF) announcement.

RAF Coronavirus: RAF Helicopter Takes Part In Medical Evacuation Training 28th April 2020

I am most grateful to both the 11X, MoD and Forces Net for this extensive and detailed briefing of where we are now.

Best wishes

Peter

3 May 2020