18 NAVY NEWS, JULY 2010
I
T IS the 50th year of the Ten Tors Challenge, and once again the men and women of the Royal Navy were on hand to ensure the smooth running of the event and the safe transport of the injured, media and visitors across the
Mk7 from 848 and 847 Naval Air Squadrons respectively pitched up with all their essential personnel and supplies to ensure the safe flow of 2,400 young people over open moorland. The Commando Helicopter Force have a long-established relationship with the event which calls upon teams of six to traverse 35, 45 or 55 miles of Dartmoor. However that crossing of the moors is sometimes hampered by heavy rain and even snow, and often by a shroud of mist or low cloud.
And once again this year the junglies could well have been named misties, and the Sea King painted for last year’s 40th anniversary in dark and white stripes was rather suitable for the cloud-striated background.
The CHF team arrived at Okehampton Camp on the Thursday at the start of the event, and set to work getting the 19 Tors ready to be manned over the weekend. Each Tor had a six-man team of military personnel from all three Services, with at least one medic and one
dramatic landscape of Dartmoor. This year two Sea King HC4s and one Lynx
comms expert; and this year 35 Royal Navy personnel were on hand manning eight of the 19 checkpoint Tors.
The Naval team on Hound Tor – Lt Paul Evans, Cdr Iain Whyte, CPO Paul Jayes and CPO Neilson McCready – processed nearly 200 teams over the course of the weekend, including a veterans’ team drawn from people who had tackled the first Ten Tors event in 1960.
“As instructors we at 848 usually fly 30 hours a month but we are expecting to fly 50 hours with both cabs over the weekend. Lt Gilmore added: “It’s a lot of flying sometimes in challenging weather conditions which can be tiring, but Dartmoor is excellent for training as its large featureless expanse is similar to current areas of operation for the Commando Helicopter Force.”
In addition the Saturday featured the Jubilee Challenge, where individuals or teams of youngsters with disabilities tackle the course, assisted by an Officer Cadet from the Exeter University Officer Training Corps. A Lynx Mk 7 of 847 NAS did the day running between Yeovilton and Okehampton due to the ash risk from the volcanic eruptions in Iceland. The Lynx may not have the troop-carrying
ability, but it leaps ahead of its Sea King brethren in the CHF with its speed – which means that it can be anywhere within the 368 square miles of Dartmoor National Park within 15 minutes of being airborne. It was Lt Jerry Gilmore of 848 Naval Air
the entrants carrying their own equipment and camping out overnight, the organisers insist that upon the call-out for a casualty evacuation or seach and rescue, a crew must be airborne within 30 minutes during the day and 60 minutes at night. In reality the Navy crews are in the air within ten minutes, so regardless of the heightened volcanic ash risk the Sea Kings remained at Okehampton for the full duration. In the space of five hours on the Saturday, the squadron had picked up five casualties, flown numerous Tor replenishment flights, and VIP and media flights.
Squadron who was tasked with bringing the CHF to Okehampton. He said: “It’s good to support the event and it makes a change to the normal flying routine.
And for the weary-but-determined walkers, the sight of the CHF Sea Kings and Lynx flying overhead provided reassurance that help was on hand if needed.
As the event runs over the weekend, with
The Naval fliers also took advantage of occasional opportunities in between the tasking to offer experience flights to Sea, Army and Air Cadets, and give them an introduction to the CHF way of life. Over the course of the Sunday, the teams notched up their final miles – and the event’s patron, the Duke of Edinburgh, was at Okehampton Camp to see some of the teams’ cross the finish line.
And as the teams came home, so did the checkpoint personnel and all their gear – by means of the CHF Sea Kings which spent the afternoon collecting people, and loading up their gear, to bring back to camp. The men and women of CHF began heading back on the Sunday night, and the Sea Kings made the journey home to Yeovilton on the Monday morning. Once more the military, and the Royal Navy, had ensured the success of the Ten Tors Challenge.
■ With many thanks to Nick Newns for words and picture
Picture: Nick Newns
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57