MILITARY PROVOST GUARD SERVICE
There’s a dedicated group of men and women who spend their days and nights protecting cadets, officers and staff at the Britannia Royal Naval College, but we hear little about them. The Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) are responsible for looking after nearly 100 military bases around the UK. The guards have spent at least three years in the Armed Forces, are all fully weapons trained and are ready to deal with any threat. Steph Woolvin went up to meet two of the team…
W
hen you drive through the gates and up to the entrance lodge at the Naval College, you’re greeted by armed guards. These men and
women are part of a massive organisation in the UK made of up of thousands of Armed Forces personnel who have left the military and re-joined or transferred to opt for a more stable but not quite ‘9 to 5’ lifestyle. The Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) is part of the Army and their sole purpose is to protect all members of the military, (Army, Navy or Air Force) against any kind of threat. Here in Dartmouth, MPGS duties include patrolling
perimeters fences, escorting visitors and planning secu- rity for large events like passing out parades and royal visits. “Most of us work four days on, four days off and each shift is 12 hours long”. Lance Corporal Ben Jinks has been part of the MPGS at the College for three and a half years. Before that, the 33-year-old was in the Navy serving on HMS Ocean and at HMS Raleigh in Plymouth. “Our shifts go right through the night as there has to be guards on patrol 24/7. There are planned tasks and routines throughout
Staff Sergeant Dean Smith (l), Lance Corporal Ben Jinks (r) “We have to
consider every visitor as a threat until we know for sure who they are and what they want.”
the shifts, you also have to deal with any incident that arises.” Staff Sergeant Dean Smith is in charge: “It’s my job to know every breath the College takes basically! I have to be aware of every person coming on site and every event that’s planned. I manage control room operations and pick holes in event plans looking for any kind of potential threat.” Formerly a member of the Grenadier Guards, 37-year-old Dean is a new face at the College having only taken over the top job four months ago. Dean says what the general public may find daunting, they think of as ev- eryday chores, “we each like to think of
ourselves as armed guarding specialists. We stand at the front gates with guns watching every person or vehicle that approaches the guardroom. We have to consider
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