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Feature
What if?...
designed to provide an Despite these caveats, the that sufficient manpower will be Emergency Response Capability
emergency response experience of the last few available at the moment an from the Jersey Field Squadron,

service (with certain years indicates that it is likely emergency occurs. or indeed from the wider Armed
exceptions such as Search that military assistance will be Forces in the UK, we can be
and Rescue and Explosive called upon in emergency The fact that the Jersey Field sure that in any circumstances
Ordnance Disposal). response at some stage in Squadron is a TA Unit is both a where there is a need for them
the future. In Jersey, any strength and a weakness in to help they will make every
• The Armed Forces do not request for such help would terms of emergency response. effort to do so. Indeed, the
have a monopoly on be directed through our Reservist soldiers bring the Squadron’s commitment is
equipment suitable for use Emergencies Council to the benefit of a wide range of evidenced by their intention to
in emergencies. Some Ministry of Defence in London. expertise from their civilian participate in the upcoming
relevant specialist skills and And the likelihood is that help jobs, and this can be extremely Exercise FIRST FRONT, aimed
equipment within the would come in the first useful in dealing with civil at enhancing coordination
Armed Forces often have instance from our resident emergencies. However the fact between the various civil
civil counterparts and Squadron of Royal Engineers,
equivalents more suited to the Jersey Field Squadron.
the civil environment, and This is a Territorial Army Unit
usually in greater numbers. with the majority of its
All-terrain vehicles, for manpower drawn from local
example, are quite Reservists with other full-time
common in both the public jobs, as well as a small
and private sectors. Armed number of permanent staff
Forces engineering from the Regular Army. As a
capabilities are especially Squadron predominantly
tailored for battlefield use manned by local people, the
and, even taken as a willingness to respond to an
whole, they do not exceed emergency situation in Jersey that TA soldiers have a agencies in the Island in
in size or capability the would inevitably be strong. commitment to their civilian response to a large emergency
civilian engineering Furthermore, as specialists in jobs means that they cannot be at the Airport.
resources available in a Combat Engineering, this held in a state of readiness to
medium-sized town in the desire to help is matched by respond to an emergency. This As I experienced at first hand
UK. expertise and some handicap is compounded by the during the Gloucestershire
equipment which would be fact that about half of our local floods, our Armed Forces can
useful in a wide range of TA soldiers are employed in the make a crucial difference when
emergencies. Nevertheless, it public sector. Their civilian exceptional circumstances
would be incorrect to assume employers range from the ‘Blue push our Emergency Services
that the Jersey Field Squadron Light Services’ to States and Civil Agencies to the limit
is a sort of extra Emergency Departments such as Health & of their capacity. However it is
Service, on standby 24/7. Social Services. So it is clear important that we do not take
Not only are elements that in the event of a large their help for granted since
regularly deployed away from scale emergency in the Island, they are neither resourced nor
the Island, even when in some of our TA personnel will focused on responding as an
Jersey there is no guarantee be required to respond in their extra Emergency Service. We
civilian capacity. This obviously should recognise our Armed
makes them unavailable for Forces crucial contribution in
deployment as soldiers and domestic emergencies up to
reduces the capacity of the now, but continue to develop
Unit. sufficient resilience to avoid,
as much as possible, the
Nevertheless, although it is not necessity of relying on them in
possible to guarantee any the future.


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