April saw HMS Clyde successfully complete another period of Falkland Islands Operational Sea Training. The ten days of assessed training, plus the long build up beforehand, consisted of many simulated fires, floods, flying, machinery breakdowns and all that the staff from Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) could throw at the Ship.
OST began with four days of harbour training, including fire exercises, Ship’s Protection Force Training and testing the Ship’s response to a simulated IED threat.
Following that the Sea phase of the training began with a Material and Safety Check (MASC) on 16 Apr 13.
After several days of careful preparation, the Ship was inspected from stem to stern and from masthead to keel by the FOST (MPV) team who had flown down from Scotland the day before.
They declared Clyde to be have delivered a ‘good’ material state, ready to start training in earnest.
The following six days saw Clyde combining days at sea with evenings of harbour training, ensuring that the fire fighting and damage control techniques, security procedures, and operational tactics employed on board Clyde are in line with the best practice used throughout the Fleet.
There were also exercises to test the crews ability to lend assistance to other vessels in need of life saving assistance, to put boarding teams onto suspect vessels, as well as first aid training and casualty handling drills.
The final assessment, a FOST ‘very satisfactory’ reflected the hard work, determination and enthusiasm of HMS Clyde’s Ship’s Company.
The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Marcus Hember, said:
“This has been an opportunity for Clyde to demonstrate how effective she can be at supporting Commander British Forces’ objectives, from proving her credibility as a deterrent, ready to fight and win, to providing humanitarian aid to any potential vessel in distress.
“The strong assessment reflects the hard work the Ship’s Company have put in over the roulement and I am immensely proud of our achievements.”
[mappress] Press Release, June 12, 2013; Image: Royal Navy