The following article is taken from the latest issue of the Globe & Laurel magazine.
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The Air Centric Personnel Recovery Operators Course (APROC) was this year hosted in Albacete, Spain in June 2024 and was attended by nine members of M Coy. The APROC is a multinational course that is designed to provide the opportunity for NATO member countries (in this case, representatives from Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Romania were in attendance) to conduct seminars, discussion exercises and joint training across a variety of Joint Personal Recovery (JPR) scenarios
JPR is an essential capability allowing CF to provide rapid response to rescue downed pilots and Isolated Personnel in hostile environments.
APROC proved to be a difficult and high-paced course from the offset. The course commenced with an academic phase during which the Extraction Force (EF) teams received lessons on Isolated Personnel (ISOP) handling, authentication and identification, tactical questioning and reintegration of ISOPs, as well as an extensive medical package. The course then progressed to a Mission Phase where the team fulfilled the role of the Personnel Recovery Task Force (PRTF) for seven different Full Mission Profiles (FMPs).
As the week went on, the complexity of the mission sets increased and the time for planning was dramatically reduced. This meant we had to adapt quickly to adjust tactics and formations depending on the scenario and location of the ISOP. In addition to this, we worked in a multinational environment both during the planning phase and out on the ground.
We operated alongside Spanish Special Operations Forces and Spanish Marines, which provided a unique opportunity to discuss tactics and share different ways of thinking and executing tasks. There were initial teething problems but the team were able to work through these effectively. By the end of the course tactical actions were running seamlessly……………..
To find out more about 42 Cdo RM and further RM activities across the globe, catch up regularly with all the news in the Globe & Laurel Magazine, the Journal of the Royal Marines.
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Globe & Laurel – RMA – The Royal Marines Charity (rma-trmc.org)
