Operation PELEDA

Flt Lt Rosie Spencer

A cold and snowy start to 2023 for JHSS who were tasked to support 18(B) Sqn on Operation PELEDA (PELEDA meaning Owl in Estonian, to represent JHC crest).

AMobile Air Operations Team (MAOT) deployed by road, 2 Mechanical Transport (2MT) Sqn conveniently affording a well earnt rest in Berlin on New Year’s Eve and by air.

Whilst most of the team were driving the MAOT-Leader, Flt Lt Spencer, was earning her Longer Separation Allowance (LSA) on the Cold Weather Operators Course (CWOC). By no means an actual operator, the course is designed to give personnel the necessary skills and drills to survive in extremely low temperatures. The MAOT-L surviving in up to -20°c and waxing nostalgic about her den making youth. The rest of the teams CWOC can only be described as the Warm/ Wet Operators course, with a balmy 0°c as an average temperature. Whilst that brought its own challenges, or lack of, the team were suitably prepared to survive (if required) in the Estonian wilderness- although they are not sure where the wild chickens would come from….

Once set up and established the team searched for tasking business. Thanks to a very proactive planning lead in the Headquarters, the connections with the armoured Battle Group were already made. The MAOT-L using these connections to hound the Royal Engineers for their bridges and an ex-Royal Artillery turned Chinook pilot, drumming up business with 19 Royal Artillery (RA) and their heavy mortar shells.

The early lifts provided a steep learning curve for working in extreme cold temperatures and working with unusual and novel underslung loads that both the crew and the MAOT had never worked with before. Working on icy surfaces in the initial lifts provided the MAOT-L on comms much entertainment watching an Air Trooper get stuck on a patch of ice and just spin in circles. In a deployment with multiple novel loads the Combat Support Bridge (CSB) became the Operations Bread and Butter. Weighing around 7 tonnes and longer than the chinook itself, it provided an excellent training opportunity for the Royal Engineers, Operating Crew and the MAOT. Whilst, in theory, we all understood wind chill and how it might expose the team to some very low temperatures, it wasn’t until the team were under the disk, with a chinook pulling full torque and a 7 tonne CSB at head height did the team realise how cold, cold could get under 100mph winds in -5°c!

Exercise WINTER CAMP was the Operation CABRIT’s Battle Group main effort. The Headquarters hard work and dodgy salesman technique ensured that the Chinook detachment were locked in with 10 days straight of multiple tasks in support of multiple nations- somewhat a ‘victim’ of their own success. Perhaps the deployed JHSS Cpl most memorable moment when the

French Commandos arrived with 2 ISO containers full of stores.

Flashbacks to his time in Mali where Under Slung Loads (USLs) often exceeded the planned for weight, the fear in his face was palpable as the ISO doors opened. Thankfully, the stores provided an excellent learning opportunity for our more junior members of the team to work out how to get 3 tonnes of wood and 3 tonnes of water and rations into nets and fly them 10 nautical miles East.

10 days later, a tired and weary team headed back to

Amari Air Base ready for some Helicopter Landing Site (HLS) recces. The MAOT-L was fortunate enough to travel around most of Estonia including, most notably, the Islands to the West Hiiumaa and Saaremaa, well worth a visit (no I am not sponsored by Lonely Planet).

The final flourish for the MAOT was a 1000km round trip to Poland to support the Royal Lancers lifting a Jackal 2 and Panther. Tactical Supply Wing (TSW) putting a shift in driving an Oshkosh Truck, Support Vehicles (SV) and Land Rover this distance and more to enable the lift.