heat
DESCRIPTION
The H.E.A.T / P.S.D. courses have been specially designed for those who may find themselves operating in hostile environ- ments such as Iraq. The course sets out areas that are imperative. The modules include: Risk Assessment, Route Planning, Vehicle and Equipment requirements, Convoy and Contact Drills, Weapons Handling, Communica- tions, Improvised Explosive Device Awareness (I.E.D’s) Search Tech- niques, Remote Area Medics and Counter Attack Team Drills. 42 43TRANSCRIPT
42 43
ontact! Contact left! Echoesover the radio. A vehiclescreeches to a halt and fourmen armed with automaticrifles pour out of another infast and menacing motions.Their movements are a blur asthey take cover, bringing
H.E.A.T.weapons to their shoulders they engage theenemy before leaving their stricken vehicleand make for safety.
This could be a scene played out in the badlands of Iraq, but it’s actually a trainingexercise conducted at a site in the UK.
The four ‘armed’ men are all participants inStirling Services’ Hostile EnvironmentAwareness Training / Personal SecurityDetachment Course or HEAT [H.E.A.T /P.S.D.].
Barry, Francois, Chris and Tony (pseudonyms)are four professional ex-British servicemenwho are heading for Iraq. All the men are fullyaware of the dangerous security situation inthe country, thus are attending the course inorder to hone and practise the specialist skillsrequired for operating in such a deadly andunpredictable theatre of war. To this end, theychose Stirling Services as the company thatcan best equip and train them for their futuredeployment.
Director of Training is John McAleese, a 22-year veteran of the British Army. During hisservice with the army, John spent 15 years inthe elite 22 Special Air Service (SAS) regi-ment.
John or ‘Mac’ to his closest friends, is betterknown as the “man in black” photographed
making an explosive entry during the1980 Iranian Embassy siege inLondon. And like it or not, the incidentimmortalised the SAS and gavethe public a fleeting glimpseof probably the toughestand most professionalgroup of soldiers inthe world.
The H.E.A.T /P.S.D.courses havebeenspeciallydesigned for thosewho may find themselvesoperating in hostile environ-ments such as Iraq. Thecourse sets out areas that areimperative. The modulesinclude: Risk Assessment,Route Planning, Vehicle andEquipment requirements,Convoy and Contact Drills,Weapons Handling, Communica-tions, Improvised Explosive DeviceAwareness (I.E.D’s) Search Tech-niques, Remote Area Medics andCounter Attack Team Drills.
The 10-day course which we dropped inon, is intensive and hard work. Eachparticipant is pushed to their limit to ensurethat they develop skills to an extremely highstandard. Whilst Stirling Services recognisethat you cannot train a man in just 10 days,the course helps augment techniques so thatthey can take that knowledge and apply it tothe team’s personal training regimes.
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Former SAS officerJohn McAcleese
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Eye Spy and Law Enforcement Picture Library recently spent time with a very
specialist company providing superb training for those serving at the cutting edge of front-line
security, be it in an intelligence, military or commercial environment. The head of that company
is a person known to millions worldwide as the ‘man in black’ - who with colleagues - ended the
Iranian Embassy siege in London. He is former SAS officer John McAcleese