An Afghan village has been built by the Ministry of Defence in Thetford, Norfolk - Telegraph The area was originally a replica Nazi village built in 1942 and has previously been transformed to resemble settlements in Northern Ireland and Bosnia .... ...the village is populated by volunteers dressed as insurgents in traditional Taliban robes. The MoD employs Gurkhas who have done active service for the British and amputees from the charity Amputees for Action, to act as villagers, insurgents and injured soldiers
There's one like that at Lydd near Folkstone. I went there before Kosovo and Bosnia. They are actually realistic and set up quite well....One of the plus things that money is spent on. The ones I went to had people from Kosovo there for the civilian population creating problem scenario's to deal with from a suspect package in a car at a RCP to shootings to interacting with the public on foot patrols. The MOD have teams that go round to these camps and do the 'Op TAG' training.
Read about this the other day, the paper referred to it as a "virtual" Afghan village ... Seeing as how it looks like we'll be in Afghanistan for some time to come then it can only be a good thing to best prepare the troops that are heading out there. My brother-in-laws unit is due a tour out there sometime soon. I'll have to ask if he's going to the village first.
It seems 'Northern Ireland training' has become 'Afghanistan training.' There's one like that at Lydd near Folkstone. I went there before Kosovo and Bosnia. Drew is that one down Lydd the one they used to go NI training at back in the 1980s. I could've volunteered for a week-end down there with the Royal Hampshires but it was same weekend of my birthday & wanted to go out on the town. I expect if I'd done that weekend it would have been more memorable as the lads who went had great fun playing the IRA & messing about in old cars. ah, well...what if ..eh?
The SAS / Police have carried out training in in the past in disused industrial buildings planned for demolition.Such locations were power plant buildings and redundant RAF Station H Blocks. After training, there was not generally much left to demolish.Saw the H Blocks disappear gradually at RAF Syerston when the RAF decided not to maintain them and the SAS were let loose on them. I seem to remember there was a village which the Army requisitioned for the invasion of France which still remains in the hands of the MOD.
I seem to remember there was a village which the Army requisitioned for the invasion of France which still remains in the hands of the MOD. Imber on Salisbury Plain. Imber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
They also built a German village in the 1980s on the Plain. Copehill Down mock village, Salisbury Plain Built originally as a representation of a German village in the Cold War years, the village has been modified to mimic the environment of an Iraqi settlement. Times change; the notion of FIBUA (fighting in a built up area) doesn't. Panoramio - Photo of Copehill Down mock village, Salisbury Plain German & Iraqi Villages Of Salisbury Plain - a set on Flickr
I like the caption to the photo of Copehill Down "Times Change, Fighting in Built Up Areas doesnt". Interesting links lads!!!
Owen that is the one whilst in 2004 some of the building and signs were changed to have a Kosovo feel to them I seem to recall some signs still there that linked to NI like 'Paddy's Timber Yard' and 'Rafferty's Butchers' and the like. South Yorkshire Police have their own town too in Rotherham which is rather good. They have about 5 snatch wagons and loads of gucci riot gear and the firearms unit works there too. It's in a massive warehouse on a big Police complex. Quite impressive. Cheers
@ Owen; what do you understand under a "Nazi village"? That the reporter I quoted is an arse. German village would have been better. I'm trying to remember where we did some FIBUA in 87 & 88. Ooops, it was Longmoor camp on an old housing estate I assume was old married quarters.
I seem to remember there was a village which the Army requisitioned for the invasion of France which still remains in the hands of the MOD. Imber on Salisbury Plain. Imber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tyneham too (among others): Isle of Purbeck - Tyneham A lovely, but also quite sad, place. No longer used so you can stroll around it, seems to have been cleared more for range expansion and doesn't appear to have seen much 'action'.
There was a news piece the other week on the 'One Show' by Dan Snow and they visted a old village that was taken over by the MOD. They took one of the locals back and he pointed out what was his house and that they had 4 or 8 weeks to leave before the MOD moved in. He said they pinned a note to the Church door saying 'Please look after our village for when we return after the war.' I'm wondering if it's another one near Portsmouth as I don't recognise those names you posted Adam. Regards Andy
That the reporter I quoted is an arse. German village would have been better. I'm trying to remember where we did some FIBUA in 87 & 88. Ooops, it was Longmoor camp on an old housing estate I assume was old married quarters. That the place with the disused Railway Line and Trains for the use of ? I did some PTI'ing there (If its the place) for a TA Sqn goiing to the Balkans. Cheers Andy
That the place with the disused Railway Line and Trains for the use of Don't remember seeing those but I've been Googling Longmoor & see they do airsoft events there now too.
He said they pinned a note to the Church door saying 'Please look after our village for when we return after the war.' Does sound like Tyneham, but I imagine a few such notes were left. 'Please treat the church and houses with care; we have given up our homes where many of us lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.'
There was a pretty realistic German village set up at Weeton Army camp, where the army trained in "House to House". This was during the early 80's and the cold war required this sort of training, should the unthinkable occur. The camp was also one of the places where we as Police officers trained in fireams and tactics. Regards Tom
