Ron Gordon – First SPAG exercise
They took us up to RAF Lyneham to do … we had this annual exercise and this one was going to be done in Gibraltar, so we went up to RAF Lyneham with the SPAG Team, and when we got there the Boss guy, my Boss got us all briefed on what was happening, so we got changed into the wet gear, we all stood around …
Simon: That’s like a frogman outfit is it?
Yeah, that’s us at RAF Lyneham getting ready to go onboard the Hercules already in your gear, so we got on board there and the next minute we’re flying off to Gibraltar in that gear. No toilets. Anyway, the next minute we’re doing … the RAF Hercules pilots had decided they’re doing some low flying training around the Welsh mountains, so they’re flying around the Welsh mountains like this and we’re looking out the side of the aircraft looking at these mountains come flashing passed us, and thinking ‘Oh my God, they’re doing this on purpose’ ‘cos by the time we got to Gibraltar, we wanted to get out that aircraft, and so that was my first experience.
I still remember to this day because as trainees, we had to be the last lot out, so there was SBS there, there was SAS, there was the Bomb Disposal Teams, any teams that needed to go and parachute into water, would do their training with us because they organised this annual exercise. So, they threw out the rigid inflatable, and then the Marines went off, SAS, and the next minute we’re hearing, “Oh my God, the parachute’s not open” and I looked at this Doctor.
I said, “They didn’t tell us about this did they?”
And what is was, it was the parachute on the rigid inflatable package, so it just crashed into the sea and went into smithereens, and we jumped out and followed it down.
And what there is, there’s a small ship down at the bottom, it’s called the Dropping Zone ship, and on there is the Flight Lieutenant who’s the guy in charge of the exercise, so he’s watching whose coming out and there’s safety members in rigid inflatables around to go and pick up the guys as they hit the water.
Anyway, five of us, me included, did as we were told. We followed the package and then 100 feet before you hit the water, you turn in to it. You’re going down wind, because you’ve got a 16-knot wind and a four know forward speed of the parachute, you’re going at 20 knots.
So, you turn in to wind so you’re going to hit the water backwards, and as soon as your feet hit the water, you collapse the parachute, so you don’t get dragged through. If you don’t turn in to wind, as soon as your feet hit the water, you’re getting dragged forward at 16 knots and it’s very difficult to get your hand up to collapse the parachute, so it’s important you turn back in to wind.
The Doctor hadn’t done that. Of course, the rigid inflatable … the Safety Team had to come in and go straight into the back of his canopy and collapse it.
‘Cos he’s a Lieutenant Commander. When we get back on to the Dropping Zone vessel, the Lieutenant has a real go at me.
He says, “You put everyone at risk because we had to go and rescue you, there’s other people out there that might have got into trouble, and you put them at risk because you didn’t follow instructions and turn in to wind. Remember you’ll do that this afternoon.”
“Yes sir.”
So, we packed all the gear, went in to HMS Rooke, then later on that afternoon we came back out again, took off and went back round. This time, we’re the first group out.
Now, because I’m the heaviest, ‘cos I’m still heavy, despite having lost that weight, I’m the front end and in the first stick out, I’m the one at the beginning. It was alright being last, you just follow the other guys and suddenly it all disappeared and … and I’m stood there and I’m looking down 2,000 feet, and I’m thinking, ‘what the hell am I doing here?’ It’s just one of those moments you think, ‘Oh my God.’
Anyway, we got the nod to dispatch us, so the light went green and off I went. And it was a brilliant feeling, ‘cos you’re off and the Rock of Gibraltar is there and you’re chasing this package and you’ve got time to admire it all, and then 100 feet, turn in to wind, landed and we got onto the rigid and there’s five of us, not six.
Our Doctor friend is not there. As soon as we left the aircraft, he’d turned in to wind, he’d went the other way.