Here comes the cavalry, finally

Matt Hancock’s change of heart on pandemic military assistance means Britain’s homeland operation is now the biggest ever seen during peacetime. Over 5000 military personnel have been deployed across the UK, tasked with 70 different jobs ranging from vaccine rollout to implementing testing in schools.

Included in the dozens of roles are eight separate vaccine-related missions and plans for ambulance support. The forces are currently helping out with ambulance support in Kent after a surge in cases in the region and are expected to offer similar help in other parts of the country where services are stretched.

Forces are concentrated in the hardest hit communities. Some 390 personnel are now based in Kent to support community testing efforts while 75 servicemen and women are working in Kirklees in Yorkshire to set up four lateral flow testing sites. Derbyshire has been sent 130 soldiers to help with testing. Further West, Manchester has been sent the largest force of 800 personnel supplying community aid testing to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority while 420 personnel are now in Lancashire helping with local asymptomatic testing efforts.

Military personnel are also still working in Dover to help test hauliers and speed the flow of that all-important trade route over to Calais. More than  1,100 soldiers were drafted into the port on Christmas Day to help clear the backlog of lorries caused by President Macron’s decision to close the border. That number has now been trimmed by half.

One military source told Reaction that soldiers could be sent from “any of the UK Standby Battalions across the country”, depending on availability. According to the Ministry of Defence, thousands of troops are now actively engaged with fighting the pandemic as well as continuing to play crucial roles “in military planning, for Defence Medical Services, and for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.”

Drawing on military assistance during peacetime is a rarity and has always been considered a “last resort” by the government. As one military source said: ” Using the army to help out in emergencies should not be seen as cheap labour. But they are there first and foremost here to help, particularly in emergencies.” For example, last year more than 200 troops were sent to South Yorkshire to help flood relief efforts.

However, many military observers query why it has taken the government so long to use the forces during the pandemic crisis. “There is legitmate criticism over why it has taken so long to get our forces mobilised,” one source said. “It’s difficult to know why the PM has taken so long to bring in the forces. Is it because the government didn’t have enough vaccine so ministers did not think they would be needed. We should be told.” As all troops receive more than a basic level of medical and first aid training, and routinely undertake disaster scenario drills, the decision to wait this long is ‘perplexing.’