To Action Stations for the last time for a while, thankfully, to take part in a Portland Monday war.
We were on Emcon (Emission Control) policy silent, which meant that we were not radiating either radar or radio waves, so there was little for the Operations Room controllers to do, and not much more for me (stuck in the Air Office) either. We were attacked by a variety of ‘enemy’ aircraft, most of which were beaten off by our Harriers, but there was a definite LATU (Laugh And Tear Up) feel to the whole thing, as the Harriers were recovering to Yeovilton on completion of their CAP tasks, and various other aircraft and aircrew were about to leap off the ship, to rejoin after essential servicing, before we head south.
The morning ended with a RAS between us and Antelope, one of the Type 21 frigates that seem to burn so well, according to the Falkland Islands reports.
As a quick word about our future movements, it is still the intention to sail from Portsmouth on the 2nd of August, and we are anticipating reaching Ascension Island on the 19th, with the Falkland Islands area about ten days later, where we will apparently be employed in enforcing the Total Exclusion Zone, which is still in existence. The likely return date, according to Rumour Control, is mid-November.
Everything relaxed almost to the point of being fluid once the last of the FOST staff had departed to their rabbit-warren at Portland, and we girded our loins and headed east for Portsmouth. At 1530 the Captain went on ITV to tell us all about where we are going and what we are doing, and the only major change of any significance is that the Total Exclusion Zone has now been abolished, to be replaced by the Falklands Protection Zone, which is the same thing, but only refers to the Argentinians.
Oh, and there is a strong possibility that we will be calling in somewhere rather nice on the way home … Exactly where we do not know. Watch this space.
This was followed at 1600 by a Clear Lower Deck (i.e, a three line whip) of the Air Department, to be addressed by Commander (Air) on the Flight Deck. This was not the most scintillating chat from a senior officer I have ever heard, not by several million light-years, as all he really said was well done chaps, but now the hard work really starts, which we all knew anyway, and we certainly didn’t need to tramp all the way up to the Flight Deck to hear him spouting it.
The other salient fact which emerged from the Captain’s chat was that we are as of today an operational vessel, which is really quite a staggering achievement if you think about it, bearing in mind that just over a month ago we were still being built, as it were. When we go down south, we will be in company with Battleaxe, which, oddly enough, will be the senior ship, as her Captain is more senior than ours. In fact, our Captain revealed that when he was a Midshipman, the man who now commands Battleaxe actually stopped his leave on one occasion, a revelation which produced a good deal of mirth in the Wardroom.