Guarding Britain's nuclear weapons and RAF Akrotiri during the Cold War (256)

Cold War Conversations

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 758 Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2022

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Following his RAF Regiment officer training Trevor Howie was posted to 34 Sqn at Raf Akrotiri in Cyprus, commanding C Flight. The RAF regiment was effectively the Royal Air Force’s infantry, providing ground defence for air operations. 34 Sqn had a dual role of providing defence at Akrotiri and in the event of war at RAF Wildenrath in Germany. Trevor vividly describes his time at Akrotiri, including terrorist threats and realistic anti-riot training exercises the enthusiasm of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders required a hospital ward to be kept available for casualties. In 1986 Trevor became involved in Nuclear Weapon Security training, where the training techniques he introduced were the subject of complaints. His service also includes stints at RAF Greenham Common where he describes providing support to the US nuclear-armed cruise missile deployment there. Don’t miss next week’s episode where Trevor is posted to RAF Gatow in West Berlin as the Station Regiment Officer, responsible for advising the Station Commander on how to defend the Station during times of war, tension or terrorist threat. 0:00 Introduction and brief about Trevor Howie's role during the Cold War 2:31 Trevor Howie's training and role in Cyprus 14:17 Description of weaponry and tactics used during the Cold War 22:30 Potential terrorist incident and precautions taken 30:04 Security and transportation of Britain's nuclear weapons 35:43 Evolution of military readiness and training for competence 42:15 Use and criticism of physical punishment in military training 46:08 Transforming challenges into rewarding experiences during training 48:03 Role in protecting cruise missiles at Greenham Common 54:24 Conclusion: Episode extras and thanking financial supporters Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
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1:05.0	And basically our job there was to stop the Peace Women from entering or trying to get access to the Greenham Common
1:12.0	Gamma because if they got access to the gamma they would have been shot.
1:16.8	This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen
1:23.4	to first-hand Cold War history accounts. Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app
1:29.2	or join our emailing list to keep up with the latest episode. Following his RAF regiment
1:37.8	officer training, Trevor Howie was posted to 34 squadron at RAF Akateri in Cyprus, commanding sea flight.
1:46.6	The RAF regiment was effectively the Royal Air Force's infantry, tasked with providing
1:51.7	ground defence for air operations. 34th squadron had a dual role of providing defence at Akritiri
1:58.3	as well as in the event of war at REF Wildenrath in Germany.
2:03.7	Trevor vividly describes his time at Akrateri including terrorist threats and realistic anti-riot
	...

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