Boats of marines and Royal Navy helicopters have been carrying out drills on the River Thames in preparation for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Elite British security teams took to the River Thames as part of a massive security rehearsal to foil terror disaster at the Olympics.
The Metropolitan Police's Marine Policing Unit took to the water in rigid inflatables and fast response boats whilst military personnel flew above in a Lynx Navy helicopter.
Armed officers dressed in black were seen racing up to a Thames cruise vessel in their inflatable boats, before storming it and climbing onto its roof.
A helicopter circled close above the boats during the practice operation.
Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, head of the force's security operation for the Games, said: "All of our planning is designed to mitigate against potential risks during the summer of 2012, and this is an example of where we will be using specialist military capability to support us.
"This exercise is not in response to any specific threat, but is part of our planning to pre-deploy certain specialist assets to bolster our operation."
http://www.telegraph...ver-Thames.html
0
Olympic Security
Started by RobH, Jan 19 2012 02:37 PM
5 replies to this topic
#1
-
- Premium Members
-
- 13188 posts
Torch Bearer 10000 Club
- Gender:Male
- Location:London / Kent
Posted 19 January 2012 - 02:37 PM
#2
-
- Members
-
- 96 posts
Bronze
Posted 20 January 2012 - 04:13 AM
Special Forces And Marines during exercise in River Thames
[I]by dailymail[/I
[I]by dailymail[/I
Celebrating London 2012
#3
-
- Premium Members
-
- 13188 posts
Torch Bearer 10000 Club
- Gender:Male
- Location:London / Kent
Posted 20 January 2012 - 08:25 AM
That top photo is just so cool.
#4
-
- Members
-
- 2619 posts
Flag Bearer Level 2
- Gender:Male
Posted 26 January 2012 - 10:11 AM
Quote
Olympic military guards will not take orders from security staff
Locog chief says military personnel guarding Olympic venues will answer only to senior Games officials or the police
Military personnel deployed to guard Olympic venues this summer will not take orders from private security staff and will be answerable only to senior Games officials or the police, the head of the organising committee has said.
Speaking at the launch of a recruitment drive by the security firm G4S, which is seeking to take on at least 10,000 guards for the event, Paul Deighton, head of the London Games organising committee (Locog) said civilian and military security teams would work side by side but separately.
"The way we'll integrate is to give them discreet chunks of the activity," he said. While both G4S and military personnel might be in the same venue they would each take complete tasks, such as checking cars or searching bags.
Military guards would not take orders from G4S, he said.
"The chain of command on the ground all goes into our venue general manager, who is from Locog. There will be a G4S chain of command for private security, and a military chain of command, which get co-ordinated together," Deighton said.
If there is a security incident then control will be taken by the police, not the army, he added. G4S, however, will be responsible for rostering all staff to make sure enough are on duty.
Organisers announced in December that around 7,000 military personnel be on duty for the Games as part of an effort to expand the total security detail from 10,000 to nearly 24,000. G4S will recruit 10,000 or more temporary staff for this number, with the remainder coming from a recruitment scheme for students, and volunteers. The expanded numbers has seen the Olympics security bill almost double from £282m to £553m, a figure separate from the £600m within the Games budget for police provision outside the venues.
While military personnel would not automatically take more sensitive or skilled work – they will have the same training as the private staff – the separation of duties would inevitably mean some occasions or venues being predominantly guarded by the troops, said Deighton.
He confirmed they would wear uniform: "You'll know they are in the military. They'll be in military gear."
But echoing a pledge from the London 2012 chairman, Lord Coe, Deighton said this did not mean the security operation would appear overly intense or intrusive.
He said: "The way they'll do the job will be in a very efficient and welcoming way. It won't be intimidating. Remember, it's a sports event with a security overlay, not a security event with a bit of sport going on."
Thursday's event saw G4S formally opening their Games recruitment and training centre, based in a slightly crumbling former secondary school on a residential street near the Games compound in Stratford, east London.
Around 4,500 of the planned 10,000 guards had already been taken on, said Mark Hamilton, head of the firm's Olympics team. "In terms of our recruitment we're above target – we're doing very well," he said. Staff will earn a minimum of £8.50 an hour.
Recruitment is focusing in particular on the boroughs around the Olympic site, an area of significant deprivation. The opening of the centre marked a key moment in ensuring the Games brought a positive, longterm legacy to east London, Deighton said.
"We're switching from planning stuff to really doing it. This recruitment is the beginning of the process of the operational delivery, the massive mobilisation.
"The big promise of the Games, which we take incredibly seriously, was to deliver economic and social benefits to the host boroughs around the Olympic Park," Deighton said.
While the G4S jobs are temporary, staff will leave with a three-year security licence allowing them to take work elsewhere in the industry, and Deighton said he hope many recruits would use the event as a catalyst for their career.
"Jobs change lives. That's a big part of the economic and social legacy, and this is one of the biggest employment opportunities that the Games creates."
http://www.guardian....s?newsfeed=true
Locog chief says military personnel guarding Olympic venues will answer only to senior Games officials or the police
- guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 January 2012 13.50 GMT
Military personnel deployed to guard Olympic venues this summer will not take orders from private security staff and will be answerable only to senior Games officials or the police, the head of the organising committee has said.
Speaking at the launch of a recruitment drive by the security firm G4S, which is seeking to take on at least 10,000 guards for the event, Paul Deighton, head of the London Games organising committee (Locog) said civilian and military security teams would work side by side but separately.
"The way we'll integrate is to give them discreet chunks of the activity," he said. While both G4S and military personnel might be in the same venue they would each take complete tasks, such as checking cars or searching bags.
Military guards would not take orders from G4S, he said.
"The chain of command on the ground all goes into our venue general manager, who is from Locog. There will be a G4S chain of command for private security, and a military chain of command, which get co-ordinated together," Deighton said.
If there is a security incident then control will be taken by the police, not the army, he added. G4S, however, will be responsible for rostering all staff to make sure enough are on duty.
Organisers announced in December that around 7,000 military personnel be on duty for the Games as part of an effort to expand the total security detail from 10,000 to nearly 24,000. G4S will recruit 10,000 or more temporary staff for this number, with the remainder coming from a recruitment scheme for students, and volunteers. The expanded numbers has seen the Olympics security bill almost double from £282m to £553m, a figure separate from the £600m within the Games budget for police provision outside the venues.
While military personnel would not automatically take more sensitive or skilled work – they will have the same training as the private staff – the separation of duties would inevitably mean some occasions or venues being predominantly guarded by the troops, said Deighton.
He confirmed they would wear uniform: "You'll know they are in the military. They'll be in military gear."
But echoing a pledge from the London 2012 chairman, Lord Coe, Deighton said this did not mean the security operation would appear overly intense or intrusive.
He said: "The way they'll do the job will be in a very efficient and welcoming way. It won't be intimidating. Remember, it's a sports event with a security overlay, not a security event with a bit of sport going on."
Thursday's event saw G4S formally opening their Games recruitment and training centre, based in a slightly crumbling former secondary school on a residential street near the Games compound in Stratford, east London.
Around 4,500 of the planned 10,000 guards had already been taken on, said Mark Hamilton, head of the firm's Olympics team. "In terms of our recruitment we're above target – we're doing very well," he said. Staff will earn a minimum of £8.50 an hour.
Recruitment is focusing in particular on the boroughs around the Olympic site, an area of significant deprivation. The opening of the centre marked a key moment in ensuring the Games brought a positive, longterm legacy to east London, Deighton said.
"We're switching from planning stuff to really doing it. This recruitment is the beginning of the process of the operational delivery, the massive mobilisation.
"The big promise of the Games, which we take incredibly seriously, was to deliver economic and social benefits to the host boroughs around the Olympic Park," Deighton said.
While the G4S jobs are temporary, staff will leave with a three-year security licence allowing them to take work elsewhere in the industry, and Deighton said he hope many recruits would use the event as a catalyst for their career.
"Jobs change lives. That's a big part of the economic and social legacy, and this is one of the biggest employment opportunities that the Games creates."
http://www.guardian....s?newsfeed=true
Si hoc legere scis, nimium eruditionis habes.
#5
-
- Members
-
- 2619 posts
Flag Bearer Level 2
- Gender:Male
Posted 29 February 2012 - 02:52 PM
Quote
AWACS, jets and snipers to secure airspace for Olympics
(Reuters) - As crowds gather to watch this year's Olympic opening ceremony in London, highly trained eyes on the ground and in the sky will be keeping tabs on every aircraft over the southeast of Britain.
The first major rehearsal of a joint operation featuring fighter jets, Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes, helicopters, missile batteries and air-to-air snipers took place two hours north of London on Wednesday, in a plan to supplement Britain's normal airspace security for the games.
"This is part of a routine posture that we adopt to protect the UK against airspace intrusions, it's just that because there will be such a tight focus around London and the area around the Olympic Park, we're reconfiguring the assets to be able to respond to threats in a smaller area," Secretary of Defence Philip Hammond said on a visit to Waddington RAF base in eastern England to view the exercise.
Many of the changes to prepare for the Olympics were based on moving forces closer to London to lower response times, and he added that this would add a cost "in the few tens of millions of pounds" to the overall Olympic budget.
While some aspects may be part of normal operations, the control of such a wide variety of layered air defences by one single team takes special adjustment, the crews involved said.
"Usually we don't work with ATC air radar controllers as they're too high to see us," RAF Puma helicopter pilot Lee Cooper told Reuters.
Cooper will be in one of the Puma helicopters carrying air-to-air snipers capable of flying up to and alongside wayward aircraft that may cross into prohibited airspace around the Olympic venues and London.
Keen to avoid incidents such as the errant single engine Cessna that caused a panicked evacuation of the U.S. Capitol building in 2005, all of the elements are focused on early identification and interception of unknown elements, with Typhoon fighters and E-3D radar sentry planes patrolling the skies.
Ground-based surface to air missiles may also be stationed in the centre of London to serve as a last resort, but Hammond said a decision would be taken on whether to ultimately include them or not closer to the Games which open on July 27.
LISTENING DEVICES
The Olympics have seen escalating states of preparedness in the summer games since the September 11 U.S. attacks, with Greece spending roughly $1.2 billion (752.8 million pounds) on security for the 2004 Games including measures such as blimps with listening devices. Beijing stationed surface to air batteries near venues to reassure international visitors in 2008.
"I haven't been conscious of any international pressure to beef up Olympic security," Hammond said. "Of course our international partners are keen to know how we are going to deploy appropriate security during the Olympics ... and these kinds of exercises are showing the kind of deployments that we will make."
Britain looks set to spend more than a billion pounds on keeping the Games secure, but some countries are still reported to have doubts. A Guardian report in November said the United States was planning to send 1,000 of its own agents to protect American athletes.
"I would expect that countries like the United States and Israel to be sending their own agents as it were to provide close protection for their teams, but clearly we will be providing the overall envelope of security for the Olympic Games and the military component you see today is just a part of that," Hammond said.
Reuters
(Reuters) - As crowds gather to watch this year's Olympic opening ceremony in London, highly trained eyes on the ground and in the sky will be keeping tabs on every aircraft over the southeast of Britain.
The first major rehearsal of a joint operation featuring fighter jets, Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes, helicopters, missile batteries and air-to-air snipers took place two hours north of London on Wednesday, in a plan to supplement Britain's normal airspace security for the games.
"This is part of a routine posture that we adopt to protect the UK against airspace intrusions, it's just that because there will be such a tight focus around London and the area around the Olympic Park, we're reconfiguring the assets to be able to respond to threats in a smaller area," Secretary of Defence Philip Hammond said on a visit to Waddington RAF base in eastern England to view the exercise.
Many of the changes to prepare for the Olympics were based on moving forces closer to London to lower response times, and he added that this would add a cost "in the few tens of millions of pounds" to the overall Olympic budget.
While some aspects may be part of normal operations, the control of such a wide variety of layered air defences by one single team takes special adjustment, the crews involved said.
"Usually we don't work with ATC air radar controllers as they're too high to see us," RAF Puma helicopter pilot Lee Cooper told Reuters.
Cooper will be in one of the Puma helicopters carrying air-to-air snipers capable of flying up to and alongside wayward aircraft that may cross into prohibited airspace around the Olympic venues and London.
Keen to avoid incidents such as the errant single engine Cessna that caused a panicked evacuation of the U.S. Capitol building in 2005, all of the elements are focused on early identification and interception of unknown elements, with Typhoon fighters and E-3D radar sentry planes patrolling the skies.
Ground-based surface to air missiles may also be stationed in the centre of London to serve as a last resort, but Hammond said a decision would be taken on whether to ultimately include them or not closer to the Games which open on July 27.
LISTENING DEVICES
The Olympics have seen escalating states of preparedness in the summer games since the September 11 U.S. attacks, with Greece spending roughly $1.2 billion (752.8 million pounds) on security for the 2004 Games including measures such as blimps with listening devices. Beijing stationed surface to air batteries near venues to reassure international visitors in 2008.
"I haven't been conscious of any international pressure to beef up Olympic security," Hammond said. "Of course our international partners are keen to know how we are going to deploy appropriate security during the Olympics ... and these kinds of exercises are showing the kind of deployments that we will make."
Britain looks set to spend more than a billion pounds on keeping the Games secure, but some countries are still reported to have doubts. A Guardian report in November said the United States was planning to send 1,000 of its own agents to protect American athletes.
"I would expect that countries like the United States and Israel to be sending their own agents as it were to provide close protection for their teams, but clearly we will be providing the overall envelope of security for the Olympic Games and the military component you see today is just a part of that," Hammond said.
Reuters
Si hoc legere scis, nimium eruditionis habes.
#6
-
- Members
-
- 2619 posts
Flag Bearer Level 2
- Gender:Male
Posted 02 May 2012 - 08:33 AM
Typhoons set for Olympics exercise
RAF Typhoon jets arrived at an air base in London ahead of a major military exercise to test security for the Olympic Games.
It is the first time fighter aircraft have been stationed at RAF Northolt in west London since the Second World War.
The Typhoons will take part in Exercise Olympic Guardian, a nine-day training operation over the skies of the capital and the home counties that runs until May 10.
Military chiefs have warned that people in south-east England will notice an increase in air activity at certain times, in particular this weekend.
Other aircraft involved in the exercise include Royal Navy Sea King helicopters temporarily based at RAF Northolt, RAF Puma helicopters based at a Territorial Army centre in Ilford, east London, and Army and Royal Navy Lynx helicopters on HMS Ocean in the Thames.
Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond said: "Whilst there is no specific threat to the Games, we have to be ready to assist in delivering a safe and secure Olympics for all to enjoy.
"The fact that our state-of-the-art Typhoons will be stationed at RAF Northolt underlines the commitment of the Ministry of Defence and our armed forces to keeping the public safe at a time when the world will be watching us."
Air Vice-Marshal Stuart Atha, air component commander for Olympics air security, said: "We have sought to limit the amount of flying to the minimum required to ensure that our forces are ready for their important role delivering air security for the Olympics, balancing this against the need for us to reduce disturbance to a minimum."
The Stop the War Coalition said such a heavy military presence in London was "unacceptable" and warned it would create a "climate of fear".
The group's Lindsey German said: "If the Olympic Park needs security, this should be within the confines of the park and not forced on ordinary people in east and south London who have no say in the matter."
UKPA
RAF Typhoon jets arrived at an air base in London ahead of a major military exercise to test security for the Olympic Games.
It is the first time fighter aircraft have been stationed at RAF Northolt in west London since the Second World War.
The Typhoons will take part in Exercise Olympic Guardian, a nine-day training operation over the skies of the capital and the home counties that runs until May 10.
Military chiefs have warned that people in south-east England will notice an increase in air activity at certain times, in particular this weekend.
Other aircraft involved in the exercise include Royal Navy Sea King helicopters temporarily based at RAF Northolt, RAF Puma helicopters based at a Territorial Army centre in Ilford, east London, and Army and Royal Navy Lynx helicopters on HMS Ocean in the Thames.
Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond said: "Whilst there is no specific threat to the Games, we have to be ready to assist in delivering a safe and secure Olympics for all to enjoy.
"The fact that our state-of-the-art Typhoons will be stationed at RAF Northolt underlines the commitment of the Ministry of Defence and our armed forces to keeping the public safe at a time when the world will be watching us."
Air Vice-Marshal Stuart Atha, air component commander for Olympics air security, said: "We have sought to limit the amount of flying to the minimum required to ensure that our forces are ready for their important role delivering air security for the Olympics, balancing this against the need for us to reduce disturbance to a minimum."
The Stop the War Coalition said such a heavy military presence in London was "unacceptable" and warned it would create a "climate of fear".
The group's Lindsey German said: "If the Olympic Park needs security, this should be within the confines of the park and not forced on ordinary people in east and south London who have no say in the matter."
UKPA
Si hoc legere scis, nimium eruditionis habes.
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users
