THE DUKE OF SUSSEX, CAPTAIN GENERAL ROYAL MARINES, WILL VISIT EXERCISE CLOCKWORK TO CELEBRATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OPERATION IN BARDUFOSS, NORWAY
Thursday 14th February, 2019
The Duke of Sussex, Captain General Royal Marines, will visit Exercise Clockwork to celebrate 50 years of Commando Helicopter Force and Joint Helicopter Command deploying to Bardufoss for extreme cold weather training.
Exercise Clockwork is the traditional name of the annual winter exercise, based in one of the world’s most demanding environments. Set 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle in North Norway, Clockwork has trained over 16,000 Royal Marines and Royal Navy sailors and airmen since 1969. Military personnel are taught how to survive, operate and fight in the extreme cold weather and gain experience of operating aircraft in severe cold weather and mountainous environments. The multinational exercise hosted by the Norwegian Armed Forces conducts Environmental Flying Qualifications, Cold Weather Survival, Tent Group Commander and Snow and Ice Driving Courses.
On Thursday 14th February, The Duke of Sussex will fly to the Air Station in Bardufoss to meet military personnel living and training across six months of the year on the base. During the visit, His Royal Highness will be briefed on the history and context of Clockwork. The Duke will view a variety of outdoor Ground Training Stances, which will demonstrate the equipment and training that is conducted at Clockwork; it will include field tents, snow vehicles and a Quincey Shelter – a makeshift shelter built of snow in which the elite forces are able to camp. His Royal Highness will also visit an aviation hangar housing some of the specialist aircraft including Apache, Merlin and Wildcat helicopters and will talk with expert aircrews and engineers. The Duke will then join Clockwork personnel to celebrate the 50th anniversary before departing.
The Duke of Sussex was appointed Captain General in December 2017, succeeding The Duke of Edinburgh who held the appointment for 64 years. The Duke visited The Royal Marines Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon in September 2018. This will be the Captain General’s first visit to Joint Helicopter Command.
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