Lancashire Sailor Returns from Multi-National Exercise
A sailor from Oldham is currently serving on board the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessel Fort George, as part of a series of multinational exercises in the North and West Atlantic.
Led by HMS Ark Royal, which is the nation’s strike carrier, an international task group has been at sea in the north Atlantic for a deployment called Auriga 2010 – a string of exercises starting in May and which sees the ship return to Portsmouth later this month.
Chief Petty Officer Martin Fleming, 52, joined the RFA in 1988 after serving 12 years in the Royal Navy, and is a Logistics Specialist on board the 34,000-tonne fuel replenishment ship, which involves making sure the ship has the correct materials – from toilet rolls to bullets – for the deployment and also maintaining the supply chain reliability.
Martin – who has worked on over a dozen different RFA ships – has travelled extensively during his time in the Fleet; in fact, too many places to list. He has also worked two stints at the MOD in Whitehall, London. He has been decorated for service during his long career, being awarded a total of five medals for operations in Iraq, the former Yugoslavia and other commemorations.
Martin, who is married with a son, said: “I’m glad I was able to add this large deployment to the many other operations I’ve enjoyed in my long career – this kind of exercise really does bring with it a proper battle rhythm and allows us to get a good view of how we would operate in a real-life situation, as well as how we interact with other navies.”
Some of the other highlights of Martin’s career include:
• Part of the salvage team on stricken tanker Christos Bitas off Milford Haven in 1979
• Providing humanitarian relief to the Bahamas after Hurricane Andrew in 1990 on board RFA Orangeleaf
• Setting up communications during first Gulf War on board RFA Sir Percival
• Managed a team providing relief to Grand Turk island after a hurricane in 2009 while on board RFA Wave Ruler
Martin added: “I have served the Queen and my country for 34 years in war zones and on relief operations, I’ve hunted drug smugglers and have been to both the Arctic and the Antartic. I’ve experienced more storms and hurricanes than I’d care to mention... but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
Joining Fort George and Ark Royal was Type 42 destroyer Liverpool, Type 23 frigate HMS Sutherland, French submarine FS Perle and the US destroyer USS Barry.
They were supported by an amphibious force comprising HMS Ocean and RFA Largs Bay, together with Royal Marines from 3 Commando Brigade and Royal Navy helicopters.
Commander of the UK Harrier Strike Group, Commodore Simon Ancona, said: “The Auriga exercise offers extraordinary training value for the ship’s company and it is a great feeling to have the Harriers back on board again.
“This is a mainly aviation and submarine exercise but it will also be an opportunity to test our amphibious capabilities as well.”
Auriga 2010 will demonstrate the UK’s ability to deploy, operate and sustain a task group out of area for a prolonged period. The ships will also undertake a series of goodwill port visits on the eastern seaboard of both Canada and the United States, to support International Security Cooperation initiatives.