Sarex-24 tactical and special exercises at sea and on land

This year’s edition of the Sarex-24 tactical and special exercises will last from 20 to 24 May, during which the military, police and emergency services will simulate four action scenarios.

As the head of the Air and Sea Rescue Branch of the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces, Col. Marcin Szafraniec, informed during Friday’s conference, the scenarios will be carried out in several locations in Poland.

In the area of the Gulf of Gdansk and the Hel Peninsula, the search for a military aircraft that had to make an emergency landing for technical reasons will be simulated. In the Suwałki region, a scenario will be carried out to provide assistance to the crew of a military helicopter, which is forced to land near the border. These activities will be carried out together with representatives of the Lithuanian Air Force.

During the exercise, a ground search will also be carried out for a civilian aircraft that had to make an emergency landing in a forested area. The scenario will be practised by the WOT, police and fire brigade in the vicinity of Łomża. The final element of this year’s Sarex-24 will be CSAR combat search and rescue operations carried out by the military in Minsk Mazowiecki and at the training ground in Orzysz.

– The main objective of the exercise is to test the ability of the Polish Armed Forces in conjunction with the forces and means of the non-military system, i.e. the State Fire Service, the police, the Maritime Search and Rescue Service and other services and institutions, to conduct search and rescue operations in the land territory and maritime environment, Szafraniec said.

Sarex-24 will take place from 20 to 24 May. As Szafraniec said, it is difficult to determine exactly how many people will take part in the exercise. This will depend on the decisions taken during the exercise and the services involved in the scenarios. In previous editions, around a thousand people participated each time.

The exercises will be accompanied by the Sarex-24 Rescue Academy, which will consist of training, workshops and demonstrations of rescue and military equipment. The first instalment of the academy will take place on 18 May in Wilczyna (Wielkopolskie voivodeship), followed by others in Kalisz (Wielkopolskie voivodeship), Łeba (Pomorskie voivodeship), Gorzyce (Podkarpackie voivodeship) and Sulmierzyce (Wielkopolskie voivodeship).

– We want to show young people how to give first aid, not to be afraid to do so, but also to get acquainted with equipment that is inaccessible to them on a daily basis,’ said the head of the Search and Rescue Group Night Trapper Łukasz Mowczan during the conference.

The Sarex-24 exercise will be held for the 16th time. The Minister of National Defence and the Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration have assumed honorary patronage of the event.

Source: PortalMorski.pl