For many years, STG has worked with the various military agencies – MOD, USAF, NATO etc. Thankfully, in the main, this has been in support of manoeuvres – some specialist, some relatively minor, others much larger.
A case in point was winter manoeuvres in Norway, north of the Artic circle. Not only were special clearances needed but also every vehicle had to be prepared to strict guidelines, in order to cope with the freezing temperatures. At the other extreme, manoeuvres were scheduled to be held in Sidi Ahmed, Tunisia. All the support vehicles – ranging from aircraft refuelers to ambulances – originated in the UK, journeyed through France, to board a RoRo ferry direct to Tunisia. A textbook case of how quickly resources could be mobilised.
Along similar lines, there was an urgent call on a Friday morning – we’ve been badly let down, can you provide fifty four low loaders in Plymouth on Monday morning, to move military hardware to Cumbria, for manoeuvres starting on Wednesday. Needless to say, STG rose to the challenge, everyone working non-stop over the weekend to get everything organised.
Although we have managed mostly to avoid war zones, occasionally we have got very close. During the Yugoslav conflict, with deliveries to Sarajevo, along the final stage, vehicles were given a military escort. When one driver phoned in, we asked what the noise was in the background – to be told it was only light gunfire!
