The “Dambusters” are completing their final training this week at RAF Lossiemouth as they prepare to fly out to Afghanistan.
The bulk of the renowned 617 Squadron is leaving at the end of the month for a 16-week deployment to Kandahar.
The aim of Mission Rehearsal Week, which began on Monday and ends today, is to simulate what life could be like in a war zone.
Yesterday a controlled explosion on the base was followed by a warning siren. A surprise “enemy attack” had left three people badly injured.
Although the squadron’s personnel are not paramedics, they have all received medical training and it was their job to keep the victims of the blast alive until the professionals arrived.
Overseeing how they responded to the stress of a life and death situation was Flight Lieutenant Mo Abdullah, the project officer in charge of all the week’s training activities.
He explained that the idea was to test in as realistic way as possible the squadron’s 140 personnel making the journey.
Flt Lt Abdullah said: “While many are old hands, a third of the squadron are junior recruits.
“While they’ve all received weeks of training individually, this is the chance to respond collectively as a team and put the training into action.
“If there’s anything they’re still not sure about, there’s the chance now to iron out those uncertainties.
“They can get extra practice and receive feedback on what they have being doing and how they performed. It helps to put everything in a more comfortable zone.
“It’s gone well so far, which is just as well because there’ll be no chances of further rehearsals once we get over to Afghanistan.
“We need to hit the ground running because there’s the clear potential that something could happen on day one of our deployment.”