British Army "stay behinds" the Special OP Troop (212)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2021

⏱️ 79 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I speak with Colin Ferguson a veteran from the British Army‘s covert Special Observation Post Troop which was founded in 1982. The "stay behind" Special OP Troop consisted of selected soldiers in 6 man patrols whose task was to dig in large underground hides known as "mexe" shelters along the inner German border. They would then allow the main Soviet forces to pass over them before deploying to two smaller observation posts (Ops) where they would engage the enemy with the long-range guns and rockets of the British Army. Colin, covers in detail, selection, training and deployment as well as how the mexes were constructed. Do check out Colin’s podcast, “The Unconventional Soldier” which offers first-hand accounts of past conflicts, military history, book and film reviews, plus guests, dits and digression This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one off or monthly donations Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/for more details. Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. This episode is dedicated to remembering two members of the Special Op Troop. Lance Bombardier Steve Cummins, who is pictured on the episode cover and Gunner Miles Amos who lost their lives in 1989 when their vehicle struck a mine near Londonderry. We thank them for their service. I am delighted and honoured to welcome Colin Ferguson to our Cold War conversation… There are photos and further info here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode212/ 0:00 Introduction 0:24 Interview with Colin Ferguson, a veteran from the British Army's covert Special OP troop 7:22 Basic training for the artillery and assignment to the 12th air defense regiment 14:24 Volunteering and initial training for the Special OP troop 20:30 The selection process for the Special OP troop and field experience training 33:08 Survival skills, live field firing and the final exercise of the course 36:48 Historical accuracy of army depictions in movies and use of Soviet vehicles for training 40:31 Deployment of special OP troops, selection of shelter locations and creation of target information packs 50:20 Communication distance with the artillery and encryption of communication 59:45 Participation in Exercise Reforger, end of the Cold War and escape and evasion training 1:02:51 Survival and resistance interrogation course and experiences facing the Soviet army 1:12:13 Reflections on the sacrifices of fellow soldiers and remembering the casualties of the Cold War 1:13:44 Introduction to the "Unconventional Soldier" podcast 1:16:31 Store promotion and closing remarks Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:05.9	We'd allow the advancing Warsaw Pact, Third Shock Army, pass over us,
0:10.0	and then engage them with artillery fire with the long-range guns of the Royal Artillery.
0:16.5	This is Cold War Conversations.
0:20.6	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts.
0:26.5	Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app so that you don't miss out on future episodes.
0:32.4	I speak with Colleen Ferguson, a veteran from the British Army's covert special OP troop, the stay-behind
0:39.5	special OP troop consisted of selected soldiers in six-man patrols whose task was to dig in large
0:47.4	underground hides known as mexie shelters along the inner German border. They would then allow
0:53.8	the main Soviet forces to pass over them before deploying into two smaller observation posts, OPs,
1:02.0	where they would engage the enemy with the long-range guns and rockets of the British Army.
1:07.0	Colin covers in detail the selection, training and deployment as well as how the Mexies were
1:13.6	constructed. Do check out Colin's podcast, The Unconventional Soldier, which offers first-hand accounts
1:21.1	of past conflicts, military history, book and film reviews, plus guests, dits and digression.
1:28.6	Now, this podcast wouldn't exist without the generous support of our Patreon.
1:33.8	So if you are enjoying the podcast, you can show your support via a small or large monthly
1:40.6	donation.
1:41.5	Plus, you will get the sought after Cold War Conversations drinks coaster
1:46.5	as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing that you are helping to preserve Cold War history
1:53.0	Hi my name's Glenn I'm from New Zealand always been fascinated by Cold War this podcast
1:59.3	just brings it all back to life and Ian does such a good job of
2:03.4	this. Just go to Cold Warconversations.com slash donate for more information. This episode is
	...

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