Evacuation of the Brigade Commander by 156 Provo COY during an exercise, Colchester, May 2013.

Military police tested their close protection skills during a realistic training exercise on the streets of Colchester.

A simulated ambush was staged on Maldon Road on Friday 17 May 2013 to test 156 Provost Company Royal Military Police’s close protection team. A blast from a roadside bomb and heavy machine gun fire stopped a vehicle carrying an unsuspecting Brigadier Giles Hill, Commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade.

Under smoke grenades and rifle fire from his military police escort, the Brigadier – known as the principal in close protection terminology – was quickly taken out of the vehicle and into cover. The team then moved across fields to Stanway Green to link up with a vehicle that had been following behind in case of incidents, which picked up the principal to take him to safety.