A GEM of an Idea
Thu 19th Aug 2010
A new piece of military equipment which was developed by a Landmarc employee has been adopted by all UK and NATO forces for training.Malcolm Scurrell, Landmarc’s Accommodation Supervisor at Copehill Down, Salisbury Plain worked with Staff Sergeant Steven Daniels of the Royal Engineers to design the equipment which allows troops to prepare for undertaking explosive entry into buildings.
The kit consists of a heavy metal door frame in-filled with an inch and a half of solid plywood. A lock is simulated with a six inch piece of wooden batten, to which a ‘c-charge’ is attached. Once triggered, this blows out a section around where a real lock would be allowing troops to gain entry. The MOD has honoured Malcolm through its staff suggestion scheme (GEMs) for improving military training facilities whilst simultaneously generating significant cost savings compared to previous solutions.
Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup at a ceremony at the Tower of London. He said: “It has been very gratifying to see this idea go all the way from being literally a thought, through development to become a reality. It is very satisfying to know that the design is now in regular use as a tool for pre-deployment training.”