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112-739: Operation Rescript was the code name for the British military operation to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies between 2020 and 2022. It was described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime" by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), involving up to 23,000 personnel within a specialist task force, named the COVID Support Force ( CSF ). The support

224-535: A Microsoft Teams call with the duo for ten minutes. That day, Wallace announced plans to reduce the number of British Army personnel from 76,500 to 72,500. Wallace was perceived as responsible for initial British reluctance to send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine in March 2022, saying that the idea "wouldn't work". Boris Johnson and his German counterpart Olaf Scholz agreed on 8 April that both European allies would withhold their Western-designed main battle tanks from

336-492: A marketing buzz for the project). Still others (such as Microsoft ) discuss code names publicly, and routinely use project code names on beta releases and such, but remove them from final product(s). In the case of Windows 95, the code name "CHICAGO" was left embedded in the INF File structure and remained required through Windows Me. At the other end of the spectrum, Apple includes the project code names for Mac OS X as part of

448-788: A ski instructor at the Austrian National Ski School in the village of Alpbach in Austria . After training as a cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , in June 1991 Wallace was commissioned into the Scots Guards as a second lieutenant , with a short service commission. From 1991 to 1998, he served in Germany , Cyprus , Belize , and Northern Ireland . In April 1993, he was promoted lieutenant , and later that year

560-453: A "B", cargo aircraft with a "C". Training aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft were grouped under the word "miscellaneous", and received "M". The same convention applies to missiles, with air-launched ground attack missiles beginning with the letter "K" and surface-to-surface missiles (ranging from intercontinental ballistic missiles to antitank rockets) with the letter "S", air-to-air missiles "A", and surface-to-air missiles "G". Throughout

672-478: A "pivotal" role in Soviet air-strategy. Code names were adopted by the following process. Aerial or space reconnaissance would note a new aircraft at a Warsaw Pact airbase. The intelligence units would then assign it a code name consisting of the official abbreviation of the base, then a letter, for example, "Ram-A", signifying an aircraft sighted at Ramenskoye Airport . Missiles were given designations like "TT-5", for

784-541: A COVID-19 testing centre in Wembley, England . This predated a wider deployment of military personnel to at least 96 mobile testing centres on 26 April 2020 as the government sought an official target of 100,000 COVID-19 tests per day. These testing centres were established in hard-to-reach areas, police stations, fire stations, care homes, prisons and benefit centres. By 1 May 2020, 1,500 military personnel were involved in carrying out COVID-19 tests at 92 mobile testing units across

896-458: A NATO meeting, Wallace defended the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria . He commented, "Turkey needs to do what it sometimes has to do to defend itself". His comments were condemned by other delegates at the meeting. On 12 January 2020, in an interview with The Sunday Times , Wallace said that the UK "must be prepared to fight wars without the US", one of the UK's key allies. He stated that

1008-545: A Puma helicopter transporting a critically ill COVID-19 patient from the Isle of Arran to a hospital in Kilmarnock . A total of 12 helicopters were attached to the ATF during May 2020. The global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) reached unprecedented levels during the pandemic and, initially, the UK experienced a shortage of supply. The CSF and wider armed forces assisted with

1120-566: A Westminster constituency in England. Wallace was the Scottish Conservatives' shadow health spokesman during that time. From 2003 to 2005 he was overseas director of the aerospace company QinetiQ , the UK's former Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). Wallace was elected as Member of Parliament for the Lancaster and Wyre constituency at the 2005 general election . He gained

1232-487: A consistent decrease in daily COVID-19 cases. 162 MACA requests had been responded to, in addition to 29,100 COVID-19 testing kits being delivered to 191 facilities. In January 2021, the Ministry of Defence revealed that over 5,000 military personnel were deployed on 70 different tasks, making it the largest "homeland military operation in peacetime". It also revealed that nearly 3,300 military personnel had tested positive for

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1344-465: A denial of any Russian intentions to invade Ukraine. The following day, Wallace said that a Russian invasion of Ukraine was "highly likely", and British citizens were being told by the Foreign Office to evacuate while commercial means were still available. Ukraine's ambassador to the UK , Vadym Prystaiko , said Wallace's comparison of diplomatic efforts with Russia to the appeasement policies of

1456-483: A formal invitation to join the NATO alliance. Wallace also said that American and British lawmakers felt that Ukraine was demanding an Amazon -style wishlist of demands in military aid. On 15 July 2023, Wallace announced his intention to resign as Secretary of State for Defence at the next Cabinet reshuffle and confirmed that he would not be seeking re-election as an MP at the 2024 general election . By length of tenure, he

1568-464: A further 10,000 military personnel were put on standby to form a specialist task force to help tackle the virus, named the COVID Support Force (CSF). The names of two military operations were announced as being Operation Rescript and Operation Broadshare ; Rescript being focused within the United Kingdom, whilst Broadshare focused on activities overseas. When planning the operation, experience

1680-570: A new national flagship yacht would be scrapped with immediate effect. On 19 January 2023 Wallace together with the defence ministers of Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania; and the representatives of Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Slovakia issued the Tallinn Pledge , "to reaffirm our continued determination and resolve to supporting Ukraine in their heroic resistance against

1792-451: A newly identified SARS-CoV-2 virus. On 20 January 2020, the first cases of the virus outside China were confirmed in Japan , South Korea and Thailand . By 29 January, cases had continued to spread and the first two cases were confirmed in the United Kingdom. On 28 February, the virus was confirmed to have spread within the UK population and, by 4 March, there had been an upsurge in cases within

1904-588: A petition was launched via the UK Parliament petitions website asking the UK Government to consider the introduction of an Operation Rescript medal. Code name During World War I , names common to the Allies referring to nations, cities, geographical features, military units, military operations, diplomatic meetings, places, and individual persons were agreed upon, adapting pre-war naming procedures in use by

2016-497: A radio interview on LBC about the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Wallace was asked by an LBC interviewer, "why do you feel it so personally, Mr Wallace?" He replied with emotion: "because I'm a soldier ... because it's sad, and the West has done what it's done and we have to do our very best to get people out and stand by our obligations". Wallace was the minister responsible for the British evacuation from Kabul, Operation Pitting . He

2128-457: A range of military aircraft equipped for the task, including Airbus A400M Atlas , Airbus Voyager and Westland Puma . Other types, such as British Aerospace 146 , were converted to bolster the RAF's capacity. In order to alleviate pressure on local hospitals dealing with the pandemic, a number of temporary critical care hospitals were established across the country. These were built and staffed with

2240-554: A total of 23,000 on standby. 2,300 vehicles were also in use, as temporary ambulances or for transportation, in 34 locations across the country. During the same month, Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter described the operation as the "single greatest logistic challenge" he had come across. As the first wave subdued, the CSF was downscaled by 12,500 personnel to a force of 7,500 on 20 May 2020, in line with

2352-610: Is a means of identification where the official nomenclature is unknown or uncertain. The policy of recognition reporting names was continued into the Cold War for Soviet, other Warsaw Pact , and Communist Chinese aircraft. Although this was started by the Air Standards Co-ordinating Committee (ASCC) formed by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, it was extended throughout NATO as

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2464-447: Is to never have to report to anyone that their son "was killed in an operation called 'Bunnyhug' or 'Ballyhoo'." Presently, British forces tend to use one-word names, presumably in keeping with their post-World War II policy of reserving single words for operations and two-word names for exercises. British operation code names are usually randomly generated by a computer and rarely reveal its components or any political implications unlike

2576-572: The Conservative Party , he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wyre and Preston North , formerly Lancaster and Wyre , from 2005 to 2024 . Before becoming involved in politics, Wallace was a captain in the Scots Guards . He was elected in 1999 as a Conservative list Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North East Scotland , serving until 2003. He subsequently resigned from

2688-610: The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) began providing hazard assessment, microbiological testing and operational analysis support to the Government dealing with COVID-19. In late April, these scientists trialed mosquito repellent for its ability to fight coronavirus at their laboratory in Porton Down . The laboratory also produced 21,000 units of fit test solution used to test the fit of face masks, in addition to speeding up

2800-655: The East of England Ambulance Service in the same month. In late April, personnel from RAF Henlow , RAF Honington and RAF Marham began supporting the East of England Ambulance Service . Later, in May 2020, 20 personnel from RAF Odiham began supporting the South Central Ambulance Service as co-responders. In December 2020, during the second wave of the pandemic, 90 personnel from the Royal Logistic Corps and

2912-581: The Home Office . He voted for her Brexit withdrawal agreement in early 2019, and against any referendum on that agreement. In December 2017, Wallace's ministerial portfolio was extended to include economic crime. He was Security Minister during the terror attacks of 2017 and the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury . Wallace was appointed to the Privy Council for his role in coordinating

3024-476: The Integrated Review , Wallace released a command paper titled Defence in a Competitive Age , in which he detailed "a mission to seek out and to understand future threats, and to invest in the capabilities to defeat them," promising an expenditure of £188 billion on defence over the next four years. In July 2021, Wallace said that the United States had left Britain in a "very difficult position" following

3136-581: The Ministry of Defence , it was stated that Operation Rescript was under consideration for medallic reward by the Cabinet Office . A subsequent FOI request was made to the Cabinet Office in December 2021 to which it was stated documentation or minutes relating to the creation of an Operation Rescript medal was not held by the Cabinet Office and that the Ministry of Defence should be consulted. In February 2022,

3248-669: The NATO reporting name for aircraft, rockets and missiles. These names were considered by the Soviets as being like a nickname given to one's unit by the opponents in a battle. The Soviets did not like the Sukhoi Su-25 getting the code name " Frogfoot ". However, some names were appropriate, such as "Condor" for the Antonov An-124 , or, most famously, "Fulcrum" for the Mikoyan MiG-29 , which had

3360-504: The Rhine ) was deliberately named to suggest the opposite of its purpose – a defensive "watch" as opposed to a massive blitzkrieg operation, just as was Operation Weserübung ( Weser -exercise), which signified the plans to invade Norway and Denmark in April 1940. Britain and the United States developed the security policy of assigning code names intended to give no such clues to

3472-742: The Royal Army Medical Corps were redeployed to assist the Welsh Ambulance Service. In September 2021, the Scottish Government requested assistance from the armed forces due to mounting pressures caused by COVID-19 to the Scottish Ambulance Service . In April 2020, British Army personnel assisted at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing centre in Glasgow, Scotland. During the same month, British Army personnel also assisted at

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3584-706: The Standing Joint Commander (UK) Major General Tyrone Urch at Aldershot . It included 10 regional commands. On 20 March 2020, The Telegraph reported General Sir Nick Carter had ordered the armed forces to prepare for a "six month operation". Overseas exercises, including those in Canada and Kenya , were cancelled to free up personnel for the COVID Support Force. The armed forces had previously been involved in repatriation flights of British and EU citizens in affected areas, such as China, Japan and Cuba. In April 2020, an additional 3,000 reservist personnel joined

3696-598: The USAAF , invented a system for the identification of Japanese military aircraft. Initially using short, " hillbilly " boys' names such as " Pete ", " Jake ", and " Rufe ", the system was later extended to include girls' names and names of trees and birds, and became widely used by the Allies throughout the Pacific theater of war. This type of naming scheme differs from the other use of code names in that it does not have to be kept secret, but

3808-559: The withdrawal of most US troops from Afghanistan . Soon after the withdrawal of US troops had started, the Taliban had launched an offensive against the Afghan government , quickly advancing in front of a collapsing Afghan Armed Forces . Wallace said the UK would be ready to work with the Taliban should they come to power provided they adhere to certain international norms. On 16 August 2021, during

3920-523: The "tug of war" over long-range missiles that can strike targets in Russia, such as Storm Shadow , was repetitive nonsense and only helped Putin. Wallace married Liza Cooke in 2001. They met when she was a researcher in the Scottish Parliament and Wallace was an MSP . His wife worked as a part-time parliamentary assistant in his office until 30 April 2019. They have since separated. He has described

4032-493: The 1930s was unhelpful, saying now is the wrong time to "offend our partners". On 23 February 2022, Wallace was filmed saying that the Scots Guards "kicked the backside" of Nicholas I of Russia during the Crimean War , and could do so again. Russia invaded Ukraine the following day. On 21 March 2022, clipped footage of Wallace in a prank call by Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus was released online. The duo (suspected by

4144-596: The 2015 general election and the formation of the majority Cameron government , he became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Northern Ireland Office . In 2016, he was appointed Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime by Theresa May , holding the position until she left office in July 2019. A supporter of Boris Johnson , Wallace was promoted to the senior cabinet role of Secretary of State for Defence, after Johnson became prime minister. He continued

4256-588: The 300-unit drone strike by Iran on Israel Wallace said the event "had dashed his own hopes that reformers would one day triumph over the hardliners." He wrote an op-ed in the Daily Telegraph and advised the West to "hit back twice as hard" against Iran and Russia and "not stop until they get the message". The pair "thrive on the West’s lack of resolve, revel in sowing division, and delight in weakening." He also called on Israel to supply Ukraine with weapons in light of

4368-616: The American names (e.g., the 2003 invasion of Iraq was called "Operation Telic" compared to Americans' "Operation Iraqi Freedom", obviously chosen for propaganda rather than secrecy). Americans prefer two-word names, whereas the Canadians and Australians use either. The French military currently prefer names drawn from nature (such as colors or the names of animals), for instance Opération Daguet ("brocket deer") or Opération Baliste ("Triggerfish"). The CIA uses alphabetical prefixes to designate

4480-574: The British Army helped with fit testing, including within four Scottish hospitals. The first reported batch of PPE was delivered by 101 Logistic Brigade to St Thomas' Hospital in London on 23 March 2020. In April 2020, 3rd Battalion, Royal Welsh helped deliver two large batches of PPE flown in from Cambodia and China . During the same month, the RAF also deployed Atlas transport aircraft to deliver delayed PPE from Turkey . In addition to hospitals, PPE

4592-561: The British government to have links to Russian security services or of being Russian state actors ) impersonated the Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal saying that Ukraine wished to promote its own nuclear deterrent to protect itself from Russia, a false claim made by the Russian government during the Russo-Ukrainian War and the invasion of Ukraine. Wallace was believed to be on

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4704-459: The COVID Support Force bringing it to 23,000 personnel in total. According to the Ministry of Defence, over half of the 6,500-strong Defence Medical Services have been involved with Operation Rescript, representing the largest contribution from any part of Defence. The British military first supported the COVID-19 response on 31 January 2020, when RAF Brize Norton and defence medics assisted with

4816-420: The COVID-19 crisis caused unprecedented pressure to its hospitals. Up to 100 armed forces medics were requested to support Belfast City Hospital and Ulster Hospital. The scale of Operation Rescript grew in proportion to the pandemic. On 12 April 2020, during the pandemic's first wave , the COVID Support Force had responded to 76 requests for assistance from government ministries with 2,680 personnel deployed from

4928-606: The CSF assisted with the planning and construction of a temporary hospital, named NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital , at the SEC Centre in Glasgow . In Wales , it helped plan and build the UK's second-largest temporary hospital, named the Dragon's Heart Hospital , within Cardiff 's Principality Stadium . The British Army 's 1st Battalion, The Rifles was involved with its construction and the hospital

5040-497: The CSF in areas such as police stations, fire stations, care homes, prisons and benefit centres. During the pandemic's second wave , from September 2020, the CSF assisted with more mass testing and, from December 2020, began assisting with the UK's vaccination rollout through providing planning support, medical staff and constructing vaccination centres — a task which was described as "unparalleled in its scale and complexity" by Brigadier Phil Prosser , Commander of Military Support to

5152-997: The NHS, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Scottish Government in response to rising cases caused by the Omicron variant . Over 100 were already deployed in Scotland in support of the vaccine rollout, whilst 600 more were made available to NHS England. Operation Rescript saw the provision of military planners to local councils and civilian authorities. In April 2020, military planners, including French military personnel, were deployed from NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in Gloucestershire to London to assist with planning. British Army and Royal Marines officers also provided planning support to NHS Lothian . On 18 March 2020, scientists from

5264-435: The Russian investment in the Iranian drone and missile programme. In February 2024 Wallace expressed his displeasure over German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ' refusal to give Ukraine the Taurus missile . Contemporaneous to the 75th NATO Summit in July 2024 Wallace opined that Europe can and should do more to help Ukraine. "The good news story on Ukraine is that Europe has already contributed collectively more to Ukraine than

5376-406: The Scottish Parliament, moved to Lancashire and sought selection for a Westminster constituency in England. First elected to the UK Parliament in 2005, Wallace served as a backbencher for nearly five years. From 2010 to 2014, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then Secretary of State for Justice , Ken Clarke . Wallace served as a party whip from July 2014 to May 2015. Following

5488-516: The Second World War, the British allocation practice favored one-word code names ( Jubilee , Frankton ). That of the Americans favored longer compound words, although the name Overlord was personally chosen by Winston Churchill himself. Many examples of both types can be cited, as can exceptions. Winston Churchill was particular about the quality of code names. He insisted that code words, especially for dangerous operations, would be not overly grand nor petty nor common. One emotional goal he mentions

5600-439: The US (just across the Bering Strait from Nome, Alaska). The names of colors are generally avoided in American practice to avoid confusion with meteorological reporting practices. Britain, in contrast, made deliberately non-meaningful use of them, through the system of rainbow codes . Although German and Italian aircraft were not given code names by their Allied opponents, in 1942, Captain Frank T. McCoy, an intelligence officer of

5712-461: The United States code names are commonly set entirely in upper case. This is not done in other countries, though for the UK in British documents the code name is in upper case while operation is shortened to OP e.g., "Op. TELIC". This presents an opportunity for a bit of public-relations ( Operation Just Cause ), or for controversy over the naming choice (Operation Infinite Justice, renamed Operation Enduring Freedom ). Computers are now used to aid in

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5824-509: The United States. So it is not entirely impossible that if America froze out Ukraine, that Europe couldn’t stand up and contribute more assistance to Ukraine." In August 2024 Wallace was interviewed by Times Radio and said Ukraine "should be given the tools to finish the job" against Russia. He echoed past UKCGS Sir Patrick Sanders ' exit remarks about Western nervousness over Russian nuclear sabre-rattling rhetoric. In September Wallace, speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said that

5936-403: The Vaccine Delivery Programme. Other support provided by the armed forces included the testing of the NHS' contact tracing phone application, NHS Test and Trace , the manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPE), the creation of disinfectants, including the Virusend formula, and countering COVID-19 misinformation . It was one of two British military operations to assist with tackling

6048-404: The Virusend formula. Around 50,000 bottles were distributed to military personnel working alongside the NHS during the pandemic. The logistics depot at MoD Donnington was used to distribute medical supplies, with over 10,500 pieces of critical care medical equipment being delivered to NHS Trusts and hospitals by 1 June 2020. Northern Ireland requested military assistance in September 2021 after

6160-439: The age of thirty, as the part of the work he had really enjoyed was commanding soldiers, and this was likely to diminish after that point. Wallace is a member of the Royal Company of Archers , a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland. As such, he participated in the vigil over the Queen's coffin as she lay in state in Westminster Hall on 15 September 2022. Wallace entered politics after leaving

6272-438: The army, citing as a reason for this decision the experience he had commanding men from some of the UK's most economically deprived areas, which he averred could be improved by promoting a more aspirational society. Wallace became a Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 , as a list MSP for North East Scotland . He did not seek re-election at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election , as he sought selection for

6384-402: The assistance of the COVID Support Force (CSF). In England , these temporary hospitals were named the NHS Nightingale Hospitals . The first, NHS Nightingale Hospital London , was built at the ExCeL London convention centre on 3 April 2020. It was constructed in just nine days with the assistance of 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment , 256 Field Hospital and the Royal Engineers , and

6496-403: The available allocation could result in clever meanings and result in an aptronym or backronym , although policy was to select words that had no obviously deducible connection with what they were supposed to be concealing. Those for the major conference meetings had a partial naming sequence referring to devices or instruments which had a number as part of their meaning, e.g., the third meeting

6608-417: The back benches, Wallace was again offered a job in Government as a whip. This time he accepted. Also in 2014, he became an early supporter of a future leadership bid by Boris Johnson , who was not then in parliament. In May 2015, Wallace was promoted to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Northern Ireland Office . Early in 2016, with the approach of the European Union referendum , Boris Johnson

6720-399: The burden of his job on his private life as one of the regrets of his political career. The couple have two sons and a daughter. His children were divided on whether Wallace should have made a pitch for the Conservative leadership in 2022. Wallace divides his time between Lancashire and London. Outside politics, he lists his recreations as skiing, sailing, rugby and horse racing. He is

6832-416: The contest . In a statement on Twitter, he said his focus was on his current job and "keeping this great country safe". He later endorsed Liz Truss in the election. Following the appointment of Truss as prime minister, Wallace was reappointed to his post on 6 September. He retained his post when Rishi Sunak became prime minister on 25 October. On 7 November, Wallace announced that the competition to build

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6944-463: The country and the government subsequently announced it had passed its target of 100,000 tests per day. In November 2020, as a second national lockdown was imposed in England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the military would be assisting with mass COVID-19 testing in Liverpool as a pilot scheme for what may become "a powerful new weapon" deployed across the country against COVID-19. Over 2,000 troops from 16 units became involved with

7056-430: The country entered another national lockdown in January 2021. In December 2020, the military deployed planners to help with the COVID-19 vaccination rollouts in England, Wales and Scotland. The military then helped with the construction of vaccination centres around the country, with the first in Bristol , England. On 9 January 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the British Army would be assisting with

7168-412: The country with some being placed at a "status four" of organisational readiness. From April 2020, the COVID Support Force began providing support through the provision of ambulance drivers and call handlers. The South Central Ambulance Service was the first ambulance service to receive this support on 1 April 2020, with 80 military personnel involved. This was followed by the Welsh Ambulance Service and

7280-517: The country. The pandemic grew to be considered the most serious peacetime emergency the UK has faced in a century. On 16 March 2020, the British government mobilised 10,000 military personnel to help tackle the escalating outbreak. This military support was made available through the Military aid to the civil authorities (MACA) mechanism which allows government departments, the devolved administrations and civil authorities to request military support in times of emergency. Media outlets began speculating

7392-408: The death of Diana, Princess of Wales , and was a member of the party sent to Paris to bring home her body. In June 1998, Wallace transferred from the Active List to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers as a captain, thereby ending his active service and beginning a period of call-up liability. He later explained that he had decided against seeking to become a regular officer and to continue after

7504-420: The decontamination of vehicles used by ambulance services. Military personnel were also tasked with driving oxygen tankers for the NHS. On 22 April 2020, RAF Leeming helped trial a COVID-19 contact tracing phone application, which subsequently became the core component to the government's NHS Test and Trace service. The British Army developed a spray which can kill the pandemic strain of coronavirus, named

7616-445: The extent of the military's involvement, with one report from Sky News claiming troops may be used to "help cope with the breakdown of civil society", whilst another, from The Times , claimed prisons may need to be staffed by military personnel if prison staff became ill. These reports caused some public alarm which prompted Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to publicly dismiss the stories as "fictional" and urge caution. On 19 March 2020,

7728-810: The fifth rocket seen at Tyura-Tam . When more information resulted in knowing a bit about what a missile was used for, it would be given a designation like "SS-6", for the sixth surface-to-surface missile design reported. Finally, when either an aircraft or a missile was able to be photographed with a hand-held camera, instead of a reconnaissance aircraft, it was given a name like " Flanker " or " Scud " – always an English word, as international pilots worldwide are required to learn English. The Soviet manufacturer or designation – which may be mistakenly inferred by NATO – has nothing to do with it. Jet-powered aircraft received two-syllable names like Foxbat , while propeller aircraft were designated with short names like Bull . Fighter names began with an "F", bombers with

7840-490: The first COVID-19 repatriation flight from Wuhan. MoD Boscombe Down was subsequently designated the preferred airfield for future COVID-19 repatriation flights. On 15 March 2020, the Royal Air Force responded to its first MACA request to airlift a critically ill COVID-19 patient from the Isles of Scilly to Newquay Airport using a Boeing Chinook helicopter. Further medical evacuations took place in other remote areas, including in Shetland and Northern Ireland utilising

7952-464: The formation of a helicopter task force . From April 2020, the CSF began helping plan, construct and staff several temporary critical care hospitals across the UK and also provided drivers and call handlers to reinforce ambulance services. In May 2020, the CSF helped with mass COVID-19 testing across the country to help reach a government target for 100,000 tests per day. These tests were largely carried out at mobile testing units which had been set up by

8064-585: The formation of the COVID Support Force as part of its measures to help tackle the Coronavirus outbreak. The support force comprised 20,000 military personnel tasked with supporting public services, which included 150 military personnel being trained to drive oxygen tankers to support the National Health Service (NHS) . Scientists from Defence Science and Technology Laboratory also began supporting Public Health England . The COVID Support Force reported to

8176-529: The fray. Johnson instead chose to backfill the Polish Army , thus allowing them to send their obsolete T-72s to Ukraine, while they waited for their order of South Korean K2 Black Panther replacements. Despite a planned reduction of the British tank fleet from 227 Challenger 2 tanks to 148 upgraded Challenger 3 tanks, there were no plans to send British tanks to the Ukrainians. Wallace later announced that

8288-497: The government response to the 2017 Westminster attack . On 24 July 2019, Boris Johnson became prime minister and immediately appointed Wallace as Secretary of State for Defence , replacing Penny Mordaunt , who was left out of the new government . In August 2019, Wallace was overheard discussing Johnson's controversial prorogation of parliament with Florence Parly , the French Armed Forces minister . He suggested that

8400-630: The governments concerned. In the British case names were administered and controlled by the Inter Services Security Board (ISSB) staffed by the War Office . This procedure was coordinated with the United States when it entered the war . Random lists of names were issued to users in alphabetical blocks of ten words and were selected as required. Words became available for re-use after six months and unused allocations could be reassigned at discretion and according to need. Judicious selection from

8512-580: The illegal and unprovoked Russian aggression." On 21 June 2023, Wallace ruled himself out of the running to become the next NATO Secretary-General after rumours spread that the US were in favour of Jens Stoltenberg staying in post. Speaking at a NATO summit in Lithuania on 11 July, Wallace said that Ukraine should offer more gratitude to Western allies of the country, following the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy 's frustration at not being given

8624-554: The logistics and delivery of the programme, including 8 Engineer Brigade , 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment , the King's Royal Hussars , 19 Regiment Royal Artillery , 1st Battalion Irish Guards , 39 Regiment Royal Engineers and 1st Battalion The Rifles . These units were later awarded the Freedom of Liverpool and commemorative challenge coins for their help in lowering infection rates from 680 per 100,000 people to less than 100. Later in

8736-646: The month, the military began training civilians to take over their testing duties. A 150-strong team of RAF personnel were then deployed to Merthyr Tydfil in Wales to carry out mass testing there. In December 2020, Medway in Kent became the third location to undergo mass testing with 175 military personnel involved, including from 35 Engineer Regiment . On 18 Dec 2020 a further 130 RAF personnel deployed to Swadlincote in South Derbyshire to conduct community testing at 3 sites in

8848-647: The national COVID-19 vaccine rollout. In a televised statement, the Prime Minister explained that the army would be helping reach a goal for over 1,000 GP-led sites in England offering "hundreds of thousands" of vaccinations each day by 15 January. Brigadier Phil Prosser was made Commander of Military Support to the Vaccine Delivery Programme. In a statement, he described the logistic operation as "unparalleled in its scale and complexity". In December 2021, 750 military personnel were made available to support

8960-819: The next general election . From 2005 to 2010, Wallace was a member of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons . From 2006 to 2010 he was also the Shadow Minister of State for Scotland and was Chairman of the British–Iran Parliamentary Group from 2006 to 2014. He was awarded Campaigner of the Year in the annual Spectator /Threadneedle Parliamentarian Awards in 2008, for his work promoting transparency of MPs' expenses. Following his re-election to Parliament in 2010, Wallace

9072-568: The number of Challenger 3 tanks required by the UK was under review. In January 2023, the British position was reversed, and Challenger 2 tanks were supplied to Ukraine in March 2023. Boris Johnson announced his intention to resign as prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party in July 2022 following a series of mass resignations from his government . Wallace was seen as a contender to succeed him as party leader and thus prime minister, but on 10 July he ruled himself out from entering

9184-531: The official name of the final product, a practice that was started in 2002 with Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar". Google and the AOSP also used this for their Android operating system until 2013, where the code name was different from the release name. Ben Wallace (politician) Sir Robert Ben Lobban Wallace KCB (born 15 May 1970) is a British politician and former British Army Officer who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2019 to 2023. A member of

9296-405: The operational code-name Operation Rose , the British units involved included 70 Gurkha Field Squadron, 36 Engineer Regiment from the British Army and No. 600 Squadron RAF from the RAF. In the days following, the government announced that the military would be assisting with the testing of secondary school pupils and college students in England, however schools and colleges were soon re-closed as

9408-587: The pandemic response. The ATF comprised helicopters from across the three armed services which were forward-deployed to transport patients, personnel, equipment and cargo. Additionally, Joint Helicopter Support Squadron and Tactical Supply Wing provided support through the provision of suitable helicopter landing sites and remote aircraft refueling capabilities. The headquarters for the ATF was based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire , England. The first reported ATF medical evacuation took place on 22 April 2020 and involved

9520-553: The pandemic; the other being Operation Broadshare which focuses on activities overseas, including within the British Overseas Territories (BOTs). In November 2022, Defence Minister James Heappey stated that the operation had concluded, although the exact date of its conclusion was not specified. In December 2019, a cluster of "pneumonia" cases were reported in Wuhan , China . These cases were later found to be caused by

9632-503: The part of the agency supporting an operation. In many cases with the United States, the first word of the name has to do with the intent of the program. Programs with "have" as the first word, such as Have Blue for the stealth fighter development, are developmental programs, not meant to produce a production aircraft. Programs that start with Senior, such as Senior Trend for the F-117, are for aircraft in testing meant to enter production. In

9744-663: The previous year with Saudi Arabia's vice defence minister Prince Khalid bin Salman . In 2022, at an event to mark the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War , Wallace declared Britain's determination to "stand up to bullies". His words were decried as "belligerent threats" and "denigrating references" by Argentina . Wallace met Sergei Shoigu , the Russian Minister of Defence in Moscow on 11 February 2022. Shoigu reiterated

9856-515: The provision of PPE through sourcing, delivering and manufacturing. The Royal Logistic Corps was heavily involved, working from an NHS supply hub in Northamptonshire , England. Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) helped with sourcing and quality assurance testing, including for the Cabinet Office and the Department for Health and Social Care , whilst specialist CBRN instructors from

9968-477: The reason for the prorogation for five weeks was to prevent MPs from blocking the government's Brexit plans, rather than the government's official position that it was to introduce a new legislative agenda. 10 Downing Street responded to his comments by admonishing him and stating that he had "misspoken". This prorogation was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court on 24 September 2019. On 13 October 2019, in

10080-518: The role under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak , making him the longest serving member of the Cabinet to serve continuously in the same position until he left office. In July 2023, Wallace announced that he intended to resign as Secretary of State for Defence at the next Cabinet reshuffle , and that he would not be seeking re-election as an MP at the 2024 general election . In August 2023, Wallace formally resigned as Secretary of State for Defence. Wallace

10192-400: The seat from Labour with 22,266 votes and a majority of 4,171 (8.0%). Wallace faced local criticism after it was revealed that in 2008 he had made the fourth-highest expenses claim of any MP, claiming £175,523 on top of his £63,000 salary. However, he defended this by arguing that his constituency had an electorate that was nearly 20% larger than the average one in England. His constituency

10304-452: The selection. And further, there is a distinction between the secret names during former wars and the published names of recent ones. A project code name is a code name (usually a single word, short phrase or acronym) which is given to a project being developed by industry , academia , government, and other concerns. Project code names are typically used for several reasons: Different organizations have different policies regarding

10416-531: The town, supporting Derbyshire County Council. Further locations, including in Lancashire , Greater Manchester and Kirklees also underwent mass testing by 4 January 2021. On Christmas Day in 2020, 1,100 military personnel were deployed to deliver COVID-19 testing kits to around 4,000 hauliers waiting in Kent after France closed its border with the UK due to COVID-19. They worked alongside military personnel from Poland , as well as French firefighters. Under

10528-681: The uninitiated. For example, the British counter measures against the V-2 was called Operation Crossbow . The atomic bomb project centered in New Mexico was called the Manhattan Project , derived from the Manhattan Engineer District which managed the program. The code name for the American A-12 / SR-71 spy plane project, producing the fastest, highest-flying aircraft in the world,

10640-404: The upcoming defence review "should be used to make the UK less dependent on the US in future conflicts". His comments were made in response to US President Donald Trump 's " America First " isolationist policies. Wallace also said that the next defence review would be the "deepest review" of Britain's defence and foreign policies since the end of the Cold War in 1991. On 15 March 2021, as part of

10752-438: The use and publication of project code names. Some companies take great pains to never discuss or disclose project code names outside of the company (other than with outside entities who have a need to know, and typically are bound with a non-disclosure agreement ). Other companies never use them in official or formal communications, but widely disseminate project code names through informal channels (often in an attempt to create

10864-455: The virus since the outbreak began, with the majority of them contracting the virus in the United Kingdom. According to the Ministry of Defence, even at its peak readiness of 20,000 personnel on standby, Operation Rescript placed no constraints on the ministry's prioritised operations and defence outputs, such as Quick Reaction Alert , Operation Shader and Operation Temperer . Following a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request in April 2021 to

10976-594: Was Oxcart . The American group that planned that country's first ICBM was called the Teapot Committee . Although the word could stand for a menace to shipping (in this case, that of Japan), the American code name for the attack on the subtropical island of Okinawa in World War II was Operation Iceberg . The Soviet Union's project to base missiles in Cuba was named Operation Anadyr after their closest bomber base to

11088-458: Was mentioned in dispatches for an incident in Belfast where the patrol he was commanding captured an entire IRA active service unit (ASU) attempting to carry out a bomb attack against British troops. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) later said that no one arrested as a result of the patrol was prosecuted. In 1996 he was promoted captain . Wallace was on duty on the night of

11200-545: Was "TRIDENT". Joseph Stalin , whose last name means "man of steel", was given the name "GLYPTIC", meaning "an image carved out of stone". Ewen Montagu , a British Naval intelligence officer, discloses in Beyond Top Secret Ultra that during World War II , Nazi Germany habitually used ad hoc code names as nicknames which often openly revealed or strongly hinted at their content or function. Some German code names: Conversely, Operation Wacht am Rhein (Watch on

11312-521: Was abolished for the 2010 UK general election , and Wallace was instead returned for the new seat of Wyre and Preston North with 26,877 votes and a majority of 15,844 (30.9%). He was re-elected at the 2015 , 2017 , and 2019 UK general elections , with majorities suggesting he now held a safe seat for his party. Wallace does not intend to remain in Parliament beyond the next general election, and his constituency will be abolished by boundary changes at

11424-553: Was also delivered to police forces, including by units such as 4 Regiment RLC . To help manufacture PPE, some military units utilised 3D printing . These units included the British Army's 22 Engineer Regiment , the RAF's Chinook Support Centre (CSC) and the Royal Navy's Engineer Naval Reservists at HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth . By 6 May 2020, 2,000 items of PPE had been produced by personnel at RNAS Culdrose . The pandemic placed increased pressure on ambulance services across

11536-650: Was appointed as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the then Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor , and later minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office , Kenneth Clarke . On 4 September 2012, Wallace turned down a position as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury during the cabinet reshuffle to remain Clarke's PPS. He voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 , which legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales . In July 2014, as Clarke returned to

11648-692: Was born on 15 May 1970 in Farnborough , Kent . His father was a soldier in the 1st King's Dragoon Guards and served in Malaya . Wallace was educated at Millfield , a private school in Somerset. While at school, he attended a young officers' course for the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards , and after leaving school was interviewed by the Regular Commissions Board . He then spent some time as

11760-407: Was drawn from previous homeland military operations, including Operation Olympics , which provided security for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Operation Redfold , which was a contingency to limit any disruption caused by a No-deal Brexit in 2020, and Operation Morlop , the response to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in 2018. On 19 March 2020, the Ministry of Defence announced

11872-450: Was given at the request of the UK government, its devolved administrations and civil authorities (including the National Health Service (NHS)) through the Military aid to the civil authorities (MACA) mechanism. Launched in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic's first wave , the operation began with the airlifting of critical COVID-19 patients, logistical support, planning support and

11984-565: Was involved in a controversial decision to allow Pen Farthing – who ran an animal sanctuary in Kabul – to evacuate 71 people and more than 100 animals from Kabul to the UK. Wallace said Ministry of Defence staff had suffered abuse from some of Farthing's supporters, who alleged the government had initially abandoned Farthing. In December 2021, Wallace met with Saudi Arabia 's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss cooperation in various fields, especially defence, having discussed similar matters

12096-530: Was one such location. Another location, St. Mary's Hospital in the Isle of Wight , was expanded with the help of the Scots Guards . Morgues have also been established, including within disused RAF hangars, with the bodies transported via rental vans driven by military personnel. On 23 March 2020, Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) formed a specialist task force, named the COVID Support Force Aviation Task Force ( CTF ATF ), to assist with

12208-622: Was staffed partly by military medics working alongside the NHS. Other NHS Nightingale hospitals were built and staffed with the assistance of the CSF in Birmingham , Bristol , Exeter , Harrogate , Manchester and Washington , involving units from the Royal Engineers, the Brigade of Gurkhas , 4th Regiment Royal Artillery and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine , among others. In Scotland ,

12320-500: Was staffed with the help of military medics. In April 2020, the CSF helped advise on a potential temporary hospital at HM Prison Maze , a disused prison in County Down , Northern Ireland. In addition to larger-scale temporary hospitals, the CSF also helped repurpose other sites to facilitate additional patient beds, intensive care units and morgues . Headley Court , a former defence medical rehabilitation centre, which closed in 2018,

12432-429: Was the longest-serving Conservative Secretary of State for Defence on record. Wallace was also the longest-serving participant in the current UK Cabinet by continuous service; attending without interruption since his 2016 appointment as Minister of State for Security. On 31 August 2023, Wallace formally resigned as Secretary of State for Defence. In 2024 Wallace was voluble on defence-related matters. In April 2024 after

12544-663: Was wavering between Leave and Remain, and Wallace advised him strongly to support Remain, as taking the Leave side would mean being allied with "clowns". Wallace himself supported the Remain side before the referendum. After it had been won by Leave, David Cameron resigned as party leader. Johnson at once launched a leadership campaign run by Wallace and Lynton Crosby . However, a week later, after Michael Gove had decided to stand as well, Johnson withdrew. The new Prime Minister Theresa May promoted Wallace to Minister of State for Security in

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