The exercise coordinators injected a high level of realism in Exercise Northstar VII.

First time I've seen SCDF fire and ambulance crew in ballistic vests and kevlar helmets.

With special thanks to Stanley from SPF and LTC Subhas from SCDF.

Stayed tuned for the SOTF photos after 15 July 2009.



SCDF Pump Ladder 121 arrives. Note that the fire fighters are wearing kevlar helmets and ballistic armour.


Triage area set up by the joint SCDF-SAF Medical team for rapid assessment and despatch of critical casualties.


Sakit! Sakit! Walking wounded attended to by SCDF paramedics.


One reason why people abuse the 995 emergency hotline...


Another reason why people abuse the 995 number.




A kilat looking Encik from the SAF HQ Medical Corps. Note the body armour worn by the army medics.

hey boh link leh.

CJ is being so cute today...pulling our legs! :D

old hairy legs he also want… :blink:

This exercise has been in the making for quite a while....the govt had been deeply worried by something similar to Mumbai attacks happening here in Singapore....they are aware of the dangerous implications of being unpreparedness, complacency plus the repercussions. It needs only a minor incident, not even requiring to be of that scale....

Ex Northstar tests agency response during simultaneous terror attacks
By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 06 July 2009 1556 hrs

SINGAPORE: Could Singapore cope if terrorists launched a series of coordinated assaults on the island?

That's the question posed in this year's Exercise Northstar, an annual event to test the emergency response capabilities of the different agencies.

This year's exercise, dubbed Northstar VII, simulated the attacks on India's Mumbai city last November, with terrorists launching simultaneous assaults on key public areas.

There are two phases in Exercise Northstar VII. Phase one started on Monday and will continue on Tuesday with scenarios involving public transport and shopping malls.

Phase 2, which takes place next week, will simulate a hostage situation at a hotel.

Fifteen public and private sector organisations are taking part in the exercise this year, including the Defence Ministry, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Maritime and Port Authority, and public transport providers.

On Monday, the simulated scenario started on Sentosa island, with police receiving reports of "gunfire" at a popular bar there. They arrived at the Cafe del Mar within minutes but by then it was a scene of ruins.

10 people were "dead" and 20 more "injured". It was later established that the "attackers" had come in by the sea on small boats, and they were not alone. Other "gunmen" had quickly made their way to hotels in the busy Orchard Road shopping belt, leaving behind a trail of carnage.

For the first time the media was involved as participants, to test how the police would manage and coordinate the dissemination of information in a crisis situation.

Singapore Police Force's assistant director of operations planning, Devrajan Bala, said: "Drawing lessons from Mumbai, we realised that information management is critical as it can compromise our operations if not managed well.

"We also want the media to understand our constraints as we run into an incident like this. We may not be able to give you updates in a very timely manner. Essentially, we're still running the operations so it's critical that you understand operations as they run on the ground."

- CNA/ir






so guys.... watch out if you happen to be in the MRT or on Orchard Rd tmrw! if you're too free, you can lie down and play dead also!

Video.

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/m...3AD9B4E30AE8.01

Is the police also wearing the SAF-Type Kelvar helmet? I thought the police have their own version..seen in Crimewatch by SOC before.

From the TV scenes, I noticed the police officers seems to be more tired than the previous NorthStar Exercise. :o

They also seems to be wearing a new sort of vest. I thought SCDF should be carrying most of the casualty but seems to be done by the police instead.

Akan Datang.

15 July 2009 (10am – 11am) @ Rasa Sentosa Resort
1) Premise of Rasa Sentosa will be cordoned off by the Police. A3 signs are placed along the cordon to inform the public that “Police Exercise in progress.”
2) State Emergency agencies will be utilising the Coach Park as their staging area for response forces and command post. Response vehicles will start to take up positions in the Coach Park @ 5am.
3) Uniformed police officers will be stationed at the Coach Park sentry to perform accreditation function.

For simulation purposes on 15 July, ammunition like blanks, smoke grenades and thunder flashes will be used. A helicopter is also utilised to transport troops rappelling down for fast response and there will be a sea fight scene involving high speed vessel maneuvers at the sea front of Rasa Sentosa Resort.

Please inform your staff and guests that this is a Police Exercise and there is no cause for alarm.

Any chance that the public can get a glimpse of the exercise?

wow! if only there is a milnut-standto for this :rolleyes:

Would love to be staying at the Rasa Sentosa to view this. :lol:

Anyone tried booking a room at Rasa Sentosa? If a few of us share won't be too ex. One night stand niah. Now off peak season.

Anyway, I plan to stay overnight at our IR site on 14th night so I can watch the SOTF vehicles come onto the island. We're opening our New Bridge tomorrow.

I heard that this exercise is gonna be the SOTF's coming out party.

Edited to add room rates: Superior Hill View cost $240/night before taxes. Then there's an Executive Panoramic room for $300/night and a Deluxe Sea View for $280/night.

But the hotel said it will have to confine guests to their rooms from 1000hrs! Macam house arrest. So I think it's not worth it.

Have a buddy who is acting as casualty for the ex. Poor NSFs. =D

the breakfast there no bad leh....but the rooms furnishing dates back to 1993....if you book pls go sea view only...the cheaper rooms face the forest...see f***

You dunno how close you are to the mark on that. B)

As I understand, NS VII is closely influenced by the Indo security exercise that was conducted immediately after the Mumbai incident. The powers that be were very impressed.

Lucky guy, he gets to lie down and chao keng for the whole day, train his wayang skills even!

Assign him some new bird NSF medic, and let them practise IV infusion on him =P
But then hor, if it's CJ version of "Why pple abuse 995", might be worth it...hehe

CJ,

Many thanks for the great photos.

Unfortunately, all the SCDF ahmois are not using the chin strap properly, more like using a cycling helmet. :D

not designed for ponytails :P

They held a rehearsal on Sentosa this morning. Look forward to the full show next week.

Wild Shores of Singapore

Full dress rehearsal - Exercise NorthStar VII

A full dress rehearsal for Exercise NorthStar will take place tomorrow, Thursday 9 July 2009, from 8.30am to 10.30am.

Exercise NorthStar is an emergency preparedness drill conducted annually at the national level, to rapidly test on the level of preparedness, consistency and response level by state emergency agencies.

Police, SCDF and military resource will arrive on the island from 6.30am.

The rehearsal is in preparation for the actual exercise, scheduled for Wednesday, 15 July. The flow of event will be similar to the actual exercise. This includes the use of ammunition like blanks, smoke grenades and thunder flashes. In addition, a helicopter will be used to transport troops rappelling down for fast response and there will be a sea fight scene involving high speed vessel maneuvers at the sea front of Rasa Sentosa Resort.

Do inform your employees and guests that this is a Police Exercise and there is no cause for alarm.

No cause for alarm, this is just a drill.

Note the combat role of our "training helicopters".

Ex Northstar VII: SOF urban assault

CJ,

Thanks for the video.

It looks like the Colibri is the eyes in the skies.

Your video very jerky leh kekeke.

Seems like 124 Sqn has taken over the business from 123 Sqn.

Can see clearly the mods done on the EC-120 as well. Good job!

Remember not to stand too close to it if you intend to take video again. EC-120 only has one engine and it'll drop like a stone if engine fails. Same thing happened to a Fennec at SAFTI and they couldn't find the cause of the crash, damn lucky the pilots walked away unharmed.

A noob question...

Why is the fast rope sequence a security concern?

Thank you

Thanks for the effort..at least people like us who were not at the scene were given a glimsp...

What do you mean?

More Noob Question CJ,

is the colibri quieter with the Fenestron rear blade?

Hellos,
We don't want people to know how fast our Commandos can perform a fast rope insertion, or let them know how many Commandos can be dropped in that period of time.

It's a fair request which I agree with. btw, we had three "minders" with us that morning (owd33, foxtrout8, CJ), plus one with bino from a hotel balcony. :ph43r:

re: Colibri. Seems quieter, but then again it's a light chopper.

re: Jerky camera. Agree. I guess I'll have to practice more. ;)

You made a good point about the closest point of approach to a hovering chopper. We were standing at what we thought was a safe spot, away from the moving vehicles when the EC120 swooped in and took up its covering position very close to us. The Milnuts NSmen are very safety conscious one....


A Ford Everest Ops Utililty Vehicle (OUV) from 2 PDF on standby. The crew gamely posed for us.





Red Team scans the Rasa Sentosa hotel premises. Their choice of attire closely resembles what the Mumbai terrorists wore during their rampage.



Home Team and 2 PDF personnel being sand blasted by the Colibri. Pity, none had goggles on at the time. To their credit, all held their positions

what camera were you using?

Canon Powershot S51S.

I got it in 2007 as a powerful zoom and lens that could fit the viewfinder of a NVD were two key requirements.

for video you might like to consider the Panasonic TZ7 which I got recently. good 25-300mm lens with 720p HD video, I used it during IMDEX, pretty good result especially for daytime usage.

IIRC They call the everest the OUV or something like that.

Ops Utility Vehicle. Yep, that's it.

But 2 PDF has pick ups armed with GPMGs too? I forgot what they're called and my notes are at home.

Should be the Light Patrol Vehicle.

Link

Yeah, the Isuzu pick up trucks.

I wonder if you can dismount the GPMG asap from the top of the Ford Everest SUV for support fire on foot.

Pick-ups with MGs?

The SAF uses *technicals*?