March 20:SWINDON TA platoons are now on 24-hour notice to handle major incidents such as terrorist attacks.

Members of the Swindon platoon of the Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire TA regiment will now have 24 hours to report to their base and help the police, ambulance and fire services if there is a major disaster.

The Civil Contingency Reaction Force of the TA has been in force since Saturday, but soldiers in Swindon will only begin their training for duties such as evacuation, security, first aid and chemical attack protocol in July, and will not be fully trained until Christmas.

They also only have about 60 per cent of the equipment they need to carry out these duties, and vital things like trucks and radios are missing.

The Swindon platoon has 30 men, but only enough transport for 20.

Lt Marcus Dicks, 33, said: "We were given a lecture and a video on Saturday, and told that from then on we could be called up with just 24 hours notice if there was a catastrophic incident that the police, fire and ambulance couldn't cope with.

"What we would actually be doing is still a little vague, but there is talk of casualty evacuation, movement and control of displaced persons, setting up camps for displaced people, security duties and labouring tasks.

"What that actually means is anyone's guess, but from what they said I think they would only use us for something really catastrophic like September 11 or the Bali bombing."

Pte Gordon Smith, 21, said: "They showed us a video on Saturday with lots of footage of September 11 and the Bali bombing and it really shocked me and made me think.

"I think if it was something as terrible as that we would all want to help anyway by doing whatever we can."

Lt Dicks said: "We have been training for peace-keeping duties since January, and a lot of the duties, such as keeping the local population calm, conducting evacuations and manning check points are the same.

"We already do first aid and radiological, chemical and biological incident training as part of the TA, so I think we should be able to do most of what we are called upon to do.

"The Swindon platoon will be going to Lithuania in June on a peace keeping exercise, and after they come back from that we will start training for the CCRF, and it will take us until Christmas to be fully trained.

"We are also short on kit. I have enough transportation for 20 men, but there are 30 in this platoon.

We are also short of radios, gas masks and radiation suits, and we have no sandbags or fluorescent vests at all.

"We are all just hoping that nothing catastrophic happens between now and Christmas."

Cpl Howard Roger, 33, who works for Wiltshire County Council in environmental services, has been in the TA for 12 years.

He said: "This is a real change to the role of the TA, it is almost becoming two jobs, civilian and military.

"The real change is that we have to be prepared to be called up 24-hours a day, whereas before we had two weeks to mobilise.

"So we have to keep mobiles with us at all times, just in case we are needed.

"All we have been told is that it would be a catastrophic disaster, we don't really know any specifics."

Sgt Jamie Ross, 32, who has been in the TA for15 years, said: "It is a bit different to what we have been used to, and the new roles seem to be more like retained firefighters than the traditional TA.

"We haven't had any special training yet, but I think we are all the type of people who couldn't just sit back and watch if a major disaster happened.

"We will be doing the kind of thing that any member of the public would be happy to do in case of emergency."

Furniture maker Pte Carl Young, 21, has been in the TA just over a year.

He said; "I think this is a good idea, that if the blue light services can't cope, you use the TA."