Standing Joint Command (SJC): Resilience of the UK
SJC commands the Joint COVID Support Force assisting Her Majesty’s Government at this time of national crisis, but they have been at work long before this, assisting with floods, fires and counter-terrorism, keeping Britain safe at home
SJC is at the heart of the defence contribution to this outbreak as they are the command and control structure for the COVID Support Force. But they have been playing a vital role in supporting the UK long before this.
Though you may not think you have seen the work of SJC, you have probably seen more than you know.
“The responsibility here is to command all those troops from the Navy, the Army and the Air Force, assigned to me in support of resilience operations in support of the government.”
— Lieutenant-General Tyrone Urch, Commander SJC
SJC is staffed by five different areas who all work together — the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, civil servants and contractors.
So, it really doesn’t matter what colour uniform they are wearing, or even no uniform at all, when tasked, whoever it is will be supporting another government department — it could be Defra, the Environment Agency, the Home Office or someone else.
All the staff at SJC work collaboratively in four areas; Current Operations, Future Operations, Plans, Policy and Development.
For SJC, business as usual is keeping UK resilient which involves conducting, commanding and looking after operations around the country.
Whether there is a flood or fire, assisting the police with counter-terrorism operations or dealing with an unexploded bomb from World War 2, every single one of those sent to help other government departments are commanded by the SJC.
“Every time there’s a flood, every time there’s a fire, every single one of those military people that’s on the streets helping other government departments, that could be the police, could be the home office, could be the environment agency all of those troops are commanded by the SJC”
— Lieutenant-General Tyrone Urch, Commander SJC
They will also have military planners doing contingency planning, whereby they plan for disasters and events which may occur, so that if they do happen the military and supporting civilians are ready and prepared to assist.
When the government calls on the military to assist at times of need, it is called a MACA — Military Aid to Civil Authorities.
Our servicemen and women are called upon due to the specialist skills, experience, expertise and equipment they have to offer.
They have well-rehearsed systems in place for the military to provide support to civil authorities when required.
