SATAN’S Force is a dramatic name for an explosive exercise in which the Armed Forces train with civilian emergency services to prepare for terrorist threats.

The week-long exercise, in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, gives Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) crews the chance to hone the lifesaving skills they employ daily in warzones, and all too often in the UK.

Soldiers from 521 Squadron, part of 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps, based in North Yorkshire, are responsible for supporting civilian police across England and the North of Scotland.

Experts deal with issues such as builders digging up unexploded ordnance and animal rights activists sending letterbombs.

But it is in Afghanistan, where a quarter of the regiment’s strength is deployed, where the EOD operators have rightly earned their reputation as the bravest of the brave.

EOD operator Sergeant Gavin Roe said: “It is certainly not a job for the faint-hearted, but when you are dealing with a device, adrenaline doesn’t come into it – you are concentrating on the device and you are remembering your training.

“We are taking casualties whether it be by gunfire or from explosions from IEDs (improvised explosive devices), and when you know people who have died out in Afghanistan, it is a very sobering experience.

“But doing the job is very much about personal pride and about a sense of duty.

Bomb disposal experts undertake one of the most dangerous roles in the British military. Chris Fay finds out how they prepare “We are in a position to be able to save lives, so that is what we do.”

Soldiers from 521 Squadron, based in Catterick, were called out to an explosion in Hartlepool on Tuesday, where local man David Bagley, 58, died after a home-made bomb went off in his car.

Sgt Roe said: “We are very much the explosives experts.

“We deal with everything from bullets and ammunition to guided weapons systems and, of course, as our name suggests, explosive ordnance disposal.

“We assist the police as a military aid to civil powers. If anything is found, be it ammunition, unexploded ordnance or an IED we get called out to it and dispose of it safely.”

Not content with saving lives on the battlefield, the soldiers have set about raising money for charities that help victims of improvised explosive devices.

In June, eight two-man teams will undertake a 272- mile endurance run along the Pennine Way, in fewer than 100 hours, in aid of the British Limbless Ex-Serviceman’s Association and St Dunstan’s – a charity that helps blind and visually impaired servicemen and women.

The regiment has lost six EOD operators in recent years.

Corporal Michael Young, from 521 Squadron, said: “Unfortunately, we have lost people, friends and colleagues, and we have suffered a lot of serious casualties like double amputations and people losing their sight.

“These are the charities that seem to help the guys that are most seriously hurt, so these are the ones we want to support.”

To donate to the British Limbless Ex-Serviceman’s Association, visit justgiving.

com/pennine100pursuit To donate to St Dunstan’s, visit justgiving.com/pennine 100pursuit1