| Operation Rescript | |
|---|---|
| Part of COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom | |
 An engineer from the British Army's Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers applying finishing touches to a Mobile Test Unit (MTU). | |
| Location | |
| Objective | Maintain public order, assist public services and civilian authorities in tackling the Coronavirus outbreak. |
| Date | 23 March 2020 – 2022 |
| Executed by |  United Kingdom |
| Part of a series on the |
| COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies |
|---|
 |
| (Part of the global COVID-19 pandemic) |
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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.[1][2] It was described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime" by the Ministry of Defence (MOD),[3] involving up to 23,000 personnel within a specialist task force, named the COVID Support Force (CSF).[4] The support 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.[5]
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 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 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 the Vaccine Delivery Programme.[6]
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,[7] and countering COVID-19 misinformation. It was one of two British military operations to assist with tackling 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.[8]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WrittenEvidencewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Haynes, Deborah (19 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Up to 20,000 troops on standby to help deal with COVID-19 outbreak". Sky News. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
peacetimewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
further3000was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
MACAwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
vaccinerollout2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
virusend1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Ministry of Defence written question – answered on 17th November 2022". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 26 January 2023.