THE Royal Navy’s Submarine Escape, Rescue, Abandonment, Survival Training Facility (SMERAS TF) at HM Naval Base Clyde recently welcomed the 5000th student since opening its doors three years ago.

The state-of-the-art facility was officially opened by the Commodore in Chief Submarines, His Royal Highness Prince William on June 29, 2021.

Since then it has provided training for new and experienced submariners and civilian contractors, in the skills and techniques of surface abandonment, rescue by submersible and tower escape from submarines.

This significant milestone was marked with a visit from Captain Justin Codd, Captain Submarine Training, who presented a certificate to Warrant Officer 1(WO1), Ian Brown, one of the trainers who delivered the course to the 5,000th student.

The SMERAS training facility at Faslane has welcomed its 5,000th student.The SMERAS training facility at Faslane has welcomed its 5,000th student. (Image: Royal Navy)

Captain Codd said: “SMERAS is a world class training environment, which is at the forefront of training and qualifying all our submariners.

"Achieving the training milestone of over five thousand students is testament to the hard work and experience of the instructors. “   

The two-day training for Royal Navy submariners, and one day for civilian and non-Royal Navy students, is a fully immersive training experience, putting the student’s survival skills they have learnt to the test.

The climax of the course is an assessment in the Environmental Tank, or, as it has been called many times before, the ‘storm in a building’.

WO1 Ian Brown, or Buster, as he is best known, is one of 17 instructors at SMERAS and was delighted to receive the certificate to mark this important milestone.

Buster said: “I am proud to be part of the SMERAS team which is an example of how the Royal Navy has modernised its training capabilities to deliver to the submariners of today and to keep delivering well into the future for the submariners of tomorrow.”

The SMERAS training facility was opened by Prince William in June 2021.The SMERAS training facility was opened by Prince William in June 2021. (Image: Royal Navy)

Submariners are trained to the highest standards to help keep the nation safe. Some of the submariners trained at SMERAS are joining the thousands of people working to deliver the UK's Continuous At Sea Deterrent.

As the newest training facility in the Royal Navy, SMERAS has state-of-the-art facilities which never fail to impress.

For most students, the Environmental Tank is the highlight of the course with the SMERAS staff able to programme various sea state conditions, with wind, rain even thunder and lightning.