LONDON (VINnews) —The head of the British Army, General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith went briefly missing after he was dropped in the wrong field during a training exercise, according to a report by The Sun.
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Carleton-Smith had hitched a lift on a Wildcat Helicopter to observe an MoD field exercise. But rather than the pre-agreed spot in the 300-square-mile training area, he was dropped off in a field about 600 metres away – triggering a “manhunt” for the “lost” ex-SAS commander, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. For a brief period of time, nobody knew where their most senior officer was, as he was in an area without mobile reception.
“There was an ‘Oh s–t moment’ when they realised they had lost the head of the army,” a defence source told the Forces Compare website. “His visit was a really big deal, and they had everything planned out.”
According to The Times, “frantic Whatsapp messages” were exchanged between the 56-year-old general’s staff and aides in the welcoming party “as the visit threatened to unravel”.
An anonymous army general told The Sun the mistake was not uncommon. “These things happen more than you might realise,” the source said. “It has happened to all of us.”
“Mark is a highly accomplished Special Forces operator,” the general added. “He can just look at the stars and navigate to where he needs to be. He is steeped in escape and evasion skills. I am sure he will see the funny side.”
“You have no idea where you are. It is only when [the helicopter] flutters off and it is quiet that you realise there is no one there, it is a bad sign,” Sir Mark was quoted as saying after he was found by a greeting party of soldiers.
The Army insisted that Sir Mark had not been lost, but was simply “not where they were expecting him”.
An unnamed official said: “The pilot circled overhead and decided to land at an alternative helicopter landing site, around 600 metres away from where they were expecting him to land … They knew where he was the whole time.”