JORDAN OLIVER
thecourier.com.au
Saturday morning down at the Town Hall is usually pretty quiet, so when men in military uniforms were scouring every crevice of the historic building at the weekend, it drew a raised eyebrow from more than one passer-by.
But Ballarat residents - and councillors - need not fret, there was no bomb scare or incident of any kind.
About 40 members of the Army Reserve 4th Combat Engineer Regiment used parts of Ballarat to stage a mock scenario where a motorcycle gang was an active threat to a VIP, soon to arrive in the city.
The troops searched the Town Hall for any signs of potential danger before the visiting dignitary arrived, while teams practiced security drills at the Ballarat airport in readiness for the guest to fly in.
The final stage of the exercise was to search a biker-gang's compound on the outskirts of the city and raid a vehicle, allegedly containing weapons.
The 4th Combat Engineer Regiment is based in Ringwood and often makes trips to areas around Victoria to take part in life-like training.
Sergeant Kinyan McCall said Ballarat was a great place to train.
"It's good to come here because of the really old buildings - there's a lot of little crevices to search," he said.
"We're training to operate in Australia so this sort of practice is perfect."
Sergeant McCall said this particular scenario would be relevant for an approaching APEC summit, Commonwealth Games or other major event.
"It's good to do these things to keep our skills up so if anything does come up, we'll be ready."
But Ballarat residents - and councillors - need not fret, there was no bomb scare or incident of any kind.
About 40 members of the Army Reserve 4th Combat Engineer Regiment used parts of Ballarat to stage a mock scenario where a motorcycle gang was an active threat to a VIP, soon to arrive in the city.
The troops searched the Town Hall for any signs of potential danger before the visiting dignitary arrived, while teams practiced security drills at the Ballarat airport in readiness for the guest to fly in.
The final stage of the exercise was to search a biker-gang's compound on the outskirts of the city and raid a vehicle, allegedly containing weapons.
The 4th Combat Engineer Regiment is based in Ringwood and often makes trips to areas around Victoria to take part in life-like training.
Sergeant Kinyan McCall said Ballarat was a great place to train.
"It's good to come here because of the really old buildings - there's a lot of little crevices to search," he said.
"We're training to operate in Australia so this sort of practice is perfect."
Sergeant McCall said this particular scenario would be relevant for an approaching APEC summit, Commonwealth Games or other major event.
"It's good to do these things to keep our skills up so if anything does come up, we'll be ready."
