that this was a big national problem.
This was a supra national problem
and an international pandemic
and if there was any way
in which we could be of assistance,
it was the right thing to do.
Because the lockdown happened fairly quickly,
all our routine business fell away.
So we were a pool of available manpower
that could be deployed.
And absolutely, I think it was the right decision
to employ us in whatever capacity was needed.
There were times when we were sitting there,
thinking should we be doing more, can we do more?
But it was very much our position
that we were there to support and assist when asked for.
But it took a little while
to work out how you could do that
without treading on too many toes,
without taking over
because that's quite natural for us.
We will just, right, I've got this,
I know how to do this problem,
so you will listen to me.
I'm gonna put it up on the whiteboard here
and make it all happen.
The way that you would expect to do
as part of what we call a break-in battle
to get established in a theater of operations,
you have to be very fast and aggressive and determined.
It was very kind of softly, softly
and just try this.
This works, I know this one works.
Look at it this way.
Maybe we'll start to red team something.
And someone said well, what's red teaming it?
So well, okay, well, you come up with a plan
and then we go through the plan
and I try and pull bits out of it
and I try and knock your house of cards over
because I'll go oh well,
actually you haven't thought of that.
(booing) And it'll. (booing)
And that was a tool they were really interested in
because then they realized,
this is something they do anyway,
we just call it something different.
And so there were times where you were coming
at the same problem from different angles.
And that meant that the plan that fell out of it
was more robust
because you'd had different ways of looking at it
and different thoughts.
And quite often some, quite vigorous challenge
in both directions,
which meant that when the plan was put into action
or put before the Director General for approval,
it was pretty solid.
