Serco Wins One-Year Extended British Army Training Contract

Serco has been awarded by British Army a one-year extension to its Contemporary Operating Environment Force (COEFOR) training contract.

The military services company announced the contract at the DSEI exhibition stating that it will now deliver services to the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force out to December 2014 and the total value is £55 million with the one-year option.

COEFOR provides training and support to the British Army prior to deployment on operations. The original contract was awarded in April 2012 and is due to end in December 2013 but this option for a third extension will cover the period up to the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan.

There are four main parts to the COEFOR training contract: collective training; individual training; role-playing; and event management.

Serco described the pre-deployment services as ‘critical’ and includes equipping troops with language, cultural and operational environmental skills as well as training in realistic conditions. Although the primary focus is on Afghanistan, it also provides training for other deployments.

Some services are provided in partnership with SMEs, which supply some of the more specialist elements of the training such as the cultural and language parts and to provide demonstration personnel and casualty simulation. The main partners are Mabway and Amputees in Action.