Operation Rescript is the code name for the British military operation to help tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies. It has been described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime" by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), involving up to 23,000 personnel within a specialist task force, named the COVID Support Force (CSF). The support is given at the request of the UK government, its devolved administrations and civil authorities (including the National Health Service (NHS)) through the Military aid to the civil authorities (MACA) mechanism. Launched in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic's first wave, the operation began with the airlifting of critical COVID-19 patients, logistical support, planning support and the formation of a . From April 2020, the CSF began helping plan, construct and staff several temporary critical care hospitals across the UK and also provided drivers and call handlers to reinforce ambulance services. In May 2020, the CSF helped with mass COVID-19 testing across the country to help reach a government target for 100,000 tests per day. These tests were largely carried out at mobile testing units which had been set up by the CSF in areas such as police stations, fire stations, care homes, prisons and benefit centres. During the pandemic's second wave, from September 2020, the CSF assisted with more mass testing and, from December 2020, began assisting with the UK's vaccination rollout through providing planning support, medical staff and constructing vaccination centres — a task which has been described as "unparalleled in its scale and complexity" by Brigadier Phil Prosser, Commander of Military Support to the Vaccine Delivery Programme. Other support provided by the armed forces has included the testing of the NHS' contact tracing phone application, NHS Test and Trace, the manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPE), the creation of disinfectants, including the Virusend formula, and countering COVID-19 misinformation. It is one of two British military operations to assist with tackling the pandemic; the other being Operation Broadshare which focuses on activities overseas, including within the British Overseas Territories (BOTs). (en)