F o r e w o r d FOREWORD BY
COMMANDER JOINT HELICOPTER COMMAND REAR ADMIRAL TONY JOHNSTONE-BURT
I
t is an enormous pleasure for me write a foreword for this excellent publication that does so much to connect the families of RAF Service personnel with the current topics of interest at both the local and national level. As Commander
Joint Helicopter Command, I may wear a Royal Navy uniform but my Joint-Service remit means that the RAF personnel and their families at RAF Benson, Odiham and Aldergrove as well as the Tactical Supply Wing in Stafford are all under my command and is a responsibility I take very seriously indeed.
I have a huge respect and admiration for those that strive tirelessly on your behalf to improve the lives of RAF families on an individual and collective basis. Their hard work and selfless determination have made an enormous contribution to the quality of life of all RAF Service families, and I believe that you have a Families Federation of which you should be justifiably proud.
The families of RAF Service personnel deserve this support in particular because you are probably the most important factor in enabling the RAF to sustain its significant current operational
Goodbye again?
commitment across the globe. In the JHC I have witnessed at first hand, our RAF Support Helicopters such as the Chinook, Merlin and Puma delivering continuously on
operations since 2003, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for some, this has been for far longer still.
This has led to formal recognition of their efforts through the unprecedented level of honours and awards for gallantry and bravery that have been awarded by Her Majesty The Queen.
But my view is that these honours and awards very much belong to you, our families, too. I am absolutely sure that our people could not perform the extraordinary acts of bravery and service without the unstinting and unquestioning support, security and love that you, their families and friends give them.
This is why families’ issues and the work of the RAF Families Federation are at the very top of my list of priorities, and because your loyalty, sacrifice and determination deserve the very best support. Thank you for all that you do for us.
Get some prayer support from the Armed Forces’ Christian Union
www.afcu.org.uk 01252 311221
www.raf-families-federation.org.uk Summer 2009 3
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