FEATURES
Until this stage in my service I hadn’t really had too much to do with Fast Jets but, this was to be altered when I came to Coningsby in deepest, darkest Lincolnshire. Rather like the rest of my career I seem to have had the happy knack of arriving on a unit just as a war was about to begin. Op Ellamy and the first operational deployment of the Eurofighter Typhoon was to be my first major challenge given that with 36 hours notice I was to deploy to Gioia Del Colle. I returned to Coningsby just in time for the lead up to the Olympics….need I say more? The word operational tempo took on a new meaning for the Typhoon Force and for me.
Leaving the best till last my time at Scampton with the Red Arrows arrived. Again my timing was impeccable because I became responsible for arranging one of the largest tours in recent history. The Middle Eastern Tour was certainly the highlight of my career to date. The sheer complexity of coordinating the logistics required to move 70 personnel, 11 aircraft around 10 countries all in 35 days was immense. Without exaggeration cities all over the Middle East came to a standstill as people gazed skyward to see the ‘Diamond 9’! To top it all off we returned from the tour to
commence celebrations for the 50th Display Season of the team. The year was filled with countless ‘once in a lifetime experiences’. What better career finale than to be part of the finest display team in the world, which, is the very epitome of the professionalism and skill for which the RAF is renowned.
There is a saying ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’ and I am very conscious
that life will never be quite the same the day I leave the Service. I am convinced that I will miss such an exciting, challenging and rewarding career as the one I have just enjoyed in the RAF. However, although I am now moving on, most importantly, the friendships I have made along the way will always remain. After all ‘what would life be like if it were not for friends’?
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