FOREWORD GP CAPT RICH PRATLEY, Foreword by
COMMANDING OFFICER, RAF WITTERING AND A4 FE COMMANDER
Much of the past four years for me has been focused on operations. Firstly as the Deputy Commander of Joint Force Support in Afghanistan; then as the Permanent Joint Headquarters logistics lead for Redeployment from Afghanistan; and for the past six months as the Station Commander and A4 Force Element Commander at RAF Wittering. The tempo of Service life seems to increase year on year and yet for the Servicemen and women, there is undoubtedly huge satisfaction from doing ajob that they know is important, and doing it well. But this is only part of the equation. What Ihave been increasingly convinced of,is that it is the families who are left behind who have the hardest job. Life on Ops is relatively straightforward: work, gym, eat, sleep, repeat! Whereas home life continues apace. Bills still to be paid, bins to be emptied, shopping to be done. It is something Iamacutely aware of.
The return of flying to Wittering this year,after a gap of around five years following the withdrawal of the Harrier from service, is hugely welcome. An RAF station is always better for the presence of aircraft! But the major focus of the Unit, and more widely those squadrons that are part of the A4 Force (the RAF’s deployable engineering and logistics capabilities), is on global support to operations and exercises. This means many personnel spending large parts of their year away from their families. It is important that we provide all the support that they need to do
their job. Equally, and arguably more importantly,is ensuring that we support those families at home. At Wittering, we have worked hard with avariety of organisations, to ensure families have the facilities and support they need while family members are away.While great strides have been made in this area, there is still more we can do. This is akey part of the moral component of Service life and it is imperative that we get it right.
None of us possess acrystal ball but 2016 looks set to be asimilarly frenetic year,with the same huge demands placed on Service personnel and their families. That means that Service charities will continue to be akey contributor to us delivering on operations through the outstanding work that they do across awide spectrum of activities. The Families Federation are in the vanguard of this and Ihave seen again and again in the relatively short time that Ihave been in my current job, how valuable their contribution is. Making adifference to so many peoples’ lives, being there when they are most needed, the Federation is akey part of wider Service life. I am extremely grateful for all the work that they do and the support to my team and the wider RAF that they provide.
www.raf-ff.org.uk
Spring 2016
7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52