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Today's RAF Regiment pages, are dedicated to current serving
members of the RAF Regiment, with stories and pictures from various
sources including Gunners currently serving in the Corps.
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 An
elite specialist force has been set up to provide back-up for the UK Special
Forces and strengthen counter-terror operations, Defence Secretary John Reid
confirmed. The unit will be based at the St Athan military base near Cardiff and
will consist of highly trained personnel drawn from the Royal Marines, Parachute
Regiment and RAF Regiment.
It will support Special Forces operations world-wide for example by launching
diversionary attacks or providing fire support. Every soldier in the Special
Forces Support Group (SFSG) unit has been given specialist training to fit
specific roles in the force.
All the soldiers have also passed either the Royal Marines Commando course, the
Airborne Forces Selection course run by the Parachute Regiment or the RAF
Pre-Parachute Selection course. They will wear the new SFSG insignia which is a
dagger, like that worn by Special Forces, run through by a lightening flash as
well as the cap badges of their parent units.
The group falls under the operational command of the Director of Special Forces
and is part of the UK Special Forces Group. Previously the kind of tasks
assigned to the SFSG have been done by other units.
In 2000 a company of 1 Para created a diversion for Special Forces to rescue
hostages in Sierra Leone by attacking a rebel camp and trapping rebel
reinforcements.
In a statement to the House of Commons today Mr Reid, said: "The new Special
Forces Support Group will enhance the capability of the UK Special Forces to
operate around the world and will provide the UK with an additional
counter-terrorist capability. I am pleased to be able to inform the House that
the new Special Forces unit stood up, as planned, in St Athan, near Cardiff on
April 3."
© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2006, All Rights Reserved.
 51
Sqn RAF Regiment foiled an attempt to rocket a British base at Basra
Airport in Iraq.
The actions of RAF Lossiemouth's 51 Squadron RAF Regiment led to the
seizure of almost 60kgs of high explosives and fuses.
Sergeant Jonathon Tointon, 35, and Corporal Harry Jardine, 27, prevented
a man in a canoe from placing rockets for a night-time attack from a
river bank. They later played a key role in detaining the suspected
insurgent.
Sgt Tointon commands a close precision attack section which consists of
eight sniper-trained troops from 51 Squadron.
In their duty to provide security at Basra Airport they set up a covert
observation post overlooking a nearby river.
From their hiding place, Sgt Tointon and Cpl Jardine watched as a man
paddled past in a canoe to a point 50m away and unload rockets on to the
river bank.
When the team made a move to seize the man, he jumped into the river and
swam to the opposite bank before running off.
The three 122mm rockets left behind each contained 18kgs of explosive.
We have spent long nights up to our waists in mud and water being bitten
by mosquitoes, but when you help to prevent something that could hurt
other people, it makes it all worthwhile
In a follow-up operation, members of 51 Squadron identified two houses
to watch and later detained a man and found rocket fuses. The suspect is
being held at a British detention facility awaiting handover to the
Iraqi Criminal Prosecution Authority. Sgt Tointon said: "Some people go
their whole careers without being involved in something like this.
"We have spent long nights up to our waists in mud and water being
bitten by mosquitoes, but when you help to prevent something that could
hurt other people, it makes it all worthwhile. "Fortunately, I have a
cracking team and they responded to the situation brilliantly."
Cpl Jardine added: "All the way through, I just wanted to get a result.
I was so chuffed that we arrested the suspect as we had worked really
hard in that area for a long time."
Officer Commanding 51 Squadron RAF Regiment, Squadron Leader Ian
Cumming, 37, said: "I am tremendously proud of everyone who was involved
in the events of that night. "The whole squadron pulled together and got
a fantastic result, which I am sure will result in the suspect being
successfully handed over to the Iraqi authorities for prosecution."
Pictures below are of 2 SQN RAF Regt (Airborne) in Belize in October
2003 where they were the first British unit to achieve the new Jungle
Warfare Qualification (see press release below)
The RAF Regiment's 2 Squadron, based at RAF Honington, will be the first
unit in the British military to achieve the new Jungle warfare
Specialist qualification. The Squadron, which is the elite airborne unit
within the RAF Regiment, is currently in the jungles of Belize, central
America, working towards the Jungle Specialist qualification. To do so 2
Sqn is required to survive and operate continuously for a period of 28
days in an environment that is considered by many warfare experts to be
the toughest in the world.
So far "Gunners" of 2 Sqn have faced a training regime of increasing
complexity and the tempo designed to stretch their individual field
skills as well as introduce them to section, Flight and Squadron unit
tactics for jungle warfare. These new skills will be used in a Sqn size
offensive exercise in mid October (2003), which will be the culmination
of 2 Squadrons 28 days in the Jungle
The Jungle training area known as Gallon Jug, is a 50K square and next
to the Guatemalan border in the west of Belize. In the near future the
Jungle Warfare Training centre, currently situated in Brunei , will move
permanently to Belize. Commenting on his men during taking part in
jungle training , the Officer Commanding 2 Squadron, Sqn Ldr Jamie
Kendell said " As individuals this will fundamentally change the way
they soldier... for the young men who successfully come through this it
will be a very big achievement".
Click to Enlarge all Pictures
 
  
  
Thanks to "Corporate Communication" RAF Strike Command
for the pictures above , please note all pictures above are also
© Crown Copyright 2003
The RAF Regiment on Patrol July 2006 BASRA, IRAQ
Further information go to page 2 below
Go to page 2
Go to page 3
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The Battle Of Al-Waki Market, Basra
Video
An RAF infantryman has been awarded the Military Cross for "outstanding
courage" in a fire fight near Basra.
Corporal David Hayden, from Spalding in L incolnshire,
received the award for bravery of the "very highest order" during the
Iraq incident last August.
When his regiment came under attack, 29-year-old Cpl Hayden helped move
a fatally wounded colleague to cover.
The serviceman was awarded the medal for showing outstanding gallantry
when 1 Squadron RAF Regiment came under attack in Al-Waki - a village
near Basra.
When Leading Aircraftman Martin Beard was fatally shot, Cpl Hayden moved
him into cover with the help of a colleague and fired back, killing a
Taliban soldier.
It was the first time an RAF regiment had been involved in a major foot
patrol battle since British forces arrived in 2003.
The citation for his medal said: "Without a second thought for his own
safety, Hayden volunteered to carry the injured man out of the fire
fight.
"He dashed across open ground under a hail of enemy small arms fire."
Receiving his honour, Cpl Hayden paid tribute to the bravery of his
colleagues: "There is no I in team, we are one big team and I dedicate
this to all the lads in 1 Squadron RAF Regiment.
"There wasn't just me on the ground that day, there were another 40
blokes who seemingly did as much as I did," he said.
51 Sqn RAF Regt are currently on operations at Kandahar (
Afghanistan ) SAC Paul "Goody" Goodfellow,
is part of 51 Sqn and has sent the following pictures and information.
51 Sqn have taken over from 2 Sqn RAF Regt
and are deployed at KAF until September 2007.
The Sqn have already found a rocket
that could have been used against the air base. so have already
had a good find.
Paul will send the web site updates when
possible to let us all know how things are going for the Sqn.
Click on the images to enlarge.
Paul is also doing a video diary and is armed
with a combat camera. All the footage gets sent to London on a
Friday. Then each week they add the videos to YouTube and
the RAF Careers website. Its not up and running yet as he only
been there for 3 weeks and they wanted a month of video before
going live with it
14/5/2007 : Afghanistan - Week = Ive Lost Count!
Hello Everyone,
Ive now been in Afghanistan for, well to be honest, Ive totally
lost count of the weeks, as I work a funny rotation system, and
the days seem to roll into one, and the weeks into days. I know
that each time I see the sun rise over the mountains, Im one
more day closer to coming home, so thats all that counts.
My experiences over here have been amazing. The terrain like Ive
said many times before is quite remarkable. And seeing such a
different culture with different attitudes and values is great
stuff.
I seem to learn something new everyday, as I thought originally
it would be just like Iraq. But Ive found the Afghan's are very
different from the Arabs. Most Afghan's actually hate Pakistan
and Iraq, the two main bordering countries. This is because they
believe that these two countries cause all the trouble in Afghan
to keep there countries in a good state.
 
Paul and other's Aug 07
Today I spent the day in the Field Hospital. I sat through 3
major surgeries. I saw a young Afghani woman have her leg
amputated. Was interesting to see how talented the surgeons are
and how remarkable they are. Very talented men and women. But It
made me so sad and down. I was there living the experience with
a casualty of war. This woman had been caught up in the cross
fire. She also had bad shrapnel wounds. For all the good work
the surgeons did to stitch her up, the scars will live with her
forever.
But this is the reality of war, and at times, its not a nice
thing. I learned a lot today, and I got to put drips in people
and give a few needles, and even played my part in the operating
theatre, by giving oxygen and putting the casualty to sleep. It
was good to get hands on, but by the end of my third surgery, I
felt quite sick. I now think the sight of a shrapnel wound will
not bother me as much though, as I got to see it all today. I'd
like to think Im now prepared for the worst, but fingers crossed
Its the last sight of this injury I ever see!
Operation Herrick (Afghanistan)
© UK Crown copyright 2007
15 June 06 34 Squadron RAF Regiment
will deploy to Kandahar Airfield
Secretary of State for Defence Des Browne MP talks
with British troops during a visit to Lashkar Gar, southern Afghanistan
on Monday 12 June 2006.
"Kandahar Airfield plays an essential role in the British and Allied
military commitment to the rebuilding of Afghanistan, a role that is
likely to increase as the NATO-led International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF) expands into the south of the country. It is important,
therefore, that collectively we ensure the Airfield and the aircraft
that use it are suitably protected.
"The UK has been using Kandahar as a base for its Harrier GR7 Force
since September 2004 and now has much of our deployed helicopter fleet
there. It is only right that the UK shares some of the burden in
protecting this joint facility. While we currently provide some help, we
are well placed to make that help still more effective. We have a
specialist airfield defence capability that few of our partners have and
the skills it would bring will enhance security arrangements at Kandahar
Airfield.
"I have accordingly decided to commit the 130-strong 34 Squadron of the
RAF Regiment to Kandahar Airfield. This unit will deploy within the next
few weeks and join Afghan, Canadian, Romanian and US forces defending
the Airfield and its environs.
"I am confident that this is an appropriate national contribution to the
crucial task of protecting a facility of central importance to the
success of the wider NATO mission in Afghanistan."
Kandahar Airfield is the centre for our logistical support to our
operations in Southern Afghanistan. It is the home to our Harrier GR7
detachment, and our detachments of AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopters,
CH-47 Chinook Support Helicopters and Lynx utility helicopters. The
Headquarters of the Multinational Brigade (South), to which we
contribute some staff, is also on the Airfield. In total, we have about
500 personnel based there.
The RAF Regiment, picured here on patrol in southern Iraq, will provide
force protection at Kandahar airfield.
[Picture: Harland Quarrington]
The Secretary of State has previously explained in a Parliamentary
Statement that the Airfield is of central importance to the success of
the wider NATO mission in Afghanistan. Deploying a specialised airfield
defence capability means that we shall make our contribution to its
protection still more effective without needing to take away from their
main duties other, often highly specialised, personnel.
Kandahar Airfield has been subject to periodic attacks, mostly by rocket
fire. The RAF Regiment, which is a specialised airfield defence unit,
will play an important role in keeping the Airfield, and everybody who
uses it, secure.
© Crown Copyright 1996-2006
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The RAF Regiment.net web
© site and The RAF Regiment from
1984 © Web site have been created by
Glen Beavis, both sites contain pictures and information gathered from
many sources, including my own personal knowledge.
Where possible I have given credit to the originators of
the information, if I have infringed any copyright laws then please
contact me.
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