Todays RAF Regiment

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!

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.