606 Sqn Reservists parade for HM the Queen.

A group of Reservists from 606(Chiltern) Squadron based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire recently joined other members of the RAF Reserves to parade in front of HM the Queen at RAF Marham.

The occasion was the presentation of a new Sovereigns Colour to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and a further presentation of Squadron standards to the units from RAF Marham and RAF Honington.

Those from RAF Benson had a long trip up by road on a busy Friday afternoon, but arrived just in time to get a bit of spit and polish done to uniforms before a trip to the bar to quench the thirst.

The following day it was onto the drill square for practise, practise and more practise, under the careful eyes of the RAF Regiment Drill instructors, to ensure only the best was going to be delivered to Her Majesty.

Accommodation was basic for the trip, although nobody complained, the gym floor was dry and warm, so better than some Saturday nights accommodation in the field.

Come the big day and a bit of rehearsal time it was time to get on with the parade and the 4 flights marched on to begin the ceremony.

The weather couldn't have been better, although the cooling breeze did mean chinstraps were worn.

The team from 606 took all in their stride and did the Sqn proud on such a big day.



LAC Jim Izzard from Oxfordshire added ' Other than the birth of my Son & marrying my wife it was the proudest day of my life..Living the dream..."The Queen God Bless Her".'

Interested in joining the RAF Reserves?

Interested in joining 606 (Chiltern) Squadron, something extra for your weekends, meet different people and get outside and keep fit?

We will be holding an open evening on Thursday 15 April, if you want to find out more about RAF Reserve service and meet those that are members of the unit drop us an e-mail for further details.

recruiting@606sqn.com for more details.

Catching up on Squadron activities.

Hi

Its been a while and I just dont know where the time has gone? Before we know it we are already on top of the next Salisbury Plain exercise and plans are going well for the event.

Support to Military Operations around the world have continued at a steady pace, our Gunners have returned from service in Kandahar, whilst the Logistics Flight have continued their support to operations at Camp Bastion. Support to training is ongoing with members of the HQ being deployed to Kenya. Throughout the Grand Prix exercises members of Ops flight have been deployed to support the Joint Helicopter Force (Kenya).

Back at home the first 3 training weekends of the year have gone very well, with all squadron members completing their annual common core skills training, so thats the gas done for 12 months.

The flights have been carrying out a varied list of activities, MT Drivers have just completed convoy training, Ops flight have run a couple of table top planning exercises and the Regiment have been busy training the new intake of Gunners.

Recruiting activities are going really well, our first two open events of the year have seen great response from potential recruits. A cold, foggy, frosty night in January saw a record turn out for the time of the year, so a busy year ahead for the training team I feel.

Anybody interested in attending the next open event on April 15th at RAF Benson should e-mail recruiting@606sqn.com for details.

Thats it for now more to follow soon.

A couple of images from recent unit activities.

Our Chiltern Kite exercise in April 09, we were fortunate to be supported by 2 x Puma helicopters from 33 Sqn, also based at RAF Benson. Throughout the weekend sqn staff were able to practise their skills. These included helicopter refuels, working with underslung loads and of course flying in the aircraft to carry out patrols and practise vehicle stops.

Well here we go with the start of another new venture for 606 Sqn. Having seen the great work of our colleagues over at 7644 Sqn, I thought that perhaps this may be another way to help with communication / awareness of 606 at RAF Benson.

Lets see how it develops as ever happy to take suggestions of how we can improve.