7644 Squadron officer's hard work at Kandahar

7644 Squadron’s Flight Lieutenant Andy Wasley deployed to Afghanistan in June 2009 to support Operation HERRICK. Here, he gives a short outline of his activities at Kandahar Airfield and Camp Bastion.

“You cannot join the Royal Air Force Reserves without being prepared to serve overseas. For me, it was something I’d looked forward to – an opportunity to test my military and PR skills in one of the toughest places on earth, so I wanted to make sure that I was ready for action. Having packed my equipment, met the photographer I’d be working with, and explained everything to my employer, partner and family, I thought I was completely prepared for my deployment.

“Nothing, though, can prepare you for just how busy life on operations is. Over five weeks I visited just about every RAF unit at Bastion and Kandahar, from firefighters to flight operations teams. When you see and hear – and write about – the incredible work the RAF is doing to support operations in Afghanistan, you can’t help being left in awe of the men and women serving over there.

Airfield commander

“It’s very hard to pick a favourite story that I covered, but two stand out. First, I was privileged to spend 90 minutes talking to the busiest man of all, the Commander of Kandahar Airfield, Air Commodore Andy Fryer. Running a frontline airfield is a stressful and demanding job, but Air Commodore Fryer seemed to take it in his stride – and he certainly seemed to be enjoying the hard work.

“He was really keen to explain how the RAF and other British forces are working alongside our Nato and international allies. Kandahar is home to 30,000-odd people from all over the world, and it must be a challenge to keep it running. Writing a ‘day in the life’ story about Air Commodore Fryer’s job was absolutely fascinating.

Firefighters

“The second story that I found particularly enjoyable was about the RAF Firefighting Section at Camp Bastion. There’s a long-running – and slightly tired – joke in the RAF about firefighters spending too much time playing volleyball. The truth couldn’t be more different – Bastion’s firefighters are impressively busy and incredibly dedicated, with little time for volleyball or any other recreation.

“As well as being responsible for the safety of every single aircraft at Camp Bastion – not to mention the accommodation and working areas – the firefighters play a little-recognised role in helping to transfer injured personnel from helicopters to ambulances. It’s a terribly stressful and harrowing duty, but every single firefighter I spoke to described it as a privilege.

“While I was in Afghanistan I managed to turn out over 50 hometown news stories, as well as working with Sky News and the BBC – including producing my own interview with a triathlete for a local BBC TV station. It was hard work, but immensely rewarding. I really do look forward to doing it all again when the next opportunity arises.”