7644 Squadron personnel played an important part at the national event for the UK's first Armed Forces Day.

Saturday 27 June was a chance for the public to celebrate, take a close-up look at service life and chat to personnel of all ages, services and ranks. The Historic Dockyard at Chatham in Kent was the location of the national event. It was bathed in glorious summer sunshine all day, and over 30,000 people came to visit.

Operations colleagues from the Ministry of Defence in managing the huge media interest in the Chatham event were 7644's Squadron Leader Howard Leader, who assisted and accompanied a number visiting TV crews. He also appeared as an interviewee during a live broadcast on BBC News. Flight Lieutenant Stephen Jolly accompanied visiting press photographers around the site, and Mr Greg Taylor assisted with the running of the giant video screens around the site. He also managed to find time to fit in some traditional journalism, with Tameside Sea Cadets and their window ladder display team getting the "home town story" treatment.

The Chatham event included a tri-service parade through the town by 200 currently-serving personnel and 450 veterans. The Prime Minister, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Chief of the Defence Staff took the salute as the parade arrived at the Dockyard.

With so much to see and do, visitors had a challenging time packing everything in. The many exhibitions and displays offered the chance to glimpse life on the front line, with demonstrations of the latest equipment and technology.

There was music and song between the many formation and combat displays. Re-enactments provided a glimpse into history, and onlookers were wowed by a stunning tri-service display on the River Medway. In the sky there was a breathtaking flypast from the veteran aircraft of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and an appearance from the legendary Red Arrows.

Children and young people were kept particularly busy too, with digital shooting ranges, climbing and abseiling challenges and an inflatable assault course that was much harder than it looked. There were also rides to be had in RAF fast jet simulators, from which many woozy people were seen emerging, and all manner of tanks and vehicles were thrown open for exploration.