Relief and aid

We’re a fighting force but that’s not all we do

We’re also committed to providing relief and aid to countries that need it most.

International relief and aid operations

Whether delivering life-saving shelters, food supplies or even airlifting people to safety, it’s our job to be there and make it happen. Here are a few recent examples of our relief and aid operations:

Operation Garron
This was our operation delivering aid to those affected by the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004. Our participation started on New Year’s Day 2005. We had an extremely unusual load to carry. The supplies varied from tarpaulins for shelter, generators and water purification tablets to 22-ton forklift trucks. Loading the trucks alone took incredible skill and very precise calculations to make sure that they were totally secure in transit.
Pakistan earthquake, November 2005
After any earthquake, getting medical supplies, food and shelter to victims is the highest priority. Our RAF Chinook helicopters were part of the global United Nations aid mission. Even the remotest places needed our assistance, so we were also working alongside the Pakistani Air Corps to survey the devastated terrain.
Hurricane Katrina, September 2005
The hurricane that hit the USA in September 2005 caused appalling damage to coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. It was our job to get over 500,000 military-style ration packs out to areas where all the food supplies had been contaminated.

What’s it like to be involved in an aid operation?

It can be ‘…very emotional’ says Flight Lieutenant Ian McWilliam, on his participation in Operation Garron (for the tsunami in Indonesia). ‘A great deal of planning has been going on behind the scenes since the disaster happened’ and people were ‘...pulling out all the stops’, regardless of their level within the RAF, so that aid got there in time.