31 SQUADRON EVENTS 2009

Execs Staff Ride:
In March 2009 OC 31 and the Flt Cdrs of 31 Sqn conducted a 3 day staff ride.  They visited the Battle of Britain operations room which is located in Uxbridge as well as the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum. They also visited the MOD main building and had a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament.

The purpose of a staff ride is to further the professional development of those participating as well as increasing awareness of important historical events and providing an exercise in leadership.  This particular staff ride gave the Executive team of 31 Sqn a deeper understanding of strategic issues facing the UK, using past events to link to current issues.

The visit to the MOD provided an excellent update on current issues through discussions with the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff and those responsible inside the MOD for equipment capability, resources and plans.  The staff ride was deemed to be a great success and of great value to all of those involved.

Medals Ceremony:
Following 31 Sqn’s tour of duty in Iraq - as part of the RAF’s contribution to Op Telic – in October/November 2008, a medals ceremony was held at RAF Marham in early March 2009.  RAF Marham’s Station Commander, Gp Cpt Colin Basnett presented medals to 31 Sqn personnel who had conducted air operations over Iraq for the first time and therefore earned the Op Telic medal.  There were also several members of 31 Sqn who had previously been to Afghanistan as part of Op Herrick and these medals were also presented by the station Commander.

The ceremony was held inside one of 31 Sqn’s hardened aircraft shelters, in front of a Tornado GR4 painted in full 31 Sqn colours.  This provided an unforgettable setting for the many friends and family who attended the event and who were invited to attend a drinks reception and tour of the Sqn after the ceremony.

Ex Flying Rhino:
31 Sqn took part in Exercise Flying Rhino – the Sqn’s major exercise for 2009 – which was held at Namest Airbase in the Czech Republic for 3 weeks in April and May. Flying Rhino is a large exercise involving several thousand personnel from the RAF, British Army as well as our Czech Armed Forces colleagues.  It provides a great opportunity to practice Air Land Integration and is important training for Joint Tactical Air Controllers (JTACs), aircrew who were providing Close Air Support (CAS) for the army and a Divisional HQ.

31 Sqn deployed 6 Tornado GR4 aircraft from RAF Marham on the morning of Friday 24th April with all of the jets getting airborne successfully and on time! The exercise commenced on the following Monday with sorties being flown day and night for the next 3 weeks.  The engineering team achieved a 100% record during Flying Rhino in terms of jet serviceability – an outstanding result.  (91 sorties were flown out of a planned 98 with the 7 lost sorties down to poor weather. The exercise was also a success in terms of the qualifications gained by both aircrew and the JTACs, with many achieving ‘Combat Ready’ status.

During Flying Rhino the Sqn hosted many visits from the Army as well as our Czech hosts.  Members of 31 Sqn were given the opportunity to go flying in Czech AF Albatross jets, Hind helicopter gunships and RAF Hawk jets – leaving a few people a little worse for wear – and there were several visits to the Army out on the ranges in the field.  The Sqn also conducted a staff ride to Krakow and nearby Auschwitz in Poland which, although an extremely sobering visit, was agreed by all to be a ‘must do’ event.

Vietnam Staff Ride:
In June 2009, ten 31 Sqn personnel – along with five further personnel from other sections around RAF Marham – were fortunate enough to travel to Vietnam for a nine day staff ride. They were accompanied on the visit by two renowned academics from the Staff College at Shrivenham. The particular purpose of this staff ride was to link past events to current Operations, further the knowledge of those participating in the staff ride of military history and to enhance team spirit.

The team travelled from Bangkok and Hanoi and then made the long journey down the hazardous road to Dien Bien Phu – the site of the French defeat in Vietnam.  They visited Na San Airbase which was successfully defended by the French and is a great example of combined arms warfare. A day in Hanoi looked at strategic targeting and Rules Of Engagement issues with further places visited including Khe Sanh, Lang Vei and Heu – all sites of significance in the Vietnam War.

This staff ride was the first Western military visit of this nature to Vietnam and has paved the way for other organisations – such as the Air Warfare Centre – to do the same.