IX (B) SQN – MISSIVE FROM TELIC

Website update – 18 December 2008

The main party arrived safely – if a little late – after the usual bus ride to South Cerney (2nd time lucky) followed by a spacious Tristar KC1 flight (sans hand luggage). The Advance Party did us proud and ensured that the arrivals procedures were as painless as possible and everyone was sorted for accommodation by 11 pm. Some took advantage of the final day on November’s Beer Card to strike out, whereas others just retired. With no flying programmed the next day the shift workers took the opportunity to adjust their body clocks with A Shift taking on Days and B Shift trying to sleep in ready for Nights. Young Deg Sussex learned a valuable lesson in the art of securing your inherited bed space on detachment. When opening his room door, he was pleasantly surprised to find a 28” TV on the fridge with access to several BFBS channels and DVD player. Foolishly, he left his door on the latch when he went for a shower and returned to find his TV had shrunk to a rather dusty 14” portable.

Once at work the old sweats dropped back into the familiar routine but it was a new experience for several of the fledgling AMMs. Fortunately, the weather this time of the year is akin to a balmy British summer day with temperatures reaching a steady at 25ºC and dropping to 12 ºC of a night. This made working conditions quite comfortable and gives us something to smile about as we watch the weather forecast from home. Unfortunately, the engineering accommodation is the world’s most efficient thermal blanket and the temperature in the Managers’ office never drops below 35 ºC!

The cooler weather is probably responsible for many of the groundcrew opting for a natural approach to maintaining the temperature of the upper lip. The traditional RAF ‘tache has not really been in vogue since the late ‘80s and was never a very positive fashion statement then. So, in the 21st Century, it is a sight to behold with people falling into 2 distinctive camps. There are the small, neat, trim ‘taches that, combined with the short back and sides, hark back to a more innocent time of the ‘60s Carry On era and are reminiscent of the comedy window cleaner in his dustcoat and flat cap. At the other end of the scale is the rather more disturbing Jason King style that brings to mind the niche film actors that are not necessarily employed for their thespian skills.

The build up to Christmas is palpable and many brought festive decorations with them, getting into the spirit of the Season. The accommodation is festooned with lights and tinsel with Princess, Dave Trimby, & Gav Jackson leading the pack. Coincidentally, Gav Jackson and Dave Trimby found that Christmas had come early in their room when their dusty 14” portable TV (not really befitting of 2 JNCOs) magically transformed into a much more watchable 28” screen. Communication with home is much improved with the US provided wireless internet covering The Bra area. The whole place lights up of a night with the twinkle of laptops and the hunt is always on to find a free power point.

A football competition running throughout December has not been the walk over we anticipated. Several ignominious defeats and the SEngO on crutches were more than we bargained for. But the excellent sports facilities and pools are more than welcome. IX(B) Sqn have already made their mark in the Oasis (Brit Bar) with Kev Forshaw, Angie Palmer and Stu Bowers arranging Quizzes and BBQs.

At work IX(B) Sqn have notched up another first with Heepsy and Kenny Maclean taking Brimstone DMS on its inaugural operational flight. This was not without challenge and a lot of work was done by Freebs and Kev Forshaw to bring the Operators and Engineers schedules respectively up to a workable standard. See attached pictures. We are also very proud of the 100% launch record, a testament to the hard work and professionalism of the Sqn Engineers.

We are all looking forward to Christmas in the sun and are all wondering what Santa has got for us. The next update will bring news of the festive celebrations.


Photos supplied by IX (B) Squadron on detachment