A Royal Air Force officer has been awarded a Polish medal at a ceremony held at the National Army Museum in London.
Squadron Leader Richard Lewis from RAF High Wycombe has been presented with the Polish Army Bronze Medal by the Polish Ambassador to the UK, Arkady Rzegocki at a reception held at the National Army Museum. The reception was held to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the accession of The Republic of Poland, The Czech Republic, and Hungary to NATO.
The award to Sqn Ldr Lewis recognises his service in the NATO headquarters in Kabul Afghanistan as part of Operation Resolute Support. During his deployment, Sqn Ldr Lewis was working alongside Polish and US officers advising on the implementation of Strategic Communications. For this work, Sqn Ldr Lewis has also been awarded the United States Army Commendation Medal.
“It was a privilege to be part of the UK contribution and to serve alongside my international colleagues on the Train, Advise and Assist mission in Afghanistan, and I am honoured to be recognised by the Polish and US Governments.”
Squadron Leader Richard Lewis
The Polish Ambassador said: "As we celebrate our 20th year in NATO, and on the 70th year of NATO we stand stronger together. We would like to present Sqn Ldr Lewis with our Army Bronze Medal for the fantastic work he did in Kabul on Op Resolute Support."
Operation Resolute Support is the NATO operation that is working with the Afghan Government to improve the Afghan security forces and has entered a significant period with the ongoing peace discussions in Doha Qatar and elsewhere. NATO strategic communication has therefore never been more important during operations in Afghanistan.
Sqn Ldr Lewis has now returned to the UK and is based at RAF High Wycombe with 11 Group in a training role.