Eight personnel from 606 (Chiltern) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) based at RAF Benson are part of a Mobile Testing Team in support of Operation RESCRIPT; the military support to the UK’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The team left RAF Benson to complete training with British Army colleagues from the 4th Battalion Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment, alongside RAF Reserve colleagues from 4624 Squadron RAuxAF based at RAF Brize Norton. Following training on the task and the equipment they would be using, the team rehearsed numerous scenarios to ensure that they could provide the essential service as a Mobile Testing Unit at Reading Football Club.
They join other personnel from the Squadron who have been supporting Operation RESCRIPT in a variety of roles. Squadron Leader Andrew Bucknell, the Officer Commanding of 606 Squadron, explains:
“In total, 606 Squadron has mobilised 25 personnel in support of Operation RESCRIPT. Our personnel come from all regions in the UK and have a diverse range of skills. Our troops have been involved in varied tasks ranging from providing air liaison officers to guarding key installations. This task of providing mobile testing teams is certainly one none of our team expected to be doing when they joined up. We have engineers, drivers, suppliers and chefs amongst those that have deployed as part of the testing team. I’m delighted that we are able to assist and that our personnel are living up to our Squadron motto of being ‘steadfast in support’.
After five years as an RAF Reserve, Senior Aircraftman Alice Noakes is proud to be called upon to support the UK during the pandemic. The RAF Supplier explained:
“After several weeks of waiting and looking forward to getting involved, I am excited to finally get the call. This deployment is very different to my civilian job, where I am an administrator for an engineering company. It has been exciting having to adapt to the challenge, learn new skills and having to put them into practice straight away in order to fulfil my responsibilities.”
The 606 Squadron team are being led by Flight Sergeant Andrew Fuller and he is very proud of the attitude and flexibility that his personnel have shown, particularly deploying at short notice. He said:
“We were told that we were being put on 48 hours’ notice to move and then things have moved very quickly. The team has taken in a lot of information during some very intense training and have been very adaptable as plans were finalised. We have had to work long hours to get up to speed on the processes but everyone has taken everything in their stride.”
