On Tuesday 27th November 2018, a medal ceremony was held at Tactical Medical Wing (TMW), RAF Brize Norton, for the Defence Medical Services (DMS) personnel who deployed on Operation TRENTON 5.
The team of 29 RAF healthcare personnel deployed to the Role Two Hospital (R2H) in July 2018, under Operation TRENTON 5, the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. The RAF Doctors, Nurses, Medics and Allied Health Professionals were drawn from nine different RAF Units and were deployed under TMW. In South Sudan they provided secondary healthcare medical treatment for over 1800 deployed UN personnel. During their first week of the deployment they were faced with a major medical incident (MMI) when a Ghanaian peacekeeping troop carrying vehicle had overturned into a waterway.
Invited to the medal ceremony were many VIPs including Air Marshal Stuart Atha, Deputy Commander Operations, Air Commodore Clare Walton, Commander of Defence Medical Group (DMG), Air Commodore Stephen Kilbey, Head of the RAF Medical Services (RAFMS), Group Captain Michael Priestley, Command Med Operations and Group Captain Dan James, RAF Brize Norton Station Commander. Also present were friends and family members of the deployed personnel, who proudly watched on as their loved ones discussed their best moments of being in South Sudan and were presented with their well-deserved medals by Air Marshal Stuart Atha, Deputy Commander Operations. The ceremony concluded with a speech from Air Marshal Atha, praising the servicemen and women for their work during the deployment.
“This was my first deployment and the first deployment of an RAF hospital in 27 years, so a very big occasion. Today means a lot to me, it’s good to be recognised for the contribution we made while we were out there.”
Corporal Daniel Parkes
Theatre Nurse, Operation TRENTON 5
During the ceremony the medical staff were also commended for their successful handover of the facility to the Vietnamese unit, who took on the organisation of the R2H after receiving extensive training from the DMS personnel prior to their departure from South Sudan.
“I feel very privileged and honoured to have this as my first command task and coordinate the running of the hospital, it was very daunting, though every day you learn, and you build. We did an incredible job and the reason we did an incredible job was because I was gratefully supported by such incredible people. It’s a proud moment for me, to be able to come home to have achieved what we have and bring everybody back to their families and share this day particularly with our families.”
Squadron Leader Scott Fitzgerald
Officer Commanding Role Two Hospital, Operation TRENTON 5
