CBE for Angus-born officer Group Captain Neil Laird

An Angus-born RAF officer has been awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in recognition of his history-making leadership role on the Afghanistan front line.

RAF Group Captain Neil Laird received the recognition in a newly-released operational honours list issued by the Ministry of Defence in relation to service in the war zone from April to September last year.

The former Forfar Academy pupil was among 131 service personnel honoured, 31 of whom are with the RAF with a trio of CBE recipients on the prestigious list.

Group Captain Laird, whose parents Ivan and Beth live at Justinhaugh, near Forfar, has performed two tours in Afghanistan in a career which has also involved service in Iraq and Northern Ireland.

Gp Cpt Laird’s award citation stated he was “deployed to Afghanistan as Commander Joint Aviation Group (COMJAG) with 40 aircraft of six different types and from five forces, committed to supporting UK units engaged in highly kinetic operations.

“He conducted combined UK/US aviation operations over an extended period for the first time in history. Complete integration with the US Marine Wing worked whilst protecting and enhancing UK equity.”