There were tears of joy and relief at RAF Leuchars as family and friends welcomed home around 170 personnel from Afghanistan.
The personnel from Number 58 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment, returned to RAF Leuchars on Wednesday following a seven-month deployment to Camp Bastion as part of the RAF’s contribution to the Nato mission in Afghanistan.
Deploying in October 2013 as part of Number 5 Force Protection Wing and alongside 51 Squadron from RAF Lossiemouth, 58 Squadron were engaged in providing protection to Bastion airfield and the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT), as well as assistance to the drawdown and withdrawal of UK forces personnel from the country.
Speaking to The Courier, the commanding officer of 58 Squadron, Squadron Leader Anthony Hutchinson, 38, said: “It’s fantastic. For the past two or three days the squadron’s been going through decompression and we’ve all been focused on this moment in time, to bring the squadron around the corner to see all the family and friends it was an amazing experience.”
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were an ever-present threat in Afghanistan and the weather had a significant impact on patrols.Click here for a full photo galleryThe first snowfall in Helmand Province for nearly a decade severely hampered movement.
Manning protection and extraction parties aboard RAF Chinooks in support to MERT brought the dangers so often faced by coalition and Afghan forces sharply into focus.
But Squadron Leader Hutchinson said morale remained high, adding: “In line with the wider UK footprint being drawn down in Afghanistan, the number of kinetic engagements has gone down.”
58 Squadron personnel returned to Leuchars aboard the RAF’s newest transport aircraft, Voyager. They were greeted by acting RAF Leuchars station commander, Wing Commander Neville Clayton.
Wives, girlfriends, mothers and children then watched proudly, applauded and cheered as their loved ones, led by pipers, marched into the Leuchars domestic area and back into their arms.
Air Officer Scotland and RAF Leuchars station commander, Air Commodore Gerry Mathew, said: “I am delighted to welcome the officers and men of Number 58 Squadron RAF Regiment safely back to RAF Leuchars following a demanding and successful tour in Afghanistan.
“They have done an exemplary job enabling air operations to continue unimpeded from Bastion airfield and should be rightly proud of their contribution to the Nato mission there.
“With 58 Squadron reformed at RAF Leuchars in March 2012 and due to disband soon, personnel will be granted post operational leave.
“But not before the squadron will mark its homecoming by parading through St Andrews on Saturday May 10 as part of the final RAF Leuchars Freedom Parade.”