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Post by Frenchie on May 19, 2009 15:36:49 GMT 1
After running sorties around the clock during their four-month deployment to Afghanistan, 130 personnel from an Apache Attack Helicopter Squadron returned home to their East Anglian base last week. Members of 656 Squadron, 4 Regiment Army Air Corps (AAC), came home to Wattisham Station, Suffolk, after being deployed to Camp Bastion, the UK's biggest base in Helmand province. It is the squadron's third operational tour to Afghanistan in three years. Speaking about their latest deployment, the Officer Commanding 656 Squadron, Major D C J Amlot, said: "Operations in Afghanistan are very demanding for the pilots. Flying missions are frequent, at all times of the day and night, and the sorties are varied. We might be tasked to reconnoitre a bridge to see if it's still in position after a flood, and mid-flight diverted to support ground troops in a contact with the enemy, or tasked to escort a casualty evacuation. We have to be very flexible, and mental and physical endurance is a pre-requisite. More >>
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