Air Wing Building 57 and 57B

Air Wing Building 57 and 57B, 1 Year On

In May 2021, 5 Sqn disbanded and their building was taken up by Air Wing HQ, AEW and ASW.

Despite recent challenges, the move has gone relatively smoothly.

A small team was assembled to take over inventories, allocate rooms to various departments, iron out the usual IT snags and numerous other duties associated with a building hand over.

After the initial set up, the next step was to update the building identity to that of the Air Wing. Name plates and badges, named locations within the building and the self-help paint refresh of the main areas followed. It has been a long road, but the building feels like home to the Air Wing now. Thanks must go to SSS and the personnel from MSF who played the greater part in making this happen. Homemade cakes also helped make the process a little easier.

Next to follow were new carpets to replace the damaged areas and a thorough snag list made its way to Work Services. The new shiny name boards for the Senior Officers and various other pictures were displayed with pride, providing further identity to the building.

To increase team cohesion within the Air Wing the introduction of a monthly Brit Tea has been a great success. This encourages all the personnel within the building to get away from the screen and meet up for Tea, Coffee, Cakes and other goodies for a little while. Each section takes the lead on providing for that month.

Competition to see which department provides the best spread is hotting up. In between all of this activity, the hangar has been put to use, showcasing the capabilities of the Protector Platform for a short spell. It was very exciting to see an RPAS taking off and landing at Waddington.

We in the Air Wing have a great view of the runway from our balcony. After the excitement settled down, the massive task of removing and replacing the whole hanger roof started. Good weather prevailing, it’s developing smoothly.

With these views of sunrise from our new home, it’s not a bad life.

Sgt N Hellowell Air Wing Building Manager