71 Aviation Company

Summer 2021 has been a season of change within 71 Aviation Company.

Written By: Lt Stephen Higgins, 71 Avn Coy

Summer 2021 has been a season of change within 71 Aviation Company. We bid a fond farewell to outgoing OC, Maj Tom McCluskey and welcomed Maj Ben Thomas as the new OC, 71 Coy. Having worked as Deputy Continuous Airworthiness Management (DCAM) in the Continuous Airworthiness Management Organisation (CAMO) previously, Maj Thomas brings a wealth of knowledge as we deploy to the deserts of Oman.

We have also been joined by four fledgling Aircraft Engineering Officers (AEO), fresh out of the Defence School of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering (DSEME) at Lyneham and hungry for knowledge in preparation of their Authorisation Visas. They all step into Platoon Commander appointments where they have been diligently busy from the moment they arrived.

The overriding theme of the last few months has been the ever-changing beast that is Ex PINION OMAN. Coined as the spiritual successor to Ex CRIMSON EAGLE, this is the first time since the pandemic that the Coy has deployed abroad on a high-profile overseas training exercise.

The demand to get on the nominal roll has been overwhelming, and we have deployed two platoons of technicians with all the bells and whistles of an Engineering Control Cell with assurance elements. In his first act as the new OC 71, Maj Thomas has stepped up as Lead Aircraft Engineer, overseeing the complex engineering challenge of commanding the Equipment Support of both Apache and Wildcat helicopters.

With most of the cabs having just returned from Ex LIGHTNING FORCE, a hefty preparation programme had to be put into action to bring the cabs back to a serviceable state. The current COVID challenges also resulted in one of the teams being isolated for 10 days after a positive COVID test.

However, the Coy rallied and managed to get the majority of maintenance tasks completed on time. After the cabs were prepped for deployment, they were