Station Commander’s Foreword

Times are quite hard for us all at the moment – with huge winter gas bills to go alongside the usual strains of our busy lives – but I’m always perked up by everyone’s efforts to just keep calm and carry on. People are undoubtedly feeling the pressure and I’m grateful for all those who help others where they can – thanks go to the formal support resources like SSAFA, the community support team, welfare staff and the chaplaincy, but also to those of you who help in all your small ways to look after your neighbours, volunteer your own time and keep the community fridge stocked!

All of this means that we can put our best foot forward in maintaining our operational outputs: the Lightning Force continues to grow and we need to fly like crazy to build the squadrons. As usual, the whole team at Marham continues to be professional and committed; we are urgently trying to improve the community areas, not least to support those who are left behind when loved ones are deployed. Hopefully you’ll some of these improvements as the year goes on.

There’s a lot to look forward to this year – not just the big events that are already being advertised, but more activities and clubs running daily. I’d encourage everyone to simply get stuck in; it has taken a while for us to all collectively come out of our shells since COVID was prevalent, but 2023 is our year to really get out reconnect. And the good news is that as it warms up at least our utility bills will come down a bit… let’s just hope we don’t have to spend all that saved money on buying air conditioning units for another blazing summer!

Gp Capt Wigglesworth