STATION COMMANDER’S FOREWORD

A characteristically busy period for the Station and the Chinook Force as we continue our support to operation SHADER in the Middle East and we were at the forefront of preparation for Sudan evacuation as part of Operation POLAR BEAR. Our busy exercise programme continues in Cyprus and North America.

Against the backdrop of this busy operational tempo, we were honoured to host the daylight rehearsal for the King’s Coronation; 5,000 troops from across the UK and the Commonwealth marching down The Mall (the disused airfield) to a resounding 3 Cheers at the sports pitches – Buckingham Palace Gardens for the day! Despite the gloomy weather, our Chinooks did take part in the Coronation Flypast and the community celebrated in style with a community street party and competition for the best dressed house – congratulations to all those taking part.

Over the past few months we’ve hosted a number of high profile visits from both Air Command and Joint Helicopter Command, and have been able to highlight to them the pressing need for investment at Odiham – as we look forward to the Chinook Sustainment Programme and a continuing busy tempo. This culminated an the Annual Formal Inspection with Air Vice-Marshal Suraya Marshall at a period of great transition for 2Gp as they position themselves well for the future.

In this issue, our sports pages once again highlight the commitment of our people to playing a range of sports across a number of levels and developing others within their field.

In May, we bade farewell to Warrant Officer Ceri Marshman and welcomed WO Curtis Dixon as the new Station Warrant Officer – many of you will have met him already as he gets to know people across the Station and in the community.

This will be my final foreword as Station Commander at RAF Odiham as I hand over in August to Group Captain Matt Roberts. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at Odiham, meeting many of you and your families on a number of occasions and I will miss the community spirit on which we all thrive.

Before I go, I look forward to a Families Day that promises to bring the community together once again – I look forward to seeing you there.

Lt Kerry Rapson

Welcome to the first issue of the Helicon Magazine for 2023. As always, it has been a very busy start to the year for the Chinook Force, with our personnel still finding time for fantastic sporting achievements!

Once again, I have enjoyed bringing together the articles for this edition, showcasing what our personnel have been doing both at work and during their spare time. The start of this year has seen RAF Odiham taking part in His Majesty The King’s Coronation, and that involvement has come from both our Service Personnel and their families!

We do hope that you enjoy the first edition of the year, thank you to all who have contributed and please do contact the team if you have any submissions that you would like included in future editions!