Tour extended for 854 Naval Air Squadron 28.11.11
20The Royal Navy claims to have become the longest-serving air unit in Operation Herrick, Britain's military effort in Afghanistan. By rights, the sailors of 854 Naval Air Squadron should now be back home at their base in Culdrose, Cornwall. Instead they are still working 12-hour watches maintaining and flying the Sea King surveillance helicopters. The aircraft have proved vital in using maritime-designed radar to track insurgents across the sands of Helmand. Because their replacements from 857 NAS were delayed flying missions in Libya, their current tour has had to be extended by fifty per cent beyond the normal three-month aviation duty. Instead of being home for Christmas it will be early 2012 before they see family and friends again. Avionics supervisor, Petty Officer Jacqueline Nourse told BFBS Forces' News that the announcement had not gone down well. "When we heard that we had to work this Christmas, it was with a bit of a heavy heart," she said. "It's getting, and has been, a long, hard slog." Normal twelve-week-plus tours do not qualify for home leave. Now breaks have to be factored in. In service since the nineteen-seventies, the Sea Kings are Britain's oldest operational aircraft and as a small unit do not have the reserves. So Lieutenant Commander Geoff Heyward, CO of the incoming squadron has come out early to help fill the roster. "It's entirely down to me and 897 Naval Air Squadron," he admitted. "We extended on Ellamy (Operations in Libya) for a lot longer than we thought we were going to be." Those in charge deny that the extended spell has blunted operational efficiency. On the contrary, says CO Lt Cdr Paul Harrison. "Extending the squadron allows us to maintain the level of corporate knowledge rather than constantly having it reduced each time you rip" (relief in place). Perhaps best not to mention it around the crew mess as they toast Christmas with another round of fizzy pop.