Letter from the Squadron -
…... Squadron Leader and after completing a 6 month out of area deployment in Afghanistan he will be returning to be a Flight Commander on 19 Squadron flying the Hawk TMk2.
As you can see the list of arrivals is a little shorter than usual with Flight Lieutenant Mark Thompson recently passing his B2 check to be the last QFI (Qualified Flying Instructor) to join the Squadron, although not the last QFI that the Squadron will train. We currently have 10 Algerian pilots undergoing QFI training under an international Defence Training contract to supply RAF trained fast jet flying instructors to the Algerian Air Force.
So what of the future for 208 Sqn? Obviously this is a worrying time for many units in the military and it looks likely that the last students to be trained by 208 Squadron in its current guise are already with us. Beyond the end of 2011 the future looks fairly uncertain. It is possible that the end of the Hawk TMk1 flying at RAF valley in 2012 will see the end of a role for 208 Sqn. There is a slim chance that a space may be found for 208 Sqn within the new Hawk TMk2 training system but the formulation of such a construct is far from clear at present.
Despite the ample supplies of doom and gloom currently available you will be glad to know that the Squadron continues to make the best of the situation with no shortage of flying and plenty of social events to raise everyone’s spirits, The go ahead has been given for another year of the Hawk Display with Flight Lieutenant Jules Fleming now well into her work up for the 2011 season. The Squadron recently sent 4 aircraft to Gibraltar for an Overseas Training Flight (OTF) and another 4 to Berlin for an OTF and force development training. Flight Lieutenant Geoff Sheppard has recently returned from an arduous trip to Nairobi advising the Kenyan Air Force and of course Flight Lieutenant Roger Cruickshank still manages to make the RAF look like a part time job by spending most of the Winter skiing (for the RAF I am assured)! Last June the Squadron hosted 4 Alpha Jets and their crews from FAF Tours with members of the Squadron able to experience flying in an alternative to the Hawk (there was no contest). The French seemed to greatly enjoy their stay and made enthusiastic use of our low flying system. The visit was rounded off with a combined dining in night in the Officers' Mess which was quite an event and one which it would be a pleasure to repeat when our low flying system has recovered! We plan a return visit to France in May this year with a tactical weapons detachment to Cazaux followed immediately by a week in Tours for the Advanced Flying Training element.
Planning is now well underway for the Squadron Association Day and 95th Anniversary celebration at RAF Valley on the 10th June, with the possibility of some commemorative Welsh Whisky to aid the celebrations. The day is sure to be a 208 Squadron event not to be missed and I hope to meet many of you there on the day! That is all for this year and I sincerely hope to be writing another update for you in 12 month’s time.
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