You are here : Unit Liaison Visits / Visit Report RAF Odiham

Visit Report RAF Odiham

Odiham’s Operational Tempo Creates Real Pressure on Family Life

This was the over-riding message that Dawn McCafferty, Chairman of the RAF Families Federation (RAF FF), received during a recent visit to RAF Odiham. The visit formed part of a dedicated unit Community Support event and Dawn was able to brief the local community support staffs and family members during 2 dedicated sessions aimed at raising awareness of the Community Support function.

The Station Commander, Gp Capt Andrew Turner, gave a comprehensive brief to the team and his message was one of an extremely busy unit being asked to deliver more with less. He said:

“The enduring and relentless nature of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention the unit’s contribution to other world-wide operations, places significant pressure on the serving cadre and this has an inevitable knock-on effect to their families. Repeated detachments, with no end in sight, saps morale; I am acutely aware of the need to support the entire community at Odiham in order to enable the serving personnel to continue to operate at such a high tempo and in such volatile conditions”.

The uncertainty caused by Project BELVEDERE was also an issue and the planning blight this creates at unit level can have a negative impact on serving personnel and their families trying to determine their longer term future in the area. Dawn learned that, whilst many enjoy the challenges of the front-line, some have been at Odiham for a very long time and several expressed a desire for some form of respite tour to offer some relief to both themselves and their families.

That said, the pride that Odiham personnel take in the job they are doing was palpable and it is fair to say that morale appeared robust in the face of significant challenges, perhaps based on the clear belief that they are truly making a difference and take pride in their achievements. Again and again, the message came through that Odiham’s achievements were a team result. Gp Capt Turner said:

“It’s not just the aircrew, who tend to get the glory, but all the personnel in support of the operations (including the families) who should take credit for a job well done.

The team members received a warm welcome at Odiham and, whilst knowledge of the Federation’s role was limited, the visit gave the Federation an invaluable opportunity to deliver their key messages to a cross-section of personnel. Just as importantly, the visit gave the Federation team an opportunity to gain a broader understanding of the challenges facing personnel serving at this busy front-line unit. The RAF FF would like to thank the Station Commander and his team for arranging an extremely worthwhile and informative visit and look forward to returning to the Station in the future.

Top of Page