RAF BRIZE NORTON

Officer Commanding ~ Group Captain Malcolm Brecht OBE ADC MA FRAeS RAF



RAF Brize Norton, Carterton, Oxfordshire OX18 3LX
Tel: 01954 717460

An overview of RAF Brize Norton by Group Captain Malcolm Brecht

To have the privilege of being the Commanding Officer for any Service Establishment is always a significant honour, and I consider myself exceptionally fortunate to have the opportunity to command a vibrant Station that is at the fore in delivering rapid global mobility of an increasingly expeditionary focused British defence policy. Recognising that our achievements are invariably as a result of partnerships, be it with industry, the local community, or the broader defence environment, I was delighted to learn from my predecessor that the previous and prized affiliation between 10 Sqn and the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers had recently been extended to embrace the entire Station.

Nestling on the edge of the Cotswolds, Brize is home to a broad range of disparate units, but its central role is to generate through its fleets of transport and tanker aircraft strategic support to the British Armed Services and our allies at home and abroad in operational theatres around the world. Quite an expectation to live up to… and quite a responsibility!

Delivery of the fundamental capabilities of Air Transport (AT) and Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) have been the rationale behind the Station’s existence for many years; however, we are currently on the threshold of what will be the greatest change in the Station’s history as we prepare to accept new fleets of aircraft to replace our VC10 and TriStars, and the transfer of the Hercules C130J fleet from RAF Lyneham, which combined will deliver a huge increase in both our capability and capacity. To support this transition, the Station is beginning a massive facilities development project to enable us to support more than twice as many aircraft as we currently have and also to provide the support infrastructure for the more than 5000 personal who will live and work here; but more of that later.

A Proud History
As an operational base, Brize Norton began as a flying Station back in 1937 when it became the home of No 2 Flying Training School; however, during WWII, the Station re-roled and became a Heavy Glider Conversion Unit, training many of the pilots whose exploits then became history. The American Air Force took control of Brize Norton in 1951, flying heavy bombers until 1965 when it was once again returned into the hands of the RAF. From this point, Brize Norton’s transport role was set, as the base was developed specifically to operate large aircraft with many new facilities being built, including construction of the now familiar Base Hangar, which was at the time the largest free-standing cantilever building in Western Europe and is still a dominant feature on the local skyline. Since then, Brize has been the RAF’s leading AT base and more recently we have seen development of an AAR role, so today it is the RAF’s strategic hub for AT and AAR, working round the clock to sustain a relentless tasking programme, particularly in support of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Brize is also home to a surprisingly large range of ‘lodger’ Units, delivering key support to the broader MOD whilst playing an integral part in the life of this diverse Station. Together we are the largest frontline Station in the RAF, with some 4000 Service personnel and 600 civilians, engaged in just about every activity you could possibly imagine and we were particularly proud to have been recently awarded the Stainforth Trophy for being the best frontline RAF Station. But let’s take a look at the squadrons and aircraft that together form our core output.

Reaching For the Sky
One aspect that has proven to be so successful for Brize is the track record of the aircraft we have maintained in service here over the years.

To meet a growing requirement for a heavy airlift capability, our most recent additions to Brize Norton’s AT have been 4 Boeing C-17 Globemaster aircraft of 99 Squadron. I must confess a particular affinity to both the Squadron and the aircraft as I had the privilege, as the first Squadron boss in a previous tour at Brize, to bring the aircraft into service and work the Squadron up to operational readiness. Introduced under a lease contract in 2001, the C-17s have proved to be a reliable workhorse; with their cavernous cargo holds and impressive range, they have proved to be instrumental in supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as delivering humanitarian support to numerous countries. Moreover, they are also a delight to fly. Therefore we were pleased when the Government announced the plan to purchase the four we currently lease, together with a fifth aircraft.

We also operate the nine TriStar aircraft of 216 Squadron. Purchased to fill a capability gap exposed by an abrupt requirement to enlarge and sustain a military presence in the Falklands following the 1982 conflict, the six ex-British Airways and three ex-Pan-Am aircraft have been adapted to provide a mixture of passenger, freight and AAR capabilities. For over 20 years the TriStars of 216 Squadron have been the mainstay of support to British operations around the world, including the Gulf and the Balkans while maintaining a South Atlantic airbridge. Today, their strategic importance remains undiluted as they continue to deliver passenger and freight transport services in the challenging environments of Afghanistan and Iraq.

This year is very special to the station as it marks the celebration of 40 years of service for the sixteen VC-10 aircraft of 101 Squadron. It is testament to its durability that half the fleet of VC-10s began life with the RAF in 1966 and formed a key element of our ‘shiny fleet’ and the rest found service with various commercial airlines until the 1980s when they were also purchased and converted for use as tanker aircraft. Over the last 20 years we have shifted away from civilian airline style tasking to more operationally focused support, apparent by the low-observable grey paintwork that now adorns this fleet, replacing the original ‘shiny’ gloss white. Having seen 40 years of operational service, nearly half the age of the RAF, this much loved (and very swift) aircraft is still delivering capability in a manner that some would say is ‘incompatible with its age’ as its graceful lines are still a regular feature in numerous operational theatres around the globe. 101 Squadron has a rich heritage and each aircraft bears the name of a Victoria Cross holder on the front cabin door. Although now limited in years for future service, the VC-10 continues to provide outstanding and valuable support and is due to finally retire from active service in circa 2013.

The Team Effort
While the skilled and often necessarily brave men and women who make up the aircrews are often seen as the public face of Brize Norton they are just one facet of ‘Team Brize’. Having previously served at Brize Norton twice before, I am intensely proud of the dedicated professionalism of the ground trades, both Service and civilian, who by dint of their professionalism and sheer hard work ensure that the challenging operational tempo that the Station is set is fully supported throughout the year. Importantly, the functional Wings offer vastly differing services, but need to work in synchronicity and so it is no surprise that each expresses exactly the same mission aim ‘Providing Support for Deployed Operations’.

Operations Wing provides operational support to the Flying Squadrons through Air Traffic Control and Flight Planning. Forward Support Wing delivers the crucial engineering, information management and supply element of aircraft support and are pivotal in maintaining the availability of our aircraft. Administration Wing provides an array of services from ceremonial and discipline, medical and pastoral care through to finance and maintenance of Station infrastructure, including this year rising to the significant challenge of guiding us through the arrival of a Service-wide pay and personal administration IT system, that arrived ‘warts and all’ and gave us some ‘interesting’ times. Our Airport of Embarkation Wing is the newest of the Wings and provides the essential handling of freight, passengers and catering to meet the various flights in and out of the Station.

Together, under the complex choreography of my Station executives, all these elements harmonise, hopefully within budget and sometimes to my amazement, to deliver the necessary support to our operations, day after day. That’s Team Brize.

The Wider Service
As I touched on earlier, Brize Norton remains a centre of excellence for other wider aspects of Defence. Through the Parachute Training School, the Army receives fully qualified parachutists who utilise modern equipment such as the newly introduced High Altitude Life Support System for which Brize Norton is the main maintenance centre.

The Joint Air Transport Evaluation Unit develops new techniques and equipment to ensure safe transportation by air of all forms of military equipment and serves all three services, whilst the 600 personnel of Tactical Communications Wing, as part of the newly formed 90 Signals Unit, remain at the forefront of communications technology providing invaluable ‘enabling communications’ wherever the theatre demands it; invariably these specialist technicians are first in and last out of any conflict.

Transforming Brize Norton
We live in a rapidly changing world, and this is particularly true from a geo-political context. To be ready to respond to crisis or evolving areas of tension the RAF in general, and Brize in particular, needs continually to evolve capability to ensure we continue to be a potent enabler when the British Government wishes to project military effect. Following the Armed Forces Strategic Review, the RAF is on course to become smaller, but better equipped and more operationally focused, with many of the traditional support functions contracted out to industry. While a great deal of rationalisation across the Service has followed, Brize is set to grow, partly absorbing the AT task currently placed with our sister station, RAF Lyneham, due to close in 2012, and partly in recognition that if we are truly to develop our expeditionary capability, we need to have the air-lift capacity to deliver rapid global mobility and to sustain effect on a greater scale.

Programme CATARA
Most of this transformation comes under Programme CATARA (Centralised Air Transport and Air-to-Air Refuelling Assets). This bold and highly complex Programme aims to ensure that the Station infrastructure is prepared for the transfer of some twenty-five C-130J Hercules aircraft as well as the introduction of a Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft and the new Airbus strategic/tactical air lifter A400M to replace the VC-10 and TriStar fleets. The scale of this Project is huge and the infrastructure improvements will affect all corners of the Station. To give a flavour, over the next 3 years we will be building a new aircraft serving platform capable of taking 18 large aircraft, a major refurbishment of Base Hangar, a new passenger terminal and cargo storage and handling facilities, new roads and a welter of smaller facility builds, and upgrades that together will transform the Station and equip it to meet the needs of the next 40 years. Through all this building work, Team Brize will need to continue to deliver its round the clock output in support of British forces worldwide – that is our challenge.

Final Thought
Without doubt, having the privilege of commanding this unique Station and commanding the outstanding men and women here is hugely rewarding. However, we never forget that what we achieve in supporting British interests abroad is only possible because of the support and goodwill we receive in turn from other communities, local and further afield. As we prepare to embrace the challenge that CATARA will undoubtedly bring, while sustaining a relentless operational tempo, Team Brize is going to be tested to new levels and I hope that I will be invited next year to let you know how your Royal Air Force ‘affiliates’ are getting on. In the meantime, may I wish everyone in the Company a peaceful, safe and prosperous 2007.

Malcolm Brecht
Group Captain