2018/01

New year, new Squadron! (or is it?).

Polo

Winter has most definitely arrived, and Happy IV(R) Squadron have returned after the Christmas break full of energy after the disappointing December weather kept all but the most seasoned flight commanders on the ground. Starting as we mean to go on, with more jets on the flight line and even the met office playing ball with a favourable weather system in charge we are all looking forward to a productive year training the next generation of fighter pilots.

Whilst December weather hampered the flying somewhat, the Squadron enjoyed the usual carousel of social events before we departed on leave. Course 27, mentored by everyone’s favourite naval creamie, organised a superb Christmas party at the Sea Shanty in Trearddur Bay, with live music and merriment had by all. Course 26 entertained all officers on station with their “Lunch of the Year”, and the exchange drinks with the Sergeant’s Mess was popular as ever in the newly refurbished Officers’ Mess bar. On the working front, the Squadron held a flight safety day to discuss various aspects of how we do business in the most effective way possible whilst protecting our greatest resource (our people) to the best of our ability, and the graduation of the Fighter Pilots of course 21 was a particular highlight as the year drew to a close.

Polo

Although the rumour mill is still rife with talk of a Squadron split, Mighty IV(R) Squadron is still intact; however a reorganisation has taken place. What was “A flight” has become D and E flight, and what was “B flight” is now A and B flight, with C flight continuing rigidly as only CFS can do in its instructor training role. While we are still getting used to answering the phone in a different way the students are still making progress (some quicker than others!) and we offer our congratulations to Fit Lt Pearce, for finally completing his authoriser training, an incredible achievement that required literally hours of work (but was put off for months). On a slightly more serious note, we have achieved B1 instructor upgrades for Major Vos and Lt Clark, and Fit Lts Balicki and Muscat join the cadre of A2 flying instructors on the staff, a milestone worth celebrating.

Coming up we are looking forward to hosting a delegation from Qatar at the squadron, along with continuing to develop our core business of training qualified Fast Jet pilots to deliver to the front line. 2018 is a very special year for the RAF, and Mighty IV(R) Squadron is looking forward to various events through the year which will showcase the whole station to the public at large.

In Futurum Videre