SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN deployed overseas from RAF Lossiemouth over Christmas – including the most recent and much-publicised detachment to Cyprus – are not being forgotten by their colleagues at the Moray base.
A total of 213 men and women will not be spending Christmas at home with their families and loves ones this year, and that is why the base Community Support Team have been busy wrapping and packages for each and every one of them to open on December 25.
Even the serving dogs of the RAF Police will receive a gift of their own thanks to donations from local producers.
For the servicemen and women there will be socks, hats, toiletries and Christmas novelties as well as small packs of shortbread donated by Walkers Shortbread of Aberlour. Staff at the local Superdrug store funded some items to be included in the parcels while the local Tesco store also contributed to the cost of some of the items.
Also this Christmas, the RAF Lossiemouth Junior Ranks‘ Welfare Fund will provide ‘phone credit to each junior rank deployed over Christmas, to ensure that they have extra opportunity to speak with family and friends at home, over the Christmas holiday.
As well as the gifts from the Community Support Team, each parcel will include a Christmas card from the Station Commander at RAF Lossiemouth.
Squadron Leader Fi Thompson is Officer Commanding of Personnel Management Squadron and leads the Community Support Team. She said: “It can be difficult being away from your family and friends for long periods at any time of the year.
“Forces personnel are aware that this is part of their job, but it can be particularly hard at Christmas. Our Community Support Team have been providing these Christmas parcels for our Service personnel for several years now, and no matter how many people are deployed from RAF Lossiemouth we will continue to do this to remind them we are thinking of them.
“It’s important that both Service people away on deployment and their families left at home know that they are very much at the forefront of the Station’s thoughts, particularly at a time of year when family and friends come together.
“The Community Support Team at RAF Lossiemouth hold regular events and activities for the families of Service personnel who remain at home, to try to ensure they get the best information and support we can provide.
“The families also draw a great deal of support from meeting others in the same situation with a loved one deployed away.”
RAF personnel from Lossiemouth are deployed across the world including the Falkland Islands, Cyprus and several countries in the Middle East.