27 September 2011
In the south and south west of Afghanistan, a team from the RAF is working with the US Marine Corps (USMC) on the daunting task of co-ordinating the use of some of the world’s busiest airspace.
Members of the RAF’s Aerospace Battle Management Team and the USMC Air Wing are colocated in a dusty, quiet and benign corner of sprawling Camp Leatherneck, a home from home for the US Marines serving in Helmand province.
Aerospace Battle Managers Corporal Bobby Howard, US Marine Corps, and Corporal Paddy Bonner, Royal Air Force, working together at Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. Picture: Sergeant Ross Tilly RAF, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011
The detachment is parented by the RAF’s 903 Expeditionary Air Wing, only a short drive into adjoining Camp Bastion; however, all of the UK’s Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) personnel live, work and socialise with their US Marine colleagues at Leatherneck, further enhancing their operational experience.
Men and women of the joint RAF and US Marine Corps Aerospace Battle Management Group at Camp Leatherneck [Picture: Sergeant Ross Tilly RAF, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]
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