🎙 Justin Bieber bed sheets on tour: Series 1 Episode 1 | Fancy a Brew?
In the latest episode of our new podcast, we head to Mali on Operation NEWCOMBE (CH47), where our three guests tell us more about the role of Chinook helicopters supporting French operations out in the region.
☕️ Coffee? Tea? Grab yourself a brew, take a seat and join those deployed overseas:
Pull up a seat and a brew with Flight Lieutenant Matt Jeffery, Corporal Marc Towner and Flight Lieutenant Steve Wilders, as they tell us about life in the deserts of Mali, and their role in supporting the French operation out in the region.
Listen to the podcast here:👇
In 2018, the Royal Air Force deployed three Chinook (CH47) helicopters to support French operations in Mali. In 2020, after two years of providing heavy-lift logistical support to the French operation, the Chinooks and their crews have completed more than 2,000 flying hours, moved over 1,000 tonnes of equipment and over 12,000 passengers.
Here’s the highlights from the episode:👇
💪 Tell us a bit about your role:
Steve: “I’m a pilot and instructor on CH47 Chinooks and out here I’m the Deputy Flight Commander for 1310 Flight. We’re on Operation NEWCOMBE, which is the Chinook support to the French Operation BARKHANE out in Mali.
Marc: “I’m from the Tactical Supply Wing (TSW) in Staffordshire. I’m the team leader for our team out here and our role is to provide refill capabilities to the Chinooks by all different means.
Matt: “I’m the Deployed Admin Officer on detachment. So I look after the admin and welfare side of things, but also the finance and media side as well.
🍕 What is the food like on tour?
Steve: “I think it’s really good. It’s the French, so they can’t deploy anywhere surely without good food, good cheeses, French bread.
Matt: “I was told it was hit and miss and I would definitely lose weight whilst I was out here, but that’s not happened because you get your starter, your main course and pudding as well.
Marc: “The best meal was the Danish barbecue with the hog roast. I got the hoof, which I was a little bit unimpressed by but then after tucking into it, it was just like a massive piece of pork scratching and it was lovely.
🏋️♂️ What do you get up to in your downtime?
Marc: “We’ve got a gym here. We are limited with things we can do, we can’t just go away and have a coffee. So back in accommodation, we read, watch films and then outside of that we have got the welfare facility, the gym, and we watch sports.
“The BFBS stuff is good. It’s been genuinely an absolute lifesaver. I don’t think I have missed a United game since we’ve been here. The sports have been the main thing, having the football on in an evening or a Saturday.” — Flight Lieutenant Matt Jeffery
🤷♂️ What is the weirdest thing that has happened on deployment?
Matt: “So I’m walking back to the office, and I see Marc over in the corner hacking down this plant, loving life, he’s gardening, he’s in his element. Now this plant is rumoured to have poisonous sap inside, and if you inhale it you might get a dodgy tummy for a couple of days. He thought the sap was like aloe vera so he started rubbing it into his arms, and they started going red.
Marc: “I don’t know if it’s weird, but Christmas Eve was a really nice do wasn’t it? We had a really nice dinner, but on Christmas Day we went in, and there was sausages and rice, because the French celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve so Christmas Day was actually a bit of a non-event. So maybe that’s weird, because you know when you are expecting a bit of gravy, turkey, but instead we had some succulent sausage. But that being said I have still never had a bad meal.
🏠 Are you missing home?
Marc: “Yeah, of course, I miss the kids, I mss friends and family. I don’t miss the half-an-hour queue to get into ASDA, and with lockdown, it is nice to come away. Even though we have got our own social distancing which is exactly the same, but instead we are in Theatre, which has got it’s own challenges. Just leaving the UK the way it was and coming out here, it was a bit of breathing space.
Steve: “I don’t miss the UK, because it’s nice and warm out here. I’m not looking forward to getting back and there being snow and slush, it’s just miserable. Your image of going home is looking forward to going out for a pint or going to the shops or whatever, but then you realise that no one’s doing that right now, as they are stuck in their houses. So right now I do not miss being at home at all.”
