LCpl Daniel Murphy: Maintaining aircraft for COVID response
Lance Corporal Murphy has been maintaining military helicopters at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire so they are ready to support the country’s response to Coronavirus
Personnel from the Armed Forces recently came together with NHS emergency care colleagues at Thruxton airfield in Hampshire, to conduct training for potential medical evacuations during the fight against Coronavirus.
An RAF Puma, Chinook and Royal Navy Merlin helicopter, which are all on standby across the UK as part of the Aviation Task Force, landed on the Hampshire & Isle of White Air Ambulance airfield to enable aircrew and key NHS critical care staff from across the region to train together.
LCpl Murphy is one of the Aircraft Technicians ensuring helicopters in the task force are fit for flight. Here is what he had to say:👇
My name is Daniel Murphy. I’m currently in the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers (REME) as an Aircraft Technician. II’m usually based in Yeovilton in Somerset as part of 1 Regiment Army Air Corp 659 Squadron.
The Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) provides engineering support and is responsible for maintaining and repairing the Army’s equipment. They will be found wherever the army is located at home or overseas.
Currently, we are deployed up in RAF Leeming. Here we are helping with the response to COVID-19.
As part of my job as an aircraft technician, it means repairing and maintaining the aircraft to ensure that they are able to do the job that they are here to do.
With the uncertainty in the country, it is a matter of being prepared to go out the door at short notice with an ever-changing situation.
As part of that, it is really rewarding to be part of the bigger picture, and hopefully we’re going to make a difference to peoples lives.
