No. 2623 (East Anglian) Squadron RAuxAF Regiment is a

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

RAF Regiment reserve squadron based at

RAF Honington Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. Although used as a bomber station during the Second World War, RAF Honington is now the RAF Regim ...

. It was formed on 1 July 1979 to provide ground defence of the station. Tasked with preventing Soviet Special Forces from disrupting flying operations, personnel were recruited from across

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

and formed an integral part of the station's war-fighting capability for the next 15 years. Throughout this period, the squadron participated in many exercises and held annual camps in the United Kingdom, Germany and Gibraltar, winning the Strickland Trophy competition in 1991.

History

The squadron disbanded as a field squadron on 18 April 1994, reforming on 1 June 1995 as a training unit, providing centralised training to the

Regiment field Squadrons, resulting in the word "Training" being added to the squadron's title to reflect the new role. This role was later subsumed into Training Wing at Royal Air Force Honington and the squadron subsequently switched roles again. The Strategic Defence Review in the mid -1990s had identified the need to provide sustainment of the Royal Air Force's Ground Based Air Defence Force. As a result, the squadron resumed its original title and took on a new role in October 1998 with a mix of regulars and auxiliaries operating the highly sophisticated Rapier Field Standard C missile system, being declared operational in its new role in April 2001. In May 2003, many of the squadron's personnel were mobilised and deployed to the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

to augment No. 16 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment as the Resident Rapier Squadron, providing the ground based air defence of the

Mount Pleasant Complex RAF Mount Pleasant (also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, Mount Pleasant Complex or MPA) is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" (while the ...

from July 2003 to January 2004. Ground based air defence passed to the Royal Artillery in entirety following the 2004 Defence Review, but under Royal Air Force command. At the same time, a need for the squadron to provide a new capability was also highlighted, resulting in the squadron taking on a new role once again to provide a key component of the Joint Nuclear Biological and Chemical Regiment's operational output from March 2004. Deploying to Canada in 2005 and then Cyprus in 2006, the squadron won the Inspector's Cup for Excellence in 2007 and Kemp Dirk for recruiting during 2008. In June 2008, No.8 Force Protection Wing was stood up to undertake a single operational tour at

Kandahar Airfield Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city K ...

within

Operation HERRICK Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assis ...

. The Wing comprised Headquarter elements from Royal Air Force Henlow, together with

No. 27 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 27 Squadron RAF Regiment was a CBRN squadron of the RAF Regiment in the Royal Air Force with the ''Defensores Defendo'' (I defend the defenders). It disbanded in October 2021. History No. 27 Squadron RAF Regiment was formed on 3 Septem ...

and No. 2623 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment and resulted in a temporary change to a purely Dismounted Close Combat role for both squadrons. The Wing deployed to Kandahar Airfield from August 2009 to February 2010 and a large number of reservist personnel from 2623 Squadron were mobilised, serving within both 27 Squadron and the Wing Headquarters itself. On completion of the operational tour, both squadrons returned to their previous role. The squadron was presented with its Standard to commemorate 25 years service by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

at a unique ceremony held at Royal Air Force Marham on 18 July 2010. Since the disbanding of the

Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment The Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment was a specialist expeditionary unit of the British armed forces. Personnel of the Joint CBRN Regiment were trained in the detection, identification and monitoring of nuclear, biolo ...

, the squadron has supported 26 and 27 Sqns RAF Regiment in their role forming the RAF's Defence CBRN Wing.

The squadron badge

The Standard features the squadron badge, which was awarded in 1988. The badge demonstrates the squadron's links with East Anglia, with the wolf salient representing the 'Wolfmen' - the Danes who ravages and then settled in East Anglia during the Dark Ages. The crossed arrows represent the martyrdom of St Edmund and allude to the squadron's association with the local town of

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

. The motto 'Gebeorgan Ond Werian' is

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

, and can be loosely translated as ''Protect and Defend''.

References

External links

Official homepageThe Official RAF Regiment Association websiteRAF Reserves2623 Sqn on Facebook
{{Air force infantry Reserve forces of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force Regiment squadrons 1979 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1979

History

The squadron badge

See also

References

Further reading

External links