From medics to armourers and drivers to aircraft technicians, the skilled soldiers who keep the Army’s helicopters flying and fighting have been tested.
Airtrooper Samuel holds the pipe of Oshkosh Wheeled Tanker.
A formation of four Gazelle, 10 Wildcat, eight Apache and two Chinook helicopters lifted off from Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk after taxing together along the runway.
Staff Sergeant Sewell, Supply Chain Operator, 132 Aviation Squadron.
Air crews walk to the Command Post immediately after landing at the airstrip.
A Wildcat helicopter awaits orders to taxi and takeoff.
Corporal Ed John, an Aircraft Technician, checks the Wildcat helicopter prior to flight.
Corporal Ed John, an aircraft technician, checks the Wildcat helicopter prior to flight.
An Apache helicopter sits ready for refuelling.
Up to 50 Apache, Wildcat, Chinook, and Gazelle helicopters flew practice missions from one end of the UK to the other during Exercise Pinion Titan. Around 2,000 soldiers worked to keep the aircraft fuelled and repaired and delivered everything from water to ammunition. The month-long training showed that 1st Aviation Brigade is ready for NATO combat operations.
The Brigade Support Group (BSG) brings together specialist teams from the Army and Royal Air Force. They provide supplies, maintenance and engineering support to frontline helicopter units. With helicopters based across the North of England and flying from the Scottish Highlands to Salisbury Plain, the BSG set up supply and maintenance centres at Catterick and Ripon.
Fixing helicopters in the field
Corporal Ed John is an aircraft technician with 7 Aviation Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (7 Avn Sp Bn REME). He works to maintain and repair Wildcat reconnaissance helicopters.
"We're doing jobs like engine removal or gearbox changes and everything we do in the workshop we need to be able to do out in the field."
"The frontline units do the basic field servicing, and our role is to do the larger and more complex jobs," he said. "We're doing jobs like engine removal or gearbox changes and everything we do in the workshop we need to be able to do out in the field.
"It's that much harder to do our job when we're living in a woodblock and working with the tools and spares that we've brought with us. We're doing complex engineering out in the open and thinking about what we can do to reduce the chances of the enemy finding and targeting us at the same time."
Supplying the frontline
Staff Sergeant Georgia Sewell is a supply chain operator with 132 Aviation Squadron Royal Logistic Corps. She described her unit's job as being "like Amazon for Apaches".
"We stock everything from rations to rotor blades, and prepare it to go where it's needed," she said. "It may not be the most exciting job, but it is vital. Our motto is 'no fly without supply'."
"Our motto is 'no fly without supply'."
SSgt Sewell said that "everything is the same, but everything is different" when her team deploys to the field from their base at Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk.
"We are unique as the Army's aviation logistics specialists, and the spare parts we supply have to be properly stored and accounted for to ensure they're fit for use," she said.
"On an exercise or operation, we go from a warehouse to working and living out of trucks and tents. We pack the 100 most demanded items for maintaining and repairing the Apache and Wildcat but need to have a plan to get the 101st item on that list when someone asks for it!"
A team with many skills
The BSG is led by Wattisham-based 7 Avn Sp Bn REME. It also includes troops from 39 Engineer Regiment, who specialise in engineering support to aviation operations; the Regular and Reservist transport specialists of 7 and 158 Regiments Royal Logistic Corps; Joint Helicopter Support Squadron, who specialise in moving vehicles and stores by helicopter, and refuelling experts from the RAF’s Tactical Supply Wing.
Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Huggins, Commanding Officer of 7 Avn Sp Bn REME, said: "The Brigade Support Group is an incredibly capable unit because of the extraordinary breadth and depth of skills that our soldiers have.
"The Brigade Support Group is an incredibly capable unit because of the extraordinary breadth and depth of skills that our soldiers have."
"It takes a huge range of supporting functions to deliver combat aviation. The dedicated work of all of our soldiers - from a chef cooking in a field kitchen to an avionics technician repairing a helicopter's faulty sensor – contributes equally to operational success."
French Army Gazelle helicopters and a planning team from the US Army’s 12th Combat Aviation Brigade are also taking part in Exercise Pinion Titan.
The British Army is recruiting right now to fill 10,000 jobs across the UK with more than 200 roles to choose from, covering everything from frontline combat and cyber security to helicopter pilots, chefs, and support roles. If you’re aged 16 to 50 and want to find out more about a career in the Army, click here: British Army
