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Congratulations to the RAF Police who received a Team of the Year award for their contribution to Op Pitting at the Government Security Awards virtual ceremony held on the 30 March 2022.
RAF Police personnel deployed to the Middle East in order to support the safe evacuation of British nationals and other entitled persons from Afghanistan. The RAF Police undertook a security and resilience survey of the airport and air element of the plan. It identified three key vulnerabilities: the ability of the terminal building to support a large-scale evacuation; the need to get large numbers of passengers across an active airfield quickly to meet landing aircraft; and the threat to the aircraft from emotionally distressed passengers or terrorists in the air. The team immediately set about addressing these issues which effectively enabled the safe evacuation of over 15000 people.
“When we deploy, we live in the moment, dealing with whatever is in front of us with little time to think about the consequences. The reality is that all the risk assessments and surveys in the world would have been worthless without the exceptional team who I had the pleasure of leading.
Regardless of if they were providing aviation security on the ground or in the air, they got up every day and willingly faced the very worst that humanity can throw at you, and they did it with professionalism, compassion, and unwavering cheer”.
Op Pitting Team Squadron Leader Di Bird,
RAF Police
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The Government Security Awards are a celebration of success and help us identify and acknowledge exceptional achievements across the Function. They provide an opportunity to champion the hard work, enthusiasm and determination of our people and enable us to share knowledge and best practice right across government.
RAF Police Corporal Georgina Young said: “It is a true honor for the RAF Police to receive this award. We were all united in ensuring that the passage out of Afghanistan was as stress free as possible for all of our passengers – often unrealistic at times but repatriating 15k people safely will be a number that will stay with me forever.”
