CO-OPERATION between nations was top of the list on Exercise PITCH BLACK as Logistics Movers from RAF Coningsby mentored military personnel from Papua New Guinea.
During Pitch Black the Royal Air Force projected air power more than 9000 miles from home. Six Typhoons from XI (F) Squadron were accompanied by a Voyager tanker from RAF Brize Norton and scores of supporting personnel from across the Service.
Corporal Adam Cairns is an RAF Logistics Mover based at RAF Coningsby. RAF Movers are responsible for planning and executing the movement of RAF personnel and equipment by road, rail, air and sea.
Exercise Pitch Black is about training, and Logistics is a new branch in the Papuan armed forces. Adam and the detachment of movers from Coningsby were asked by the Royal Australian Air Force to show the Papuans how military equipment is safely returned home. Adam said:
“The RAAF asked us if we could help mentor them to show our processes and what we do to get the kit from Australia back to the UK. As a new branch in their military the Papuans were keen to see how other nations work.”
On Pitch Black the Coningsby team’s job was to ensure the equipment had arrived ready for the exercise to start, loading aircraft and liaising with customs compliance teams to make sure the military equipment had the necessary clearances. Squadron Leader Philip Bishop is officer commanding Logistics Squadron at RAF Coningsby. He said:
“The planning for Pitch Black doesn’t just happen overnight. RAF Coningsby’s Movers carry out meticulous planning months in advance to ensure that both the equipment and personnel arrive at precisely the right time for the exercise."
Adam joined the RAF in 2016; he has travelled around the world and been deployed to the Middle East, Asia, North America and Europe. He continued:
“Pitch Black has been good but challenging, having very little time to turn around all the kit from the end of the exercise to getting it ready for loading on Voyager, A400M, and C17. But everyone we have worked with has been helpful.”
Wing Commander Nick Startup is Acting Station Commander at RAF Coningsby. She said:
“Military effect depends on logistics, and it speaks volumes about the quality of Coningsby’s movers that they were chosen to mentor the Papuan personnel on Pitch Black. It’s important that when you learn, you learn from the best, and that has certainly been the case here.”
