'Royal Mail Force'
Receipts and Despatch (R&D) is the delivery centre located within the Logistics Squadron at RAF Coningsby; the place where 99% of all items come in and go out. They send and receive assets from RAF, Navy & Army bases around the world including civilian companies that contribute to maintain the Typhoon.
R&D's sixteen team members work around the clock to send hundreds of assets in order to keep our aircraft flying 24/7, 365 days a year, they work immensely hard to keep to strict deadlines. The team is a mixture of RAF personnel and civil servants which creates a diverse and inclusive Whole Force, where all members play a vital role in the logistical support required by the RAF to fulfil its operational and peacetime obligations.
They consider themselves as one of the busiest sections not only within Supply but at RAF Coningsby too. Over the last six months, they have sent over 4700 packages worldwide across various means of transport, that equates to over 210 tonnes of equipment. In the same time, they also received 7450 packages totalling around 200 tonnes.
R&D is responsible for a diverse range of commodities such as aircraft parts, fuels, explosives, and ammunition. Everything has to be moved with care and due diligence. However, these items don't just appear at the Station, the items start at the manufacturer's warehouse and are transported to the correct overseas transportation, the items are either loaded onto a ship or an aeroplane and delivered the UK. R&D would then organise road delivery of these goods to RAF Coningsby, where they would reach their destination at the R&D warehouse. This requires strong communication skills, liaising with Military and Civilian contractors to ensure all parties understand the transportation instructions.
Quality control is essential in R&D, this is completed by checking all the paperwork matches and corresponds to the correct item that has been receipted. If an item has incorrect details, they are required to reject it and send it back to the supplier or in to quarantine for further investigation. If the quality control isn’t kept to a high standard, it can have a knock-on effect on other sections and potentially keep an aircraft from being repaired before it can fly again.
R&D personnel are also qualified to send dangerous goods, everything from oils and lubricants to batteries and ammunition around the world. From a safety aspect, they have to ensure that it is correctly packaged and labelled up, as well as producing accurate documentation to meet requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority.
"For me, the best part of the job is getting an urgent issue packed and documented in swift time to meet the next available flight leaving for an operation, knowing I have contributed directly to keeping aircraft airworthy in their efforts at home and overseas." -Flying Officer Alex Warner
