RAF Honington: Homecoming for Troops

31 October 2012, 06:00

Some of our troops are coming home today after being on a tour of Afghanistan.

35 soldiers from 1 Royal Tank Regiment will return home  to RAF Honington on  Wednesday, 31 October  following their deployment as part of 12^th Mechanized Brigade (12 Mech Bde) in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

A total of 110 soldiers from G Squadron deployed to Afghanistan. This is the last tranche of soldiers from the Squadron to return home.

G Squadron have been using the Mastiff, a heavily armoured 6 x six-wheel drive patrol vehicle to bring firepower and armoured support wherever it was needed, including support to the 1^st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment.

Known as the Mastiff Troop the soldiers were involved in fighting the insurgents, patrolling towns and villages and providing protected mobility to the troops on the ground.

Each mastiff  was crewed by three 1 RTR soldiers: a driver, commander and gunner.

A further 96 soldiers from the Regiment will  remain in Afghanistan until the start of November.  Based in Camp Bastion, the soldiers are responsible for delivering the Reception, Staging and Onward Integration (RSOI) training that is mandatory for all soldiers entering Afghanistan. It is the final stage of a six-month-long training package to ensure that the soldiers have the most up-to-date tactics, techniques, procedures and intelligence at their disposal.