I joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 2004 as a pilot. After completing Officer training and rotary flying training I was posted to RAF Odiham to fly Chinook helicopters. I was placed on 18 (B) Squadron and in 2008 I deployed to Afghanistan, which turned out to be my first of 5 deployments to that beautiful, dusty and dangerous country.
Summer 2008 was particularly hot in more than one sense of the word. With temperatures often touching 50oC our main role was tasking up and down the length of Helmand Province re-supplying all the forward operating bases (FOBs) and patrol bases (PBs).
We also had the role of Immediate Response Team (IRT) carrying the medical emergency response team (MERT), a team of 4 medics that was used for casualty evacuation. We took part in deliberate operations, which were pre-planned missions to target known targets such as weapon caches or drug processing residences or to pick up wanted persons. We also provided a platform for the Helmand Reaction Force; one aircraft with 30 troops in ready to fly wherever it was needed to support those under direct contact with the enemy.
Prior to my first deployment I got my church, family and friends to pray for me and particularly for safety. On that deployment at least once a week one of our aircraft would come back with bullet holes in. I found out that everybody on my Flight had been hit at some point. I managed to get through the whole deployment without ever getting shot at or hit. So much so, that I gained a reputation of “if you want to keep safe, fly with Rich Anderson”. I really felt so encouraged that I had asked people to pray specifically that I would be kept safe, and I had been.
*Photo credit: https://www.pexels.com/@rdne