On 30th September, Flight Lieutenant Amy Casey, a serving RAuxAF officer on 7644 Public Relations Squadron, received well-deserved accolades at two separate events.
At the first event, held in the magnificent surroundings of Dover Castle in Kent, she was among a small group of nominated individuals from emergency services, civilian agencies, and the armed forces who met Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, both of whom wished to express their personal gratitude to them all for their commitment and dedication whilst deployed in the fight against Covid-19.
Flight Lieutenant Casey, who, in her civilian job, can be heard daily on the British Forces Broadcasting Service, plays an important communications and engagement role for the RAF as a part time media specialist with 7644 Squadron, represented the Squadron at the event. Other RAuxAF attendees included personnel from 600 (City of London) Squadron. . The Reservists explained their roles to the Princess and told why they had travelled from all over the UK to support Operation Rescript and Operation Rose in Kent, the code names of the military operations set up to support the United Kingdom’s fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
Many of the Reservists gave up their Christmas and New Year, even using holiday from their civilian jobs to work with NHS staff in Covid Test Centres and help the tens of thousands of stranded continental lorry drivers who were trying to get across the English Channel once lock-down had been imposed across much of Europe. For the RAuxAF personnel, it meant long days and working through the night in freezing conditions on the M20 motorway and on the windswept Manston Airfield, converted to an emergency lorry park to start to clear the backlog of thousands of lorries.
Hosted by Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Field from 11 Infantry Brigade, Her Royal Highness and Sir Anthony were introduced to the light-blue attendees involved in the two Operations.
Afterwards, Flight Lieutenant Casey said “It was a real honour to represent 7644 Squadron and meet Her Royal Highness at Dover Castle. We had the opportunity to describe our role and discuss the challenges and achievements we had experienced last year. It was inspiring to see all three of the armed forces represented, alongside various integral civilian agencies who all made such vital contributions during a deeply unsettling time. It made me feel proud to have been even a small part of an incredible national effort.”
At the second event held that evening, Flight Lieutenant Casey was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Livery Company of Communicators at their annual Military Media Awards Ceremony for her contribution to Op Rescript through the year. It was truly a day to remember.