Welcome Home! Soldiers who supervised the closure of Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, have marked their homecoming with a parade through Beeston, Nottinghamshire. Crowds lined the streets to cheer the soldiers from 64 Works Group Royal Engineers as they marched through the town led by the Band of the Queen’s Division. 64 Works Group is one of five Works Groups that make up 170 (Infrastructure Support) Engineer Group. And were involved in designing and managing the construction of Camp Bastion; the largest overseas military base to be built since World War Two. At its peak, the Camp Bastion complex together with its adjoining US base Camp Leatherneck and Afghan Army Camp Shorabak occupied an area larger than the city of Reading. Officers and Soldiers from the Engineer Group were also honoured for their work in Afghanistan including WO1 Alan Hamilton who was awarded the MBE in March 2014. Alan designed anti-vehicle ditches and walls to lower the risk of vehicle-borne suicide threats at Forward Operating Bases. The Commanding Officer of 64 Works Group, Lieutenant Colonel Phil Crick, said: “We can look back on a very successful and productive tour in which the Works Group played a significant part in the closure of Camp Bastion, helping to bring to an end the Army’s combat mission. “Every tour of Afghanistan has been unique, bringing with it its own individual challenges, but to have a key role in the closure of Camp Bastion has been a great honour and one that all involved in will remember for a long time to come.” At the end of the parade the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire Sir John Peace, Broxtowe MP and Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans Anna Soubry and the Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Broxtowe, Councillor Susan Bagshaw, presented Op Herrick campaign medals.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 14:30:00 +0000
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