RAF CHAPLAINCY
SERVING THIS GENERATION: CHAPLAINCY ON A MAIN OPERATING BASE
The Reverend Al Nicoll
As I started writing this article, I heard the roar of our Typhoon flying display aircraft shooting down the runway before rising almost vertically into the uninterrupted blue of the Lincolnshire sky. I admit that my colleague and I took a short break to step outside the station church and watch the Typhoon display pilot throw millions of pounds of advanced military hardware around the sky for 6 or 7 minutes! On other days we might watch a Battle of Britain era Spitfire or Hurricane, from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, perform its display routine in the skies overhead. RAF Coningsby“ develops the future, delivers the present and commemorates the past of the Royal Air Force’ s combat air power.”
RAF Coningsby, along with RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Marham are the tip of the RAF spear, where our air defence and ground attack aircraft are based and from which they deploy on operations around the world. Along with our other large RAF bases they are described as Main Operating Bases or MOBs. RAF Brize Norton provides the aircraft which move people, kit and supplies to where they are needed and provides essential air-to-air refuelling; RAF Waddington is the home of the RAF’ s Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance( ISTAR) fleet; RAF Benson and RAF Odiham are the home of the Puma HC2 and Chinook helicopter fleets.
At the heart of each RAF MOB is not the technology though, but the human element- those who make all these impressive, state-of-the-art aircraft work. These aircraft are not worth a thing without the people who fly them, nor could they do any of the impressive feats of aerial acrobatics nor have operational impact that they do, without the many people who maintain them, supply them or those who care for the personnel of the RAF. Amongst these are RAF Chaplains, who provide a unique spiritual and pastoral care to our personnel.
Padre Wilson with Rivet Joint at RAF Waddington.
When I entered the RAF Chaplains’ Branch 14 years ago I knew that there was something very different and special about the ministry we provide, compared to the civilian ministry I left. Serving on an MOB definitely reinforces that belief. It is a privilege to bring prayer to the heart of the RAF community, to be a‘ faithful presence’ in a secular organisation and to have the chance to discuss issues of faith and belief with the thousands of personnel who make the RAF one of the premier air forces in the world.
It is not unusual for a pastoral conversation in a Chaplain’ s office to begin with the words,“ I’ m not religious, Padre, but …” Whilst the people we serve with are not any more religiously observant than the civilian population we come from, the Chaplain is often the first port of call for our personnel when they are looking for support. You only have to lightly scratch the surface of most service personnel to find their spiritual heart.
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