Army Engineers receive Afghanistan medals
25 Nov 08
Soldiers from 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault), based at Woodbridge in Suffolk, have been presented with their Operational Service Medals following a busy six-month tour in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Major General Keith Cima (right) unveiling the bust of Lieutenant Colonel John Rock at Woodbridge in Suffolk
[Picture: Cpl Rupert Frere RLC]
The medals were presented during a parade at Rock Barracks in Woodbridge on Friday 21 November 2008 by Major General Keith Cima, Governor of the Tower of London, who also opened the new 'Garden of Reflection'.
Lieutenant Colonel Dave Wilson led the 360 parading troops in front of Major General Cima and an audience of over 600 which included serving and retired soldiers, VIP guests, and friends and family members.
Captain Marty Willson of 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) said:
"The regiment has always been completely committed to its wider, ever increasing regimental family and were honoured to host so many representatives from the local community, the Royal Engineers Association (Airborne Branch) and Airborne Engineers Association and take the opportunity to thank them personally for their unwavering support during a very demanding tour of duty.
"We were deeply humbled by the never-ending stream of letters and parcels; it made a huge difference! This parade was as much for them as it was for the proud men and women receiving their medals."
The centrepiece of the 'Garden of Reflection' is a bust of the late Lieutenant Colonel John Rock, a former Royal Engineer, who in June 1940 at Winston Churchill's request, founded the first British Parachute Corps. A Sapper from the outset, not only was he the first parachute soldier but also the first glider soldier, and the bust in the memorial garden is a symbol of the regiment's proud airborne traditions and of the sacrifices that have been made by soldiers throughout the regiment's history.
23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) are 16 Air Assault Brigade's engineering and infrastructure specialists and were key in preparing and clearing the route for delivery of the Kajaki Dam turbine in Helmand province as well as managing all the reconstruction and development projects in the province.