Royal Navy Reservist takes control of Apache over Afghanistan

Lieutenant Commander Bill O'Brien, 54, is now part of the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) Air Branch. He has deployed to Afghanistan for four months with a 155-strong team from 663 Squadron Army Air Corps who are based at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk.

Lt Cdr O'Brien has more than three decades' flying experience under his belt, including receiving the Distinguished Flying Medal for his role in Operation Corporate in 1982 in the Falkland Islands.

Although one of 600 reservists serving in Afghanistan from all three Services, he is the only one flying the Apache, but his more than 6,000 flying hours - which include more than 1,500 hours on the Apache - will undoubtedly stand him in good stead.

Since retiring from active service in 2005, Lt Cdr O'Brien has been employed as a Qualified Helicopter Instructor (QHI) on the Apaches at the School of Army Aviation in Middle Wallop. He said:

"The Apache had not been deployed when I retired so there is an itch I have yet to scratch. I'm grateful for the hard work that both the RNR and the Army have put in to make it happen and I believe I have a contribution to make; there is still some life in the old dog.

"My wife Helen also deserves a lot of credit, after all the sacrifices she made during my regular service she did not blink and has been positively supportive to me from the outset.

"The guys of 663 Squadron are a great bunch and a strong team, well led and highly motivated. I've known them all since they came through the Apache training system and, having worked with them on a number of occasions during pre-deployment training in the past six months, I would consider them all firm friends and very much look forward to serving with them."

Introduced in 2001, the Apache is a powerful and versatile aircraft in the UK's ongoing operations in Afghanistan.

It can operate in all weathers, day or night, and detect, classify and prioritise up to 256 potential targets in a matter of seconds. It carries a mix of weapons including rockets, Hellfire missiles and a 30mm chain gun.

In addition to the distinctive Longbow radar located above the rotor blades, the aircraft is equipped with a day TV system, thermal imaging sight and direct view optics. Defensively it possesses a state-of-the-art fully integrated defensive aid suite.

The helicopter is used in Afghanistan to provide an armed escort for the lightly armed support helicopters and to provide armed 'overwatch' and support for friendly ground forces.

When escorting the big twin-rotor Royal Air Force Chinook transport helicopter and the smaller Royal Navy Sea Kings, the Apache will circle the area to ensure that no hostile forces attempt to fire at their more vulnerable charges.

The Apaches also escort the Chinook Medical Emergency Response Team and US Pedro medical evacuation helicopters when they go to pick up casualties. As the ground action may still be ongoing as the medevac [medical evacuation] helicopters arrive, the Apache may be called in to suppress enemy gunmen.

When supporting troops on the ground, often the very presence of the menacing Apache is enough to persuade hostile fighters to leave the area. 'Overwatch' could be for a convoy or a patrol of troops. The squadron do not just support British forces; they can be called on by any member of the International Security Assistance Force.

Lt Cdr O'Brien's long experience in the military began in 1971 when he joined the Royal Marines, and his first operational tour was in Northern Ireland in 1973. He also deployed during the Falklands conflict and was part of Operation Haven at the end of the first Gulf War - a humanitarian operation of international aid for the Kurds in northern Iraq.

After 28 years in the Royal Marines, rising through the ranks to a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, before receiving his commission as an officer and finishing in the Service as a Major, he then spent six years in the Army before retiring to work as a helicopter instructor.

But he maintained his military connections by joining the Royal Naval Reserve Air Branch, where he is assigned as an operations officer with the Commando Helicopter Force.

In addition to campaign medals, Lt Cdr O'Brien has also earned his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal for his decades of services.

This is 663 Squadron's second operational tour with Joint Helicopter Force (Afghanistan) in two years.

The Squadron Commander, Major Jason Etherington, said of Lt Cdr O'Brien:

"Although Bill joined the Royal Marines a year after I was born he still has the enthusiasm and dedication to match the younger members deployed to Afghanistan.

"Well known as an excellent QHI throughout the Army Air Corps, Lt Cdr O'Brien can claim to have assisted in the training of almost every AH [Apache helicopter] pilot within the squadron; his technical knowledge, experience and maturity are well valued. He is a hugely popular individual who brings a great deal to an exceedingly professional organisation."

When asked what it is like flying in Afghanistan as opposed to the Falkland Islands, Lt Cdr O'Brien said:

"The intensity is more than I was expecting and is more than I recollect from the other place. It is full-on all the time.

"I fly an Apache so I don't feel terribly threatened, although the flying environment is quite hard work sometimes.

"We are here to support the guys on the ground. We are here to support the Afghan people. I believe the average Afghan, like any other human being, just wants to put food on the table, send his children to school, know that his family is safe, and that the rule of law prevails. The job needs to be done properly and I believe I can make some small contribution to that."

Lt Cdr O'Brien's co-pilot/gunner Captain Chris Vosper, 31, explained what it was like flying with the elder statesman of the squadron:

"It is awesome, it is a privilege. Bill is a very experienced pilot and we have become a good team. I am the Squadron Operations Officer which is a very busy appointment and Bill offloads a lot of the hassle and the peripherals before each flight.

"He is very good and patient; his age isn't a factor - he just gets more respect because of his experience."

Lt Cdr O'Brien is not the only Royal Naval person in the squadron. To keep him company are another Naval Officer and a Royal Naval Petty Officer engineer. Lt Cdr O'Brien added:

"We have exchange officers on Apache and the other fleets, as do the other Services, so there is a healthy cross-fertilisation of ideas and practices; although some members of the squadron seem a little confused by 'Jack Speak' [the language used by members of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines]".

When asked if he was still enjoying flying, Lt Cdr O'Brien replied:

"Very much so. There is just so much going on all the time, no two days are the same. The platform is so capable that you have to be on your mettle all the time and it seems that every day I learn something new or remember something I had forgotten - and I don't think that is just an age thing!"