LONGMOOR 2012

The weekend of the 4th to the 7th of May saw 871 Squadron again take on the formidable Wing Exercise at Longmoor Army Training Establishment in defence of the crown that they won last year.

As usual, the events were many and varied - testing such diverse skills as first aid, shooting, leadership, strength and endurance. The command tasks were all well received by the cadets and this year saw the introduction of new events such as an improved observaton exercise and a Landrover pull!

The weather was foul and, with a team depleted by school exams and injury, the squadron battled through the elements to mount a spirited fight to retain their title.

Monday saw the team with a chance to attain their aim, but when a team member was forced to drop out during the 3km run, the team knew that they would have to fight hard physically to come home with the trophy.

871's main rival, 2F (Watford) Squadron had a strong group and the sheer physicality of the final day played to their strengths. In the end, the Watford unit went away with the overall championship with 2457 (Tring) Squadron finishing in 2nd place a tiny 0.4 points ahead of 871 in third.

871's Commanding Officer, Flight Lieutenant Brett Shepherd, had this to say about the weekend, "the team put up a really fantastic defence of the Wing Exercise trophy and, though we didn't manage to hang on to it in the end, I can honestly say that I have never seen a group of people put in such an effort. I was never prouder than when I watched our team cross the finishing line after the 3km run... the sheer determination, strength of will and physical strength that was expended in that event was astounding." He went on, "the weekend was arduous but I know that everybody had a great time! 871 is experienced and is very used to placing highly in wing competitions - I know that we'll be back next year fighting hard to regain the trophy no matter what the event or the weather throws at us!"