MoD awards Brize airmen (From thisisoxfordshire)

MoD awards Brize airmen

2:41pm Tuesday 15th September 2009 in News

FLIGHT sergeant Barry Murphy — who helped to move 18,000 troops in and out of Afghanistan — has been honoured.

Flt Sgt Murphy, now based at the Defence Movements School, at RAF Brize Norton, was last week recognised in the Ministry of Defence’s list of operational honours and awards.

The 46-year-old, known as Baz, was awarded the Joint Commanders Commendation for Afghanistan for his outstanding work during a tour of duty at the end of last year.

He said: “My reaction was one of pleasure.

“When I was out there, there was a lot of hard work going on.

“I certainly did my best, but it’s a team effort — I was just a small cog.”

During his tour between July and November last year, Flt Sgt Murphy, who was then based with 1 Air Mobility Wing at RAF Lyneham, was responsible for flying troops and vital equipment into and out of Afghanistan.

This coincided with one of the RAF’s biggest relief operations, where 18,000 troops had to be moved in and out of the country within two months.

Flt Sgt Murphy, who lives in Wiltshire with sons, 13-year-old Harry and 11-year-old Daniel, and wife Liz, was recognised for making the best possible use of every seat and pallet space on each aircraft to ensure that the mission was completed successfully.

Leading Aircraftsman Wayne Ince, a RAF Regiment Gunner from 501 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force, based at Brize Norton, was also awarded an operational honour for his work during a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.