617 Sqdn commemorating the 1943 Dams Raid

Whilst Dambusters2012 were riding to and from the Mohne Dam in Germany along the route of Lancaster AJ-J flown by Sqdn Ldr David Maltby, members of 617 Sqdn at Kandahar Airbase, Afghanistan commemorated the Raid by doing a 24hr 'Tab/Run/Walk' in full combat gear and rifle around the aircraft flight line hoping to achieve 617 circuits. The distance around the flight line is 870m, body armour 20KGs and rifle 6.5 Kgs. In my contacts words: "Some nutters ran and some like me plodded at an elderly pace. All this as well as supporting a rather full operational flying program".

They actually exceeded their target and achieved 657 circuits of the flightline in the end and as you can see from the pictures below they were doing it in 36 degrees in the daylight and about 27 in the evening. Talk about showing some endurance! What an fantastic effort.

Why are we doing all this and writing this blog?
Dambusters2012, supported by 617 Sqdn, are raising money to back the fantastic work of Help for Heroes who provide direct, practical support to those wounded, sick or injured in the line of duty since 9/11. All the funds raised to date are either allocated or spent on the direct, practical support of those wounded in the current conflicts. To date, H4H has funded a variety of projects including the £8m Rehabilitation Complex at Headley Court, a new £3.5m treatment centre for Combat Stress, adaptive adventure training through the Battle Back programme and the creation of a £6m Quick Reaction Fund to support individuals in need.

Please join us and the team at 617 Sqdn and visit www.bmycharity.com/dambusters2012 and make a donation on-line today. Not tomorrow - do it today. Thank you.