Charity Ambassadors Day at Twickenham

Aquila Air Traffic Management played host to a small group of Armed Forces charity ambassadors at Twickenham on Saturday, as England took on Wales in the Six Nations rugby. On behalf of our partner charity, Combat Stress and the RAF Benevolent Fund, we were able to show our gratitude to the volunteers for their vital support in raising funding and promoting the charities’ services.

Squadron Leader Debling

Squadron Leader Fitzpatrick

Sqn Ldr Debling is a pilot at RAF Odiham. He was supported by the RAF Benevolent Fund himself when his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Sqn Ldr Debling and his wife met at RAF Shawbury where Steven was training to be a pilot and his wife was training as an Air Traffic Controller.

When she found out she had a very rare form of cancer, the Fund provided childcare, round-the-clock support and financial backing to pay for the spiralling travel costs for medical investigations and hospital visits. The Fund also provided a gateway for counselling when Sqn Ldr Debling sadly lost his wife in 2018.

Sqn Ldr Debling now gives back as an official RAF Benevolent Fund Ambassador, giving talks and attending events in support of the Benevolent Fund.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awNvdcAD6EA

Paul Smith

Paul was 17 years old when he first served in the Falkland Islands conflict in 1982 as a Royal Navy air engineering mechanic. Nothing prepared him for that first tour to the Falklands.

Over the next 34 years, Paul experienced ongoing problems, finding himself abusing alcohol, shutting himself away from his family and not “feeling alive”. He said: “I found it hard to sleep and used to have night terrors. I also used to be very aggressive and get worked up so quickly.”

https://combatstress.org.uk/ Paul was subsequently diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and attended the Combat Stress six-week residential PTSD Intensive Treatment Programme. Paul said:

“Combat Stress gave me the tools to be able to manage my PTSD and live a happier life. I got my wife, my family and my life back.”

Paul now openly speaks at Combat Stress events about his journey to recovery.

Sqn Ldr Fitzpatrick was unaware the RAF Benevolent Fund could help him until it stepped in to support him and his family after his daughter was born with a congenital condition.

A pilot at RAF Odiham and having previously been stationed at RAF Benson and Shawbury, Sqn Ldr Fitzpatrick has completed five tours of Afghanistan. Due to his work, his wife was forced to give up her work in London to manage with their daughter’s ongoing medical treatment and operations. The Fund stepped in with a Minor Financial Assistance Grant to help with childcare costs for their daughters and provided funding for a radio aid to help Sqn Ldr Fitzpatrick’s daughter to hear better in noisy environments like school.

Sqn Ldr Fitzpatrick has set up a station champions committee at RAF Odiham to spread the word about how the RAF Benevolent Fund can support service personnel.

https://www.rafbf.org/news-and-stories/who-weve-helped/we-hadno-spare-capacity-to-think-with-so-much-going-on

Combat Stress

Combat Stress has been Aquila’s charitable partner since 2020. It is the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health. It focuses on delivering specialist treatment and support to veterans who have several severe mental health conditions such as complex PTSD.

Aquila staff have raised over £3000 for Combat Stress. If you are interested in supporting Combat Stress, you can March in March. Walk, run or roll 10 miles on any day during the month of March. Contact communications@aquila-atms.com

Aquila provides air traffic management services to the busy RAF Odiham station, as part of Programme Marshall. The programme is a partnership between the MOD and Aquila to provide resilient air traffic services on the ground, ensuring safe operations in the skies across the UK and at stations overseas.