A Cornish Navy officer who first dreamed of taking to the skies as a toddler watching Culdrose Air Day has reached the most senior officer rank on the base.

Steve Cass from Porthleven is to be the new Warrant Officer of the Naval Service as of December this year.

It’s not only a lifetime achievement for Steve, but the first time any Engineer and member of the Fleet Air Arm has reached such an influential position: WONS is the most prestigious role for a Warrant Officer.

Steve will be the channel between the non commissioned ranks and most Senior Naval officers.

His new office carries a remarkable badge; a “Ceremonial Cane” furnished from wood from the oldest still commissioned ship in the world, HMS Victory.

Steve told CCN: “I would never have imagined that as a lad growing up in Porthleven, and coming to Culdrose Air Day each year, I would join the Navy as an Air Mechanic and one day be the most senior Warrant Officer of the Naval Service.

“It all seems a lifetime ago now but I have genuinely loved every minute of my career.”

Steve’s served in the Navy 27 years. He joined in 1986 and spent his early years with 820 Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Culdrose and onboard HMS Ark Royal on operational service east of Suez.

The married dad of three said of his new post: “It’s a demanding position and I’m looking forward to speaking to Royal Marines, Submariners, Sailors and Airmen wherever they serve over the next 3 years and the influence the position has regarding their issues.

““We are going through some very exciting times in the Royal Navy. Afghanistan operations are drawing to a close and the new Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carriers will be entering service soon.

“So there are a lot of challenges ahead and I am convinced we have the right quality of personnel to cope with them and succeed wherever we operate.”

WO1 Cass is a proud Cornishman who is married to Alison who is an equally proud Yorkshire woman. They have three daughters aged 18, 14 and 6.

His interests include walking their energetic spaniel across the Cornish cliffs, pilot gig rowing and working with local schools to support children of Service personnel who are deployed.

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Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose is one of Europe’s largest helicopter bases. Culdrose delivers highly capable Helicopter Squadrons specialising in Anti-Submarine Warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare and Airborne Surveillance and Control. The frontline Squadrons are deployed to ships all over the world to support the Royal Navy in its global operations. Back at the Air Station, trainee Aircrew, Engineers, Air Traffic Controllers, Fire-fighters and Flight Deck crews undergo intensive training prior to joining Naval Air Squadrons for duties at sea. Additionally, the ‘Search and Rescue’ Squadron is on constant standby 365-days a year to react to emergencies throughout the Southwest region. Its red and grey helicopters can be seen braving all types of weather responding to calls for help on land and sea.

The idea for the challenge came from friends Aaron Day, a retail shop owner in Stamford and Corporal Michael Gambling, an instructor in the Royal Air Force.

Together they devised a challenge that would push them beyond their limits both mentally and physically.

Alternating between running and cycling, the team will push themselves to the extreme beginning at Lands End on Tuesday 30th April and culminating in the Milton Keynes Marathon on Monday 6th May, covering a huge total of 434.8 miles each.

With four of the five team members being in the Royal Air Force, the decision to support the RAF Benevolent Fund was easy as they wanted to raise awareness of the RAF as a potential career choice, boost morale and give something back to the families as well as Servicemen and women, past and present.

The second charity that the team are supporting is The Connor Wright Shwachman-Diamond Project. Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS) is genetic and an inherited condition, a very rare, complex, multi system disorder affecting particularly the pancreas, bone marrow and skeleton. Next to Cystic Fibrosis, it is the most common cause of pancreatic insufficiency in children.

The Project aims to raise money and awareness of all rare or difficult to diagnose diseases in children.

Corporal Gambling, stationed at RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire, said: “This challenge has never been done before.

“We’ll be pushing not just our bodies to the limit but also our will to succeed. The team have been training hard but even so the amount of strain placed on our bodies over the seven days will be immense. Finishing at the Milton Keynes Marathon is pretty exciting – most of us are or have been stationed at RAF Halton so it will feel like we are on home ground.

I hope we get a lot of support from the crowd.”

Aaron Day said: “I first thought of the challenge a year ago, and together me and Mike have now made it reality.

The thought of being able to push myself beyond limits excites me and to do this for two amazing charities makes all the physical and mental strain worth the while.

One day I would like my children to say my dad and his four friends took part in something amazing and made a bit of history.”

The team can be followed online on Facebook and Twitter. To donate or sponsor the team go to Seven Days of Pain or donate by text by messaging CRPD followed by the amount (e.g. CRDP£10) to 70070.

Please give generously!

ENDS

Photo1: Corporal Gambling, Turner and Pierce get ready for a bike training session at RAF Halton
Photo2: Corporal Gampling and Turner train indoors due to snow!
Photo3: Planning the route, it’s a long way!

ROUTE PLAN

Day 1- Start at Land’s End and will run along the costal footpath covering 26.2 miles.
Day 2- The first day on the bicycles cycling from Porthleven to Falmouth Dock, then on to St Mawes via ferry crossing and then cycling to Dartmouth covering a total 110 miles.
Day 3- Run along the coastal paths from Dartmouth to the Dawlish ferry covering 26.2 miles.
Day 4- After crossing on the ferry to Exmouth, cycling to Andover covering 110 miles.
Day 5- Starting at Andover and running through Newbury finishing at Compton and covering 26.2 miles.
Day 6- The final cycle from Compton to Milton Keynes, via RAF Northolt and RAF Halton covering 110 miles.
Day 7- The Milton Keynes Marathon covering 26.2 miles.

CHARITIES

The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund

The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund is the RAF’s leading welfare charity, providing financial, practical and emotional support to all members of the RAF family.
The Connor Wright Shwachman-Diamond Project
The Connor Wright Shwachman-Diamond Project is a non-profit organisation set up by ordinary people, with ordinary lives, doing ordinary jobs in order to bring awareness and raise funds for a very UNORDINARY condition –Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome. Our goals are to campaign for and support research towards a cure and improve medical management of symptoms as well as raise awareness of the Syndrome within the medical profession, support agencies and the general public. We have supported Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity as they are leading the campaign into the research. Great Ormond Street has opened a special purpose fund for the money we donate to go direct into and used solely for research purposes into Shwachman Diamond Syndrome.

SPONSORSHIP AND DONATIONS

Donations can be made at;
Team
RAF Benevolent Fund
GOSH SDS

:
To donate by text message text: CRPD followed by the amount (e.g. CRDP£10) to 70070.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Facebook /7daysofpain
Twitter @7daysofpain
Blog 7daysofpain.wordpress.com
RAFBF rafbf.org
The Connor Wright Shwachman-Diamond Project

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Six members of the Seahawk Gliding Club from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose braved Arctic conditions over Wales, taking to the skies during Exercise Spring Lamb 13, their annual Easter Gliding Expedition.

In normal years, swooping and soaring over the Welsh countryside in spring would attract many budding young glider pilots.

But the Coldest Easter on record and temperature drops to as low as minus six overnight, saw crews from RNAS Culdrose pack thermal s instead of shorts and sunscreen.

Setting up base camp at Talgarth Gliding club, South Wales, members prepared for flights over the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons.

The move 250 miles away from their Cornish Naval Air Station allowed instructors and Students to experience ridge and wave gliding, not available at Culdrose.

But although affected by the poor weather only 2 days of flying were lost, members completing 23 launches and over 24 hours in the air; gaining some much valued gliding experiences in tricky whether conditions as well.

“Waking up to snow, It was difficult to remember if we had come to Wales or Alaska”, said Air Engineering Technician Danny Furlong from 824 Naval Air Squadron.

The aim of the Spring Expedition was to introduce new students to the basics of Gliding and four AET’s from Culdrose took up the challenge.

Danny continues, “We scaled ridges to start with to get a feel for where the best lift was. Evidently there was a lot of good lift as we were in the air for two hours. I enjoyed being in control, practising turns and trimming the aircraft”. 

By the middle of the week lighter winds provided excellent training value for students to progress from straight flight to turns in the gliders.

Light snow showers had little effect on flying and there was some thermal activity allowing gliders to climb to 3000 feet and show another way of staying airborne.

Commander Chris Bryning, Expedition Leader and Chief Instructor, thanked those who contributed to Exercise Spring Lamb 2013, in particular the students who soared to the challenging conditions.

“Every student did really well and had over four hours flying with our gliders. With wind conditions light enough by the end of the week this allowed the use of Talgarth’s vintage, side by side open cockpit glider trainer called `Snoopy’ This was the experience of a lifetime for the four guys lucky enough to fly in her”.

Seahawk Gliding Club has already put in for the use of Talgarth’s excellent facilities for next year; let’s hope the forecasters can predict a warmer Spring Lamb for 2014!

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A Team of 14 Cyclists of 849 Naval Air Squadron from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose will set off on a 400 mile adventure on Monday 18 march 2013 to the National Memorial Arboretum, NMA at Alrewas in Staffordshire.

The start of the ride begins a week commemorating the 10th anniversary of Operation Telic and the accident that killed seven members from the squadron. It will culminate on Friday 22 March at a ceremony alongside families and friends of the aircrew who died on 22 March 2003, when two Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control helicopters collided over the Northern Gulf.

The 400 mile ride will take place over five days, with the cyclists riding approximately 70 – 90 miles per day, backed up by a road support team, utilising MOD/Naval establishments on route for accommodation, allowing for a short ride into the NMA on the Friday to be met by the guest of honour on completion of the unveiling of the 849 Squadron plinth.

Lieutenant Dave Anderson an Observer on 849 NAS has organised the ride and has personal reasons for doing the trip. “I knew one of the guys who was killed on 849 Sqn and have lost good friends in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its going to be a long slog but it’ll be worth it reaching the National Memorial and raising money for charity”.

Attending the event in Staffordshire will be senior Royal Navy Officers, serving personnel from the squadron during OP Telic in 2003 and family members of those who died, including the family of Lieutenant Adams United States Navy, who was attached to the Squadron for Op Telic.

The Commanding Officer of 849 Naval Air Squadron, Lieutenant Commander Andrew Rose, would like to raise both awareness of all those members of the FAA who have made the ultimate sacrifice since World War 1, of which there are no fewer than 6000, and also raise money for three charities – the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC), the NMA Appeal, and the Fly Navy Heritage Trust. The personnel from the Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control force led by CO 849, are due to arrive at 1300 on Friday 22nd March 2013 and take part in the unveiling of the newly placed 849 plinth at the FAA memorial.

The Telic tragedy happened around 0430 on 22 March 2003. Two Sea King Mk7 helicopters of 849 Naval Air Squadron A Flight were involved in a tragic accident in the Northern Arabian Gulf where all seven crew members were killed.

If you’d like to donate just click HERE

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