Christmas Parcels from Home
Throughout the lead-up to the festive period, RAF Halton’s Personnel Services Flight (PSF) staff and the Community Support Team worked hard for the benefit of all of the Service Personnel due to be deployed over Christmas (and their families), including those deploying in December itself, one airman is scheduled to depart on 22 December!. To their credit, the whole PSF team banded together to make numerous festive welfare parcels and gift wrap them, ensuring that they were ready to send in time for the last posting date ahead of Christmas. In total, 20 parcels were distributed to Halton personnel, filled with Christmas crackers, hats, candy canes, a letter from Santa and Christmas cards from the Aylesbury 9th Scouts group, led by Phil Minett, who first contacted the Station in November to ask if the Scouts could do their bit for deployed personnel.
The parcels were sent to a variety of operational locations including to those individuals based in Afghanistan and Iraq. Following feedback received from personnel who had recently returned from Operations, the Community Support Team took the opportunity to review the gifts and support that were currently being offered to the families of deployed personnel. It was vitally important that these families were not forgotten and that they were well taken care of. Adults were sent gifts of wine and chocolates, whilst special presents were sent to the children (including an interactive WIFI-enabled teddy for those aged 7 and under, which would allow them to record messages to be sent directly to their deployed parents). Furthermore, the Station Commander even wrote personalised Christmas Cards to every family who had someone away over the festive period letting them know they are never far from our thoughts.
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