An RAF Odiham pilot has spoken to the Observer after receiving a prestigious award for his bravery.
Flight Lieutenant Marc Heal has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions while on operations in Afghanistan in July 2009. As the captain of the Chinook helicopter Immediate Response Team aircraft during Operation Panthers Claw, he commanded eight missions under significant enemy threat.
He successfully extracted 29 casualties from the battlefield and delivering them into medical care. He has been honoured for his superior flying skills, inspirational command of his crew and calmness under fire.
“I was the captain of casualty evacuation during operation Panthers Claw – which took a lot of casualties and we had had to get them back,” he told the Observer. "There were British soldiers, Nato soldiers and Afghan civilians who had got caught up in it.
“The Immediate Response Team are made up of the crew, medical and force protection who ensure we can pick up casualties under fire. For us the hardest part is the evacuation and the intensity of flying – it was 24-hours-a-day and at any point you could get called out. That is the most intense flying I have known for an IRT."
He picked up the award last month and found it a humbling experience. The 29-year-old continued: “I was there with a lot of the guys I picked up and it was so good to see them looking well – but it was also very humbling hearing their tales.”
He is now charged with training the next generation of Chinook pilots at the north Hampshire base. “As soon as I got back I took an instructors course so I am now training new Chinook pilots based at RAF Odiham. “I will not sugar coat it as it is important new recruits know the facts.
“RAF Odiham has become a focal base due to the increased importance of Chinooks.”
