Hundreds welcome returning airmen

Airmen march in Stamford in their battle fatigues Enlarge Image

An RAF regiment has paraded through a Lincolnshire town to mark the end of a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

About 160 members of No 3 Squadron RAF Regiment marched through Stamford in desert combats before a medal presentation at RAF Wittering.

The squadron returned from a seven-month tour of duty in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, on Sunday.

Hundreds of residents lined the streets as the parade moved through Stamford with a police escort and pipers.

A Harrier jet from nearby RAF Cottesmore performed a flypast over the town hall during the parade.

Medal ceremony

The squadron took part in Operation Herrick and saw the loss of two airmen in action.

In April, the two senior aircraftmen were killed in an explosion during a routine patrol near Kandahar Airfield.

Graham Livingstone, 23, from Glasgow and Gary Thompson, 51, from Nottingham, died when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

After the parade, squadron members will receive their Operational Service Medal Afghanistan at a ceremony at RAF Wittering.

The squadron, which was reassigned to RAF Wittering in February 2007, was stationed at the air base at Kandahar since early February this year to ensure safe operation of coalition aircraft.

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The squadron has been in Afghanistan for the past six months