662 Squadron is one of the UK’s Apache Helicopter units, part of 3 Regiment Army Air Corps and 1^st Aviation Brigade, and based at Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk. 

We were expecting to be spending April and May 2020 taking part in Exercise Defender Europe 20, the largest US-led exercise in Europe for 25 years with troops from a variety of nations and over 37,000 total participants. Defender 20 would have seen us working alongside the US Army as part of a multinational Battle Group, culminating in northern Poland. However, due to the COVID19 pandemic we find ourselves staying home and protecting the NHS like the majority of the population!

Frustrated in missing out on such an excellent training opportunity we have decided to set ourselves an equally valuable challenge to raise funds for the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA)!

The Sqn’s 17 aircrew are going to collectively run the equivalent distance from Wattisham Flying Station to the Polish airbase which was our ultimate destination in Europe. The group will simulate the journey from the UK by road, through Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany to the Miroslawiec Air Base…and back! A total of 3000km. The challenge will be limited to a two month period, 01 May 20 to 30 June 20, and will be conducted within the Government’s direction for daily exercise.

We hope to raise money to support the EAAA during these unprecedented times. Year on year they conduct thousands of vital sorties, playing a vital role in saving lives; in March 2020 alone they carried out 178 separate taskings! Due to COVID19 there are so many additional constraints, not least the risk of infection to the crews of the aircraft and ground support and engineering team. Any donation will be immensely appreciated and will help to sustain this life-saving charity.

https://www.eaaa.org.uk/