Prime Minister pays Christmas visit to troops in Afghanistan
Prime Minister David Cameron has visited UK troops deployed to Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan to wish them a Merry Christmas.
Prime Minister David Cameron meets with aircrew and ground crew from 12 (B) Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, during a pre-Christmas visit to troops in Afghanistan [Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/PA Wire 2011]
Mr Cameron had been en route to Camp Bastion to pay an early Christmas visit to UK servicemen and women based there, but when a sudden dust storm blew in, closing the Camp’s runway for the first time this year, the PM’s plans had to change:
You just have to take it as it comes in this job,” he told the media.
What we have experienced today is what people working out here experience all the time.
The delay gave the Prime Minister the chance to meet members of RAF 12 (B) Squadron. Based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, the Squadron flies operations across the whole of Afghanistan.
Mr Cameron was shown around a Tornado jet, and also met with United States General James Huggins, the Head of ISAF Regional Command (South), to discuss military progress in Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister later joined soldiers and air personnel in the Services’ canteen, where they chatted over tea.