Under Secretary of State for Defence, Derek Twigg, has paid his first visit to Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose today.

The Minister's first port of call was to meet some of the men and women who help to keep 771 Naval Air Squadron in the air. The Squadron provides military and civilian Search and Rescue cover 24 hours a day 365 days a year and are on 15 minute standby to be scrambled to an incident in a 200 nautical mile radius in the South West.

Among the duty crew introduced to the Minister was Royal Marine Captain Damien Daisy' May. Next week he will be presented with the Edward and Maisie Lewis Award for the most outstanding air sea rescue of the year by the Association of Shipwrecked Mariners for the work carried out by the Squadron during the Napoli rescue operation.

The Minister also toured some of the service accommodation at RNAS Culdrose meeting with some service personnel and their families who have recently returned from operational deployments.

Mr Twigg said: "I have been very impressed by what I have seen at RNAS Culdrose today. Our servicemen and women carry out a terrific job here in Cornwall and I am pleased to have been able to spend some time meeting them and having a closer look at what they do. I was especially delighted to meet some of those recently returned from active duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, together with some of their families."

One of the Air Station's primary roles is to teach trainee Observers and Pilots how to fly Sea King and Merlin Helicopters, and how to operate the aircraft's cutting edge technology in combat situations, ready for operational deployment across the world. The Minister included a visit to one of Culdrose's Helicopter Simulators while ast the base.

Computer based training simulation is essential to enable students to study aircraft systems including communications, navigation and radar without them having to leave the ground. The virtual cockpits of the simulators allow students to train for every conceivable mission scenario and enable them to practice emergency procedures in a controlled environment.

Mr Twigg was able to have a go' at flying a Sea King helicopter in daytime desert conditions, with tips from a helicopter Squadron training for this very mission. The Sea King Simulator is used to train all Naval Sea King Pilots. It is constantly updated to reflect the Navy's situational needs for deployment and offers over 2000 hours of training every year.

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