OFFICERS ACCLAIM LOCAL PEOPLE

Back

American service personnel officially said farewell to the redundant RAF Edzell base yesterday- a year before the gates finally close for good. Tributes- and tears- flowed in an emotional ceremony at the facility marking the withdrawal of US forces after 36 years. Top officers used the occasion to salute the relationships built between North Angus people and those stationed at RAF Edzell, something recognized over the years with many community-relations awards made to the base. Over 600 people including former personnel, members of the public and invited dignitaries sat around the parade ground and listened as US Navy chiefs thanked the area for its hospitality. Among those who made the trip from the US were former commanding officers including Commander Dwayne Yoder(Jul-Sept 1971); Captain Norman Horowitz(1975- 1978) and Captain Terrence Lapierre(1989-1992). Commander Phillip Ray, commanding officer overseeing the rundown of the communication base, said, "Before I arrived at RAF Edzell I had heard how great a duty station it was. After being here a year, now I know why. "Never have I been in a place where the natural beauty of the countryside has been matched by the generosity of its people. Both are overwhelming. "Over the course of the next year all of us will have to leave Scotland. What softens the blow is knowing Scotland will never leave us." The commander then addressed his Navy personnel, now numbering just over 300, standing in formation as he said it was the last time they would be assembled. He told them he had been honored to serve with them as they carried out their work while preparing the base for closure. Guest speaker Rear Admiral Thomas Steven's Commander US Naval Security Group Command, praised the base's role in ending the cold war, which ultimately led to its demise. He said Edzell's intelligence gathering had played a big part in ending decades of fear and a world teetering on the blink of nuclear war. He said the community spirit fostered at the base was illustrated by the fact it had won the Ambassador of the United States of America Award for community relations eight times; the US Navy League London Award six times and the Rear Admiral Thomason Award four times, both for community relations. The US Navy marked its appreciation by handing over commemorative prints to Ian Cowie of Edzell Village Improvement Society and councilors George Norrie (Montrose), George Alan(brechin) and Phillip Martin(Mearns). Lord Lieutenant for Kincardineshire Viscount Arbuthnott said the ceremony not only marked the closure of RAF Edzell "but the end of all US military activity in Scotland." Viscount Arbuthnott, who joined the base community relations committee in 1969, added, "On behalf of all Scots who have come to know the base and its servicemen and women, we consider ourselves most fortunate to have you all among us and we will never forget you as long as we live." After he spoke a lone piper from Montrose branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland band played as a Nimrod jet staged a flypast.