RAF Wittering is one of the most famous air force bases anywhere in the UK - and was founded at the height of the First World War.

But the mighty 102-year-old RAF station is now at the cutting edge of the British military.

And RAF Wittering has been deploying scores of key personnel to take part in the UK's current high-octane cross-forces exercise in Oman - codenamed Saif Sareea 3.

Group Captain Tony Keeling, 48, the station commander, told the Rutland and Stamford Mercury: "We've had about 140 people out in Oman.

"The exercise provides us with a great training opportunity.

"Taking part in an event as huge as Saif Sareea will only make us all more professional, sharper and slicker.

"It will help make us all better at what we do day in day out so it will be absolutely priceless."

Grp Capt Keeling OBE said he was loving every minute after taking charge of RAF Wittering in June last year.

"I've been here about 15 months and it's been fantastic.

"I had been working in finance and capability at the Ministry of Defence in London," he said.

"So to be handed this role was a dream come true.

"We have people all over the world and it gives me a real buzz to come i to work every day.

"We have a lot of brilliant people here and they make RAF Wittering what it is.

"We get magic out of them and I'm very proud of them.

"We have supported 32 operations and 108 exercises worldwide in the last year alone.

"That shows just how crucial a part we play in helping to make the RAF tick every single day."

Grp Capt Keeling also highlighted how he had climbed to the top after joining the service as an apprentice back in 1987.

"I left RAF Cottesmore near here as a corporal and now I've returned to the area as the officer commanding RAF Wittering.

"It's taken a lot of hard work and a bit of luck but it just shows what can be done," he smiled.

The high-flying station chief was backed up by Wing Commander Debs Wright, who commands the powerful 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing.

"The modern RAF is a true meritocracy.

"Anyone from any background - men and women - can rise as high as they want to if they've got the skills and the qualifications.

"I've been in the RAF for 19 year and this is my dream job," said the keen triathlete.

"Logistics is absolutely critical to the whole effort.

"We are the oil in the machine.

"Without us our aircraft don't get off the ground and nobody gets fed.

"It's a huge privilege to work for these people and I see myself as custodian of the wing."

Wing Cdr Wright told how her crack logistics unit had planned their commitment to Exercise Saif Sareea - Swift Sword in Arabic - in the red-hot Omani desert in the Middle East for many months.

"This is a regular exercise and altogether we have 5,500 personnel involved in it so it's on a huge scale.

"It gives us the chance to work inter-operationally.

"And it allows us to deploy out there and show exactly what we can do in gruelling conditions where temperatures top a staggering 40C," she said.

"Our guys have to set up kitchens so that we can feed our people and the burners make it even hotter - they do ever so well!

"The resilience of the guys is incredible.

"It's a tough challenge but we thrive on it and we build up positive relationships with our Omani partners."

Wing Cdr Wright said her wing will deploy personnel in Saif Sareea for the entire four-month high-powered tri-service drill, which also involves Typhoon warplanes and Challenger 2 tanks, from August to the middle of December.

"We'll be based at several locations in Oman.

"We are out there to meet various objectives such as training and tactical," she said.

""It can take months, if not years, to plan and prepare an exercise like this one.

"We have people participating in eight operations in 13 countries across four continents.

"We supply the drivers, cooks, engineers and computer experts.

"Our people all have to be fully trained, qualified and bang up to date in what ever they do.

"We have to make sure all the tents, food, kit and kitchens get there.

"And we have got to be ready for what ever happens in the next five to 10 years - not just next month or next year.

"It's a very complicated process and we have to be so organised."

I went straight from having a cuppa in Wing Commander Wright's super-tidy office to meet the friendly guys who run 3 Mobile Catering Squadron on the sprawling 449-hectare site nudging the A1.

Tucking into mouth-watering bacon, sausage, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and beans cooked up by the team, I talked to Flt Lt Owen Newman, second in command of the squadron, about their unique role in the RAF.

"This is the fantastic food we'd give our guys out in the field - and good food means good morale.

"Before we go out on exercise we build the whole site here in the hanger on our base," said Flt Lt Newman, who's just returned from Saif Sareea.

"That way we make sure that we've got every bit of equipment down to the last nail that we need out on deployment.

"I was out in Oman for a month.

"We've got two sites in the north and south of the country which are very different.

"We've got four chefs out there.

As well as cooking we also look after accommodation and laundry and deploy all the equipment as well as people.

"We can cook three meals a day for 200 people.

"And last year temperatures in one of our kitchens in Oman rocketed to 66C - that's killer heat."

Flt Lt Newman said servicemen and women are given rations for the first 24 hours.

"It takes 24 hours to put up the tents and kitchens and we can provide hot water inside two hours," he said.

"We are an integral part of the operation.

"We have a big reputation and we're determined to protect it."

Flt Sgt Mark Evans, 52, said: "It's all about deployment, sustainment and recovery.

"We fly out to the location well in advance because our preparation takes two to three months.

"We have to book all the air and shipping and we have to make sure that our ships can get into the harbour, for example.

"We talk to embassies, port authorities and shipping handlers.

"We moved over 375,000 kilos of kit and materials to Oman for Exercise Saif Sareea so we've got to work side by side and hand in hand with a lot of other people."

Cpl Tim Macklin said he had flown out to Oman to help set up the logistics computer systems in a six-man team.

He said: "As well as looking after the supply lines we also start up communications systems and we can track everything coming through from the UK."

Flt Sgt Brian Aitken, of 2 Mechanical Transport Squadron, said they were born on July 16, 1940 as the country fought for its life during the Battle of Britain as the Second World War raged.

"We were formed at King's College, Cambridge, and still have close ties with the college.

"The elephant carrying a golden log is our badge, symbolising might and strength.

"We have a range of vehicles from flatbed trailers to battlefield ambulances and cross-country trucks able to carry out many different roles," said Flt Sgt Aitken, who's got a 154-strong unit.

"We were heavily involved in the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Exercise Saif Sareea - we're always first in last out.

"We have moved 3,500 tons of kit this year so far and driven 495,000 miles - to the Moon and back!"

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