The latest Commander British Forces Gibraltar Commendations ceremony took place at Her Majesty’s Naval Base recently. 

A statement from British Forces Gibraltar follows below:

The aim of these awards is to highlight and express gratitude and recognition for the hard  work members of the Ministry of Defence have carried out. 

As Deputy Port Services Manager, Chief Petty Officer Woodward has made an exceptional  effort to meet the challenge of unprecedented port operations in 2021 and was personally  cited by Commanding Officers of visiting ships and submarines for being instrumental in  quickly returning them to sea and operational readiness. The year included his support for  the first port visit outside the UK mainland by HMS Prince of Wales. The safe and  successful delivery of these operations required an enormous effort by CPO Woodward.  

Joining the unit in May 21, it was quickly apparent that Cpl Hellis had a passion for Physical  Training having recently completed the All Arms Physical Training Instructor course. Cpl  Hellis plays an essential role with his innovative ideas bringing a like-minded community  together with the common theme of personnel development. He is an excellent ambassador  to his Corps and is without question having a positive impact on mental and physical health  across the British Forces Gibraltar community. Cpl Hellis is thoroughly deserving of this CBF  Commendation. 

Since joining Windmill Hill Signal Station in the summer of 2020, Sgt Dolan has consistently  delivered a high level of output to the benefit of both Windy Hill and HQBF. External to  Windy is where his vast experience has been of particular benefit. As one of the most  experienced and qualified fuels users in Defence, he was seconded weekly to HQBF to  support the fuels manager. Dolan provided a level of guidance, advice and support which  otherwise was not available in Gibraltar, enabling HQBF’s output to be maintained.  Thoroughly deserving of this award, Dolan has shown that he is a valuable asset to both  Windmill Hill Signal Station and wider British Forces Gibraltar. 

The MITIE Waterfront Services Team are a small band of seven highly trained personnel  who deliver practical services to warships and submarines berthing in HM Naval Base  Gibraltar, which has seen exceptional levels of maritime activity with the operational tempo  at the highest level for 5 years. This has been particularly challenging for the Waterfront  Services team dealing with a diverse portfolio of Aircraft Carriers, Nuclear submarines and  weapons operations within an extremely compressed time frame and across a wide  geographic area. The team have risen to, and successfully met, this challenge ensuring  visiting platforms frequently reported receiving superior support than in their home ports.  This has required dedication, professionalism, long hours in arduous conditions and frequent 

weekends away from their family. All this has been managed with the highest levels of safety  at the core of their culture of operations.  

Without this admirable effort British Forces Gibraltar would have been unable to deliver the  programme, returning platforms quickly and efficiently back to operations and the highest  priority defence commitments. The team should be justifiably proud of their achievements,  have gained a reputation for excellence across the Fleet, and are highly commended.