RAF Lossiemouth Station Commander Group Captain Sarah Brewin on becoming first woman in role and maintaining Moray community relationship

An RAF base’s first ever female commander says she is ready to take on the challenge of managing one of the busiest airbases in northern Europe.

Group Captain Sarah Brewin has been named Station Commander of RAF Lossiemouth. She is not only the first woman in the role, but also the first non-aircrew.

She will oversee a base with more than 2000 personnel, eight flying squadrons, three fleets of aircraft and a Force Protection Wing. It is one of the largest and busiest fast jet bases in the RAF.

The role comes with immense responsibility but Group Captain Brewin is confident of building on the work of her predecessor Group Captain Jim Lee.

“It's the absolute pinnacle of your career to get command of a station,” she said.

“It's really brilliant that they can see that actually there are no limits on what women can achieve in the organisation.

“There is a huge amount of responsibility that sits on my shoulders and I don't take that lightly.

“I've got a huge amount of operational output that I have to enable so the responsibility does sit on my shoulders.

“But do I worry about it? No, because I've got a really good team. They are really well trained.”

Originally from north-east England, Group Captain Brewin joined the RAF in 2003 in search of “something bigger” than a traditional desk job.

Before long she was being deployed to locations across the world including the Middle East, Falklands and one of the most remote locations in the world in Ascension Island.

Over two decades in the RAF has also seen her work in a variety of roles.

Most recently, she was overseeing the RAF’s estate of over 30 sites, 10,000 buildings and 29 active airfields.

That experience will be leant on during her two year stint as Station Commander in Lossiemouth.

“I have been all over really but this will be my fourth tour at Lossiemouth,” she said. “I have served here at every rank and I've done quite a lot of different jobs.

“I’ve had a really eclectic career but it's all about making sure that our people have got what they need to do their job, they’ve got the right buildings, they've got the right equipment, they've got enough money, they've got the right kinds of accommodation and that's what's really important.

“My background positions set me up really well to do that.”

In 2010, RAF Lossiemouth was close to closing. Thousands opposed the proposal and after enough pressure, the base was saved.

Now, nearly 15 years later, the base is stronger than ever and is undergoing a period of considerable growth.

Recent additions to the base include a £10 million fire station, a newly refurbished hangar for a Typhoon squadron as well as seven new accommodation blocks with an eighth still to come.

The Ministry of Defence also announced the completion of a £350 million programme to upgrade the base last month.

“I think if we had been sat here in 2010 then it would have been really different,” Group Captain Brewin added.

“That was 14 years ago and the amount of investment we’ve had at Lossie since then has been just phenomenal.

“It's a really busy time for Lossiemouth because we've got another new fleet of aircraft arriving in my tenure.

“Our airborne early warning and control aircraft, the E7 Wedgetail, are going to be arriving in the next 12 months or so.

“We have already started a lot of those preparations, so making sure that the base is ready to accept those, and not only accept the aircraft, but then we're ready to fight with them as well, is a really big undertaking.

“We are also about to build a new air traffic tower, which is a really big undertaking as well but this kind of investment is great news for Lossie.”

Moray has become something of a home away from home for Group Captain Brewin.

She admits leaving the base two years ago was tough but having returned, she is keen to continue the base’s long established relationship with the local community.

She continued: “I absolutely love it here in Lossiemouth.

“When I finished here last time, I actually only left two years ago, I can remember driving down the A9 and I really had a lump in my throat when I left.

“It’s a really special place and in all the bases I've served, I don't think I've ever really felt such a close bond between the local community.

“We are quite noisy neighbours at times, and they just give us so much support.

“Continuing that support and relationship is just a non-negotiable.

“I think it's just inherent to everything that we do.”

Article by Ewan Malcolm