Language course helped Qatari aircrew

In June we bid a sad farewell to our friends at Lincoln College, who for the past four years have been helping Ascent assist Qatari trainee aircrew at RAF Cranwell.

The English Language Reinforcement Course (ELROC) started at RAF Cranwell in March 2019. It was designed as a partnership between Lincoln College and Ascent, to help Qatari pilots familiarise themselves with UK airspace and procedures on the Prefect TMK1, before moving onto the Hawk and latterly join 12 Squadron (a joint UK-Qatar Typhoon squadron).

12 Squadron is now operating as a bilateral squadron at RAF Coningsby until 2025. According to RAF News, pilots and ground crews from both nations will build on the lessons and operational skills developed to date to further enhance interoperability between the two nations.

The bedrocks of the ELROC project were Kate O’Shaughnessy and Tony Benerama, who joined us from Lincoln College as Arabic linguists, to support the Qatari trainees during their time at RAFC Cranwell and help them hone their English skills.

Kate and Tony have been an important part of the Ascent team over the past four years and will be sorely missed. We wish them every success in their future endeavours.