Airborne engineers based at Rock Barracks at Woodbridge have been presented with the Multinational Force and Observers Medal in recognition of their construction work on a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Peninsula.

East Anglian Daily Times: Troops being presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge. Picture: CORPORAL DEK TAYLOR/MOD CROWNTroops being presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge. Picture: CORPORAL DEK TAYLOR/MOD CROWN (Image: MoD Crown Copyright)

Airborne engineers based at Rock Barracks at Woodbridge have been presented with the Multinational Force and Observers Medal in recognition of their construction work on a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Peninsula.

Some 100 troops from 9 Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers, part of Woodbridge-based 23 Parachute Engineer Regiment, were deployed to the Sinai between March and June last year to update infrastructure at bases used by the MFO, a non-UN multinational peacekeeping organisation.

The sappers renewed the base protective walls and checkpoints and carried out electrical and plumbing work on accommodation blocks.

A particularly important task was installing air conditioning units to make the harsh desert environment more bearable, with temperatures peaking at 42°C.

East Anglian Daily Times: Troops being presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge. Picture: CORPORAL DEK TAYLOR/MOD CROWNTroops being presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge. Picture: CORPORAL DEK TAYLOR/MOD CROWN (Image: MoD Crown Copyright)

The troops were presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge, Commander of 8 Engineer Brigade, at a parade at Rock Barracks.

Major Dave Stead, who led the deployment, was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service. He said: “This deployment was three months of hard work in arduous conditions that tested all of our engineering skills, requiring real flexibility, initiative and creativity.

“The camps in the Sinai were designed and built in the late 1970s and we updated the infrastructure to enable the MFO to carry out its challenging mission in a difficult part of the world. I am hugely proud to have commanded a fantastic bunch of men and women who did fantastic work in the Sinai.”

The MFO was created by an agreement between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Israel to monitor the terms of the 1979 Treaty of the Peace and continues to make an important contribution to peace and stability in the region.

East Anglian Daily Times: Troops being presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge. Picture: CORPORAL DEK TAYLOR/MOD CROWNTroops being presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge. Picture: CORPORAL DEK TAYLOR/MOD CROWN (Image: MoD Crown Copyright)

During their time with the MFO the sappers worked alongside peacekeepers from across the world, including USA, Uruguay, Colombia, Fiji and Canada.

East Anglian Daily Times: Troops being presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge. Picture: CORPORAL DEK TAYLOR/MOD CROWNTroops being presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge. Picture: CORPORAL DEK TAYLOR/MOD CROWN (Image: MoD Crown Copyright)

East Anglian Daily Times: Troops being presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge. Picture: CORPORAL DEK TAYLOR/MOD CROWNTroops being presented with the MFO Medal by Brigadier John Ridge. Picture: CORPORAL DEK TAYLOR/MOD CROWN (Image: MoD Crown Copyright)