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66the so-called UK Chinook Squadron, soon to become No 7 Sqn. Only theefforts of Engineering Wing and Supply Squadron, in the capable handsrespectively of Wg Cdr Mike Windle and Sqn Ldr Peter John, served tomanage the strains on an overburdened system. The station itself, built inthe late 1930s for two army co-operation squadrons, was bulging at theseams, as it would do until the return of No 18 Sqn to its spiritual homeat G%u00fctersloh where no expense was being spared to house it.The RAFG/Strike Command divide was very apparent in a number ofways, not least to me, having recently returned from the Command. TheChinook, noisy by comparison with its predecessors, had encouragedsignificant noise complaints from Odiham%u2019s neighbours.In 1981, I took some comfort in the fact that my AOC was theeminently approachable and fair-minded AVM Don Hall but I was alsoaware of the paucity of SH knowledge in the upper reaches of his staffand of the fierce reputation of his SASO. I would have been happier, as Itook command, had I known that, for a golden period of about fourmonths in the spring and early summer of 1982, the problems that Ianticipated would, very largely, disappear. That is not to say that therewere not minor battles to be fought, internally and upwards, but theywere trivial by contrast with the real test to which the station and itsmajor units would be put by the Falklands War. With hindsight, eventshad an almost surreal quality as the demands of supporting a shootingwar competed with the daily round of peacetime bureaucracy and withinter- and intra-Service bickering.Three aspects of Odiham%u2019s support of forces fighting to recapture theFalklands may be of interest today. First, a flavour of life on the stationduring the conflict, reflecting the tireless efforts of servicemen and theirfamilies and of other agencies of the armed forces and in industry.Second, the rather tangled command and control arrangements cobbledtogether for Operation CORPORATE and their impact upon the station.Finally, what might be called The Curious Affair of the BlackballedPuma, brings together many of the strands of the two earlier subjects.Perhaps the most striking aspect of Odiham%u2019s small part in theFalklands War was the speed with which actions were taken for whichno contingency plans had existed. Many of these depended on intelligentanticipation at station level and on setting in hand essential work that hadnot been ordered, or even approved, at higher levels. Aircraft and