Thursday (July 26) is the day that RAF Kinloss formally becomes Kinloss Barracks.
As the RAF prepare to leave the base, after a history that spans back nearly eighty years, there will be fond farewells and probably a lump in the throat of many as the RAF ensign is lowered for the last time.
The local community have already issued a welcome to members of 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support) who have started to move in from their current base at Waterbeach at Cambridgeshire.
The regiment is expected to be at full strength by the autumn with 51 Officers and 665 other ranks based at Kinloss.
A special ceremony will be held on the base to mark the official handover.
Heading up 39 RE is Lieutenant Colonel Andy Sturrock, who will be there, taking the baton passed from Group Captain JJ Johnston who has been overseeing the drawdown and transition process from the RAF to the Army at the former Nimrod base.
As the RAF flag will come down for the last time, the Army flag will be raised and Kinloss Barracks will be open for business.
The Army has already made its presence felt in Forres, with a contingent attending local events such as the Forres Highland Games, and the Findhorn Fete, as well as local people reporting seeing Army trucks moving around Kinloss.
Meantime, Lt Col Sturrock has accepted an invitation by the Forres Community Council to speak to the public in Forres Town Hall on Thursday, September 6 at 7pm. Full details will appear in the ‘Gazette’ shortly before.
