HMS Richmond has been presented with the Bulawayo Trophy by Chief of Staff (Support) to Commander-in-Chief Fleet, Rear Admiral Tim Chittenden.

The trophy, which was presented while the ship was alongside in Portsmouth, is awarded to the ship or unit which achieves the most impressive Adventurous Training programme for the period.

The award to HMS Richmond recognised the extensive programme of activities which members of the ship's company were able to carry out during the recent ARMILLA deployment. This included skydiving in Cyprus, jungle exploration in India and, most significantly, scuba diving in most of the ship's ports of call.

Take-up for diving was so extensive that some 40 members of the ship's company returned to the UK as qualified Open Water divers. Extensive use of the internet to pre-book activities prior to the ship's arrival enabled LPT 'Jay' Gorton to maintain a comprehensive range of activities throughout the deployment, an achievement all the more impressive due to the ship's active participation in Operation TELIC during the early part of the deployment.