The teenage children of personnel attached to RAF Lossiemouth have proved their fighting spirit by taking on a series of intense adventure challenges.
Four young people from families serving at the Moray airbase were presented with Duke of Edinburgh awards by its Group Captain Paul Godfrey on Monday night.
The station commander congratulated the group on their “inspirational” efforts in achieving the bronze level prizes.
The quartet is among the first to receive the awards through an RAF support programme, which was recently established at the base.
Lucy Barnett, Lucy Bufton and Matthew Sim, all 16, and 15-year-old Aimee Johnston expressed their delight following the presentation event.
Miss Barnett described taking part in the awards scheme as “a challenge”, but added that it was fun getting to spend time with friends.
Miss Bufton said: “This will look really good on my CV, and will help me get into university. I really enjoyed it and I want to do more.”
And Mr Sim added: “It was good spending time with my friends while achieving something.
“I want to go on and get silver and gold next.”
The youngest of the four participants, Miss Johnston, said she relied on the support of the surrounding forces community to see her through the trials.
She said: “It was difficult, but in a good way.
“We’re all part of the RAF community so it’s a nice experience to share.
“This has helped to build my confidence and encouraged me to speak out more in discussions.”
The young people received their awards through Airplay, an RAF support programme funded by the RAF Benevolent Fund.
RAF Lossiemouth’s Airplay youth worker, Karen Forbes, said the initiative was focused on building confidence and resilience in the children.
She added: “That means the Duke of Edinburgh award programme is a great fit for us and really empowering for our young people.
“Their reaction, having achieved something they didn’t think was possible, is priceless.”
Gp Capt Paul Godfrey added: “I was very proud to present these awards – they are a first for not only RAF Lossiemouth, but the wider RAF community as well.