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Warry and peace: Hampshire military brothers meet up on Middle East security mission
24 April 2025
With a Warry surname there could only be a career in the military for brothers Andrew and Alex from Portchester in Hampshire.
But because Andrew joined the Navy and younger brother Alex chose the RAF, the pair have never met up before on operations… until a brief encounter on the tarmac in the Middle East.
That changed when Alex was assigned to the region with 83 Expeditionary Air Group to support A400M operations.
His brother, a 30-year-old petty officer operations room specialist, has been deployed to the Gulf for nearly 2½ years with frigate HMS Lancaster, operating out of Bahrain.
The RAF supports two long-running operations in the region: Kipion – the broader security/stability mission which is also the RN’s principal mission east of Suez; and Shader – air strikes against the Islamic State/ISIS/Daesh across the Middle East.
When Andy was asked to collect some key supplies for the ship finally gave the brothers a chance to (briefly) link up… and talk Pompey.
The Warrys might have met on deployment before when Andy was serving in Gibraltar… only for Covid restrictions to prevent a reunion when Alex flew in on an A400.
The former pupils of Cams Hill School in Portchester were drawn to a life in the military by their late grandfather who served in the Royal Navy from the age of 19… which was how old Andy was when he began his training.
“My brother on the other hand wasn’t a keen advocate of the idea on being on a ship”, said the senior rate. “He and my father attended a lot of air shows which led to his interest in aircraft and resulted in him taking the easy way out and joining the RAF.”
Andy now has 12 years’ service under his belt in the Royal Navy, one third of them serving in HMS Lancaster.
This is the latest rotation for Andy as part of Lancaster’s crew (all 200 souls change entirely every four months to sustain the frigate on operations in the Middle East). He’s hoping for “tremendous success” during this last stint after previous successes which have included ensuring the safe passage of merchant shipping through the Red Sea and numerous drugs busts.
Alex, aged 23, joined the RAF in 2021, spent two years at Brize Norton before joining Atlas Force Operations, supporting A400s around the globe include numerous deployments to Cyprus, plus Norway and the USA in support of a parachute exercise.
That 11,000-mile round-trip from Brize Norton – partly a promotional trip to showcase the A400M to our American cousins – included displaying the aircraft at the US Marine Corps airbase at Miramar (one-time home of Top Gun).
As for his older brother Andy, he’s visited more than 20 countries (particularly enjoying Bermuda, the USA, Falklands and Gibraltar), acted as a tour guide on HMS Victory, and has taught sailors to ski at the Navy’s outdoor activity centre in Bavaria.
He cites visiting New Orleans during the US Navy’s Fleet Week, six weeks in Singapore during a maintenance period, and a chance to join a safari in Kenya among his highlights.
When not deployed the brothers are season ticket holders at Fratton Park, attending Portsmouth FC matches with their dad and uncle.