Overworked RAF faces manpower 'crisis'

[gemarriott]

The RAF is so short of manpower that some personnel are being forced to spending an entire year way from their home bases, in contravention of the airforce's own guidelines. Short of Aircrew and techies? Now there's a surprise...........NOT:rolleyes:

Full story here

Overworked RAF faces manpower 'crisis' - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/5148809/Overworked-RAF-faces-manpower-crisis.html)

[spheroid]

D'you know..... I thought this would be a good story until I noticed who had written it..... Good try Tom but you must work harder to obtain that bite.

[minigundiplomat]

Lays out pretty well known facts in a public forum. I really don't know what speroids getting heated about.

Nothing we didn't already know, granted.

[Op_Twenty]

Journo fishing... story true all the same.

[taxydual]

Gemarriot

You're not Donaldo from E-Goat (and this Forum) by any chance are you? If you aren't, how come you can edit his post on that Forum?

Come clean. I'm sure you'll be welcome.

[Jumping_Jack]

taxidual....:D.....I just love it when dimwits like gemarriot/donlado get caught out :ok:

made i larf it did....

[Herc-u-lease]

and I'm sure Liam fox's suggested "Strategic Defence Review" would be just wonderful and will solve all our manning problems. (not trying to send this thread down that route as Labour Vs Tories defence management has been thrashed ad nausea.)

[airborne_artist]

What is the definition of "away" - the sandy/rocky places, with a 3 day trip for RnR, or could it be another UK site that is a few hours drive away?

[Blighter Pilot]

Harmony guidelines stipulate that it is time away, deployed or detached, from parent unit.

Only duties over 6 days count towards this total.

For the AT fleet this means that all route tasks less than 6 days do not count.

For example, some C-130 crews are averaging 4-5 months away OOA (120-150 days for cash) which exceeds the 140 day harmony figure.

Then you add a possible 30 days of Strat tasking which doesn't count as the trips were less than 6 days! On top of this some units are also tasked with supporting theatre work-up exercises for forces deploying to Afghanistan, usually 3-4 weeks away from the UK. (28 days)

Add to this potential call-outs from standby duties, say 10 days per year for some C-130 units.

So in a standard year most C-130 crews average around 220 days away from their parent unit.

That is just the aircrew - the support staff are even more undermanned and overtasked. The RAF, and certain parts within, are constantly breaking harmony gudelines and will continue to do so even with the drawdown in Iraq:mad:

[Hubstrasse]

back in "99 (swings tilly lamp!) for them that can remember them and the endles hours of explosive fun watching a novice try to light them. Any way the point.. Was asked by boss to form a response from command about stats on days away etc. So sent off stats somthing like- average 170, min 145, max 240 all in the last year, however that was defined. Result; Immediate response fro PSO to big stars.."Don't guess I want facts!" ( although I can't remember the actual numbers those I have mentioned will not be too far from the actual. This was in the earlest days of a "max 140 policy". Not content with the Sqn response Admin was consulted, one can only summise that the names were checked and the same response given. A few hour later the stats for 2 years were demanded.. oh and while youre at it.. the last 3 as well ! my Boss at the time was old bold and had a pair. He rang the requestee(if that's a word) and told him to check the stats back to 1918! then he would have his less than 140 days away that he wanted otherwise" F&$% off and face the facts" Sad thing is my Sqn was not unique, far from it. others had it worse.

[L J R]

The article mentions improved wage and welfare package.......

.
.
WHAT F**ing WELFARE PACKAGE!!!!! (shouting deliberate)

[granmarriott]

Just to let anybody who is bovvered (I'm not) but the GEMarriott on here is not the same as the GEMarriott on the Goat.

Nor is GEMarriott on the goat the ****** AKA Donaldo, the ability to edit Donaldo's post was by virtue of GEMarriott being a moderator over there. I would have thought you clever winged god types might have twigged that one but apparently not:}


all the best
the real GEMarriott

[taxydual]

'the ability to edit Donaldo's post'

OK, but would a moderator 'edit' someones post? Surely that could cause all sorts of problems. Delete a post, certainly but to edit............a definite no/no.

'clever winged god types'

Sticks and stones. my dear chap, sticks and stones.

[granmarriott]

nice to see your sense of humour has survived:ugh:

[taxydual]

That sense of humour saw me through two wars, numerous 'practice bleeding' scenario's and the odd real bleeding scenario's.

The sense of humour, to me, should be the second piece of kit issued to all Servicemen. Which leaves open a question.....................

My regards to you. (and EGoat).

[navibrator]

I confess to not reading the article as I am rather depressed at the current attitude to the Armed Forces. The Tories appear bent on a defence review to save money as highlighted in the Independent. The Lib's want a complete restructure looking at their policies so it looks like we are safer now.

I fear "we're all doooooomed"!

[dallas]

The Tories appear bent on a defence review to save money as highlighted in the Independent.
I have no problem with a defence review, provided it thinks more radically. Right now we certainly waste cash, left, right and centre, on everything ranging from the 3* and entourage travelling BA business class to Doha to visit the Deid (Brize charter operating directly to Deid either side of his travelling dates), through to the AT crews who exploit training requirements for exotic night-stops (ALM needed a tick, so 16-man crew all had an otherwise unnecessary night-stop in a US city on a Friday night). Don't start me off on adventure training jollies to Peru and rugby tours of Oceana! Waste is totally endemic.

How about instead of the bloke on the front line getting the scraps of the budget, it works the other way around and the money gets tipped in closer to the business end. We could perhaps entitle the scheme 'Front Line First'...:hmm:

[spheroid]

We could perhaps entitle the scheme 'Front Line First'


Or we could call it.... Front room first... tee hee..... anyone remember that story...?

[navibrator]

I have no problem with a proper Defence review either. However, it is important that it is not just to save money because of the public finances when I can think of a raft of stupid things we now see our tax money being wasted (squandered) on. As an example, why does a pregnant woman require a one off payment of 190 pounds to ensure she eats properly??? We are not a 3rd World nation are we? oh.....:confused:

[dallas]

Nav,

Oh I agree - waste is all relative, which is the root of the whole problem. It's no good trying to get the boys and girls to consider restraint when the government stocks its cellars with £180/bottle wine, seemingly gives MPs a blank cheque for their allowances and chucks billions at flawed procurement projects, to name but a few examples.

Don't get me started on the nanny state...:*

[navibrator]

Perhaps we could list here all the things that should get reviewed or chopped BEFORE defence?

[minigundiplomat]

Most MP's
Political Advisers
QUANGOs
The 2012 Olympics
10% pay award for Teachers
Excessive Welfare Handouts
Signposts (Is it me or are there a lot more these days?)
The cost of being a member of the EU
Overseas Aid
Support to failing Banks
BBC (The licence fee is a tax in all but name)
Money spent achieving targets in Education and the NHS rather than providing a service
The Scottish Office (They have their own parliament)
The Welsh Office (Likewise)
Government forms printed in 72 different languages


That should do for starters!

[Melchett01]

Perhaps we could list here all the things that should get reviewed or chopped BEFORE defence?

How about the hiring of accountants and management consultants who have no idea about what we do and care only about the bottom line on a balance sheet.

And who when they have delivered their pointless and impractical report on their deliberations, charge us so much we have to axe more flying hours, another wad of cash for the front line, better accommodation etc to pay for their fees.

[collbar]

Chop JPA....... Please Oh Please... No really... Chop JPA!

[Farfrompuken]

Chop CATARA/Future Brize,

That'll save a princley sum for a start.

[phutbang]

How about reviewing flying pay? That not only does it divide people (nobody else gets extra money for doing their job on a daily basis), it IMHO is a waste of MoD cash that could be utilised on equipment, and not the lining of a select bunch.

[Flt Lt Mac]

not only does it divide people

It doesn't divide the important people. Pilots and WSO's get the same flying pay as each other;).

and not the lining of a select bunch.

Sounds like a case of http://www.sallyminker.com/art/2-d/images/grapes-print.jpg That's sour grapes to you.:ok: