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No wars in December, please. UK military sent home to save on heating costs.

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No wars in December, please. UK military sent home to save on heating costs.

Old 8th Dec 2014, 11:23
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No wars in December, please. UK military sent home to save on heating costs.

Army sent home for a month to save on barracks heating bills - Telegraph

"The measure is understood to have been put in place by the Ministry of Defence, at least in part to save on utility bills. Many of Britain’s Army barracks are outdated and inefficient, and the Army believes shutting them through most of December will help to meet tight Whitehall budgets. About 100 barracks around the country will be managed by a minimal number of staff providing basic security and answering telephones.

It is estimated that out of Britain’s fighting Army force of about 80,000 troops, only a few hundred will be on duty. Army barracks abroad in Germany and elsewhere, and training units in countries such as Kenya and Canada, will also close to all but skeleton staff. It is understood the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall will be run by a minimal number of people."

Still, those new carriers will be warm, I'm sure
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 11:41
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Why not convert all the unused grass areas into allotments, they can then grow vegetables to use in the messes, thus saving more money while keeping them warm and helping develop their trenching skills....

They may send these guys home to save heating etc, but one bets those remaining are probably scattered amongst all of the accomodation blocks, thus ensuring they all still need to be heated. You couldn't make it up.
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 12:08
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How much is it going to cost to fix all the busted pipes?

Seem to remember that happened before....
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 12:22
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Why not convert all the unused grass areas into allotments, they can then grow vegetables to use in the messes, thus saving more money while keeping them warm and helping develop their trenching skills....
NutLoose, NutLoose...you poor, naive fool. You don't don't grasp how support services work, do you?

The MOD would lease all the land at a peppercorn rental to a well-known FM company (Aspidexto) for, ooh, let's say, 30 years, in return for the right to supply exclusively vegetable to the Services, bill (of course) at above-RPI accelerated prices. The MOD, of course, would continue to pay for water, fertiliser, plant machinery and kitchens (as well as routine upgrades of all of the above). What could go wrong?
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 12:31
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New Year 1974 was very cold. I'd spent Christmas at home in Menorca, but had to be back at RAFC earlier than ideal due to New Years Day being a bank holiday for the first time in England, with no flights available. This was also the era of the '3 day week' which had come into effect on New Years Eve...and so I arrived back to find the whole place freezing cold as 'they' had decided to turn off the heating for the Christmas/New Year period. There was no catering in College Hall mess, so a chum who had also returned early (Wildpig) and I went into Sleaford to find something to eat. Next day, after a night buried in as many clothes as I could find, I drove around just to keep warm - but then the heating was restored later that afternoon.

Whereupon the condensation which had frozen in various parts of College Hall thawed and caused enormous damage to some very expensive décor as the walls streamed with damp. It was several days before the cold-soaked building was back to normal and the eventual cost of repairs was way more than keeping the heating ticking over would have cost......

Penny wise, pound foolish!

Last edited by BEagle; 8th Dec 2014 at 14:51.
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 12:43
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Happened in the early 80s too
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 12:47
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This has happened every year for about the last 10 years if I recall correctly. Different levels of publicity given to it depending on level of warfare ongoing - I'm guessing we must be in a 'warfare-holiday' to use the MoD bizspeak! As an aside, loved the comment on the Bastion documentary last night about how the final stages of the drawdown were no longer the 'austerity period' but were re-named the 'expeditionary-period'. Always good to change the name - never mind the underlying issues...
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 13:09
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And 1947 IIRC

More recently is was SOP to close the computer network down. Having run continuously for 340 days it would take 10 days to get back online with the contractor coming out to repair it.

My final year I left it up. Went in post Christmas and it was working AOK.
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 13:17
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All very well however last time they did this at an army establishment near to me (ex lightning MU) all the civilian staff had to continue working thus the heating staying on....
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 13:27
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Apparently if the civil servants make an effort to come to work but find the doors locked then it is ok for them to have a day off too. Right now a whole load of key authorisations are being changed to 'uniformed personnel only' so that the civil servants have no possible way of getting in.

I really wish I was making this up.
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 13:47
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same old, same old.

Brize Mess early winter 1997 .......... heating zilch.
meals taken rapidly or not at all, and in multilayered clothing.
ablutions freezing.
bar empty.

Rooms almost without exception with private purchase electric heater going full chat, microwave in good use ..........

Barking mad.

Last edited by langleybaston; 8th Dec 2014 at 17:51. Reason: omission
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 15:52
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Apparently if the civil servants make an effort to come to work but find the doors locked then it is ok for them to have a day off too.
I remember being a Civil Servant stood outside my locked office at 0800 waiting for 'someone from the Guardroom' to turn up with the keys. This happened every Tuesday following a Bank Holiday when the RAF didn't expect to slope in until lunchtime(ish) and that included those who I'd been drinking with all weekend in the Mess.
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 16:07
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Sandy Parts posted

the final stages of the drawdown were no longer the 'austerity period' but were re-named the 'expeditionary-period'....[SNIP]...never mind the underlying issues...
Apologies for the slight thread drift, but what amused me was the direction the Major gave next - direct from the Commander himself (I assume a 1*), all soldiers are to be reminded that they must change their underpants and socks!! Underlying issues indeed!
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 16:19
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"Apparently if the civil servants make an effort to come to work but find the doors locked then it is ok for them to have a day off too. "

Really? How strange that in fact the rules are actually completely different, but lets not let truth get in the way of a slagging off of the civil service.
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 16:27
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Really? How strange that in fact the rules are actually completely different, but lets not let truth get in the way of a slagging off of the civil service.
Yep as jimlad says, it's incorrect, it is a week and trauma counselling is offered
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 16:31
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Originally Posted by Jimlad1
Really? How strange that in fact the rules are actually completely different, but lets not let truth get in the way of a slagging off of the civil service.
Bit sensitive tonight sweetheart; nobody slagged anybody off and the creative measure has been introduced to give the civil servants time off when their rules try to forbid it.

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Old 8th Dec 2014, 17:08
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Living onboard is'nt the Garden of Eden

To be honest I'm not surprised-MOD has often struggled to keep it all going. They used to switch the heating off onboard (sorry on the base) at RNAS Yeovilton in the Winters of 88, 89 and maybe 90 as I recall (I moved between Somerset farms, digs and onboard around this time) as I felt appropriate).
Used to make a warning pipe, "heatings going off this weekend to save cash" or words to that effect. Although we had paid for food and accomm in advance this didn't matter to anyone in charge.
A lot of people just PVR'd and went outside, as per standard.


Wonder if they do or did the same in HM Prisons?
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 20:00
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Still, at least the Foreign Aid budget is going up again. Also, this fine and able government of Dave's is going to enshrine it in law as a permanent commitment.
That should warm the hearts of our armed forces.
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 20:27
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I wouldn't mind aid if it was given as goods built and produced in the UK, that way the Government would be generating jobs and keeping companies going in producing the said aid, but simply giving wads of cash over that can be used to line someone's pocket and never gets used for the purpose it was intended is another thing. Far better it is given as credit that has to be spent in the UK PLC only.
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Old 8th Dec 2014, 20:38
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Sorry, NutLoose, but that is far too sensible idea to be adopted by government officials. No seat in Parliament for you!
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