Originally Posted by
Ken Scott
Are the ‘mutterings’ because the RAF students aren’t paying for their training whereas the civvy students are? Do they think the former are getting it for free? The taxpayer is picking up the tab and presumably at a price that L3 are content with. Maybe there’s a clause in the contract that penalises L3 for delays in the RAF courses? As a taxpayer I’m delighted that a contracted-out service is not being strung out but that the operator is getting on with things.
It does make a sharp contrast with that other contractor, Ascent....
There is a tough choice here for the passengers on the outrage bus.
RAF Students have gone through a different process to "qualify" to be on that course. Did they get it free, or have they committed other aspects of their lives, rather than take the financial hit of borrowing the money to pay for their training?
How do you put a fiscal value on the lifestyle restrictions of a Junior Officer and the commitment of deadly ops in the future, against the fact that that civvy students "only" have to borrow the money, and nobody at the schools cares what tattoos or previous convictions a student might have?
The military selection process, certainly when I served, demanded a standard of personal values which the civilian, business model, is immune from.
That, to my mind, makes them different. Not necessarily better, one way or the other, just different.
However, we have now drifted into dangerous waters where both streams (pun caption on) of students are mixing in a training environment.
Perhaps any unhappy civvy students need to just accept that deeper pockets bring shorter courses. On the other side, the chances of actually flying an aircraft, after completion of the course, seems much higher for the civvy people.