It would be interesting to see the content of the letter that the Station Commander sent to Mr and Mrs Rebdi such that we could make up our own minds as to whether or not it really did constitute an 'apology' and how this 'mistake' came to be made. Did the 'local airmen' (who I suspect were officers as the piano was going to the Officers' Mess) discuss nothing about the intended use of the piano? Or were they disingenuous in hiding its planned fate from the Rebdis who believed that it was going to be played as a musical instrument on base? Have those responsible been suitably interviewed and debriefed by the Station Commander? Was the Station Commander present when this occurred? Has the Station Commander been interviewed by his superiors about this behaviour on his station?
Good community relations between military bases and the local communities is essential and incidents such as this are extremely detrimental to such relationships and portray the military in general, and the RAF in particular, in a very bad light. The fact that an article about this incident has appeared in the Sunday Times seems to support my opinion. Finally, I would suggest that the Officers' Mess ought to make a donation to a charity of Mr and Mrs Rebdi's choice as a way of offering a genuine apology.