Originally Posted by
Easy Street
The spokesman didn’t say “We have sufficient numbers of aircrew to meet our current front line operational commitments, conduct operational training, deliver overseas engagement and support to exports, and meet our Phase 2 instructor manning requirements while offering career satisfaction and a work-life balance deemed sustainable in the long term at current and expected remuneration levels.” Your answer may lie somewhere in the difference between those statements.
”Why is the public being deceived?” is quite the rhetorical question for someone who apparently wishes to join the military. We are not in the habit of confirming or denying every statement made about us, even if true. As I think you have been advised before, try not to see the world in black and white: you will be perpetually confounded if you do.
It was not a rhetorical question, it was a question asked that I'd like an answer to, from somebody who is rather tired of seeing our treasured Armed Forces constantly sidelined in favour of the NHS, welfare and other such matters, through a lack of honesty at the political level, by politicians who are scared to death of being voted out of Office for failing to meet socialist demands and neglecting their primary responsibility - the defence of the nation.
It's because of this, that the Services are cut to the bone because both parties cannot grasp the basic principles of Keynesian economics.
It's very well our politicians saying that "we live in an uncertain world and our Armed Forces must have the right tools for the job," but it means absolutely nothing if they don't act on it, and implement policies that get the funding in place, the equipment bought, maintained and kept relevant, and young people are given the incentive to join whilst the experienced people can be retained more easily through that better work-life balance you mentioned. To achieve this, a grown-up conversation needs to be had about what we're spending and how much of it is being flushed down the toilet. Nobody with influence seems to have the cajones to have that conversation.