Originally Posted by
Bob Viking
I don’t know if you’ve ever spent much time with Guard units but whilst I agree they are equipped to a serious level I would still take some convincing that they are trained to a serious level.
BV
I flew on the same roulement for OSW with the 188FW AANG F16CJ who were flying SEAD. I could not have hoped for a more professional or disciplined unit. They certainly kept the SAM sites tied down whilst we provided BARCAP near Baghdad. A few Magnum calls too during our VUL.
So, I disagree BV, with your comment on their training and proficiency level. But that is the thing here, if the RAF wanted a Reserve FJ capability they would need to generate aircraft over the weekend and evenings when Reserves might fly. Otherwise, they take the precious little flying that the Regulars get. So really, without the significant training budget that the ANG attract, then it really is a non-starter for the RAF. They would need more engineers, spares, air traffic, fighter controllers, training adversaries, firefighters, sim staff, mess staff, etc… the support tail is huge, all that normally stand down outside normal working hours.