Ombit
I agree with you that the Nimrod's role is misunderstood. I have some good friends on the kipper fleet who get frustrated that, because almost everything they do is classified, they don't get much
PR and have an almost non existant profile with the rest of the RAF (being geographically isolated doesn't help in spreading the words). Most people think all they do is Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW), hence all the 'Russian submarines rusting in port so do we need Nimrods' type comments. Well, even ignoring the fact that ASW will continue to be important as more and more third world countries buy conventional submarines, my friends have been busier over the last couple of years than anywhen else in the last ten. They never seem to be in the UK, and THEY ARE NOT AWAY DOING ASW!!
I would suggest the Nimrod fleet is maybe a bit like the submarine fleet in the navy, they don't talk about what they are doing, but it doesn't mean they aren't busy or they are not achieving results!