Goldfish Watcher,
It is the first time I have ever seen somebody call the use of xxxxfpm as fancy, far from it, it is a very handy tool of the trade and allows you to
CONTROL the traffic as in AT
C. You use EXPEDITE DESCENT to your hearts content, simply saying it is standard phraseology makes for a good defence here, but the mere fact that somebody asked what exactly it meant , or what we thought it meant reveals the true inadequacies of it. You want someone to be clear of something, give them a requirement in advance so they can plan the descent in the FMS. If you cant due traffic then tell them to expect a late descent with a high rate, or even better call the pesky high sector with no traffic and tell them this one is gonna be high, the use of ExpDes to help you meet your LOA's does seem to be a bit of overkill and wit lose its importance with crews, evry heard about the Boy Crying Wolf.
Of course we are a Team of Indivduals and Im pretty sure it says somewhere in 4444 that nothing shall preclude a controller from using judgement as necessary.......
p.s. I wouldnt take over from someone using EXPEDITE DESCENT until the RA was finished!!!
