Mil/Civ operations.
The point I was trying to make, as I think was GMST's in starting this thread, is that we need standardisation.
I was not aiming to be critical of the military ATCO involved, but of the system which required her to undergo such a palaver.
In answer to rej's question, if an aircraft is unable to squawk mode c, for whatever reason, then I, or any other civil ATCO may *not* authorise it to climb to FL100+. In the unlikely event, at least with civil aircraft capable of operating at these levels, that the failure occurred above FL100, then it WOULD be descened asap.
Is it so difficult for the military authorities to permit their controllers to deem a track observed on a valid civil squawk, with NMC, to be below FL100?
This is just one of the many points which need addressing (VFR at night, not permitted under civil rules)!
The point I was trying to make regarding ex-military ATCOs is that as we work alongside them ever day, we probably have a better understanding of military controlling than you think. In fact the watch that I am on is made up entirely of controllers who are ex-military (yes, myself included)!