...and who wrote these rules that Hoon so meticulously follows? Why, bless my soul if it wasn't Parliament itself! Nice work if you can get it, eh?
Meanwhile, the March issue of Overhaul & Maintenance magazine reports that Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingrams is surprised by criticism of the decision to close the recently completed DARA facility at St Athan. Ingrams says he is 'perplexed' that the Defence Committee is recommending an Audit Office investigation of this 'extraordinary' decision. He claims that although the Superhangar cost 104 million pounds, this
will be fully recovered by the time the facility closes next year(!!!!!). Lord only knows how he works that out!!!
In civilian maintenance where I work, we'd reckon on getting a minimum of 50 years out of a hangar and acquisition costs are depreciated over 25 years. Most of the RAF's existing hangars are around 70 years old, so I reckon we got our money's worth out of them. If DARA was screwing MinDef out of enough cash to pay off a 104 million quid Superhangar in less than seven years, it isn't surprising that the defence budget is under such strain...
With f**kwits like these running the country, no wonder taxes are at an all time high, while our military strength dwindles and the NHS queues grow ever longer and longer.