Originally Posted by pr00ne
BillHicksRules,
Show me an “Officer Commanding FAA” or a “Senior Flag Officer FAA”, or indeed ANY RN command slot with the letters FAA in it. What is the title of the professional head of this mythical Fleet Air Arm? Isn’t it something like Commodore Maritime Aviation? There isn’t even a Naval Air Command anymore for a Flag Officer Naval Air Command to lord it over.
Your fixed wing airpower is an integral part of No.1 Group, which is an integral part of ROYAL AIR FORCE Strike Command, stationed at ROYAL AIR FORCE Cottesmore, flying ex-RAF aircraft in Squadrons containing RAF air and ground crew, it’s called Joint Force Harrier.
4 of your helicopter squadrons are part of the JOINT Helicopter Command, which is an integral part of the British Army Land Command, with a tri-service HQ stationed at an Army barracks in Wiltshire.
BHR,
You seem to be way off track. The FAA is alive and well. Whilst VA Johns may be Rear Adm FAA there is a 1* in the Fleet HQ who is Commodore FAA as his full time job.
Joint Force harrier and Joint Helicopter Command are as they say on the box -
Joint forces, answerable to VCDS. The people in them still come under their own Service for Full command. 800
Naval Air Squadron stood up on Friday as 801 will later in the year. The RAF have lost 2 squadrons in the process - what is more joint than that! In JHC I do not think the RAF SH Sqns see themselves as any less RAF than before any more than the Junglies do.
I seem to recall that the results of the cuts a couple of years ago that scythed through the RAF and hacked at the AAC, left the FAA alone because it proved itself to be lean, efficient and effective. And I do believe that the Merlin is being upgraded and the Lynx replaced with a new version - what happened to SH?????
And I do not see much of a vacuum at Yeovilton when I drive past.
Fly Navy, Fly Fleet Air Arm