Re the "I'm quicker than you are", or "don't worry the Navy's here" argument from jimlad etc.
At about 1800 on 6 Sep 83 7 Sqn was tasked to deploy to Beirut (at the start of the last bit of unpleasantness). I lifted from Odiham approx 0530 the following morning with one or two (I can't remember now) other Chinooks together with all our groundcrew and basic spares package and we were ready to go into Beirut on the morning of the 9th! (And yes a C-130 did follow with additional crews and bits and pieces that were not immediately available to go when we did).
However, the nature of the task now is quite different. Even tho' the round trip (Akrotiri-Beirut and return) is just over 2 hours with no refuel required, the navy IS required as a full member of the jointery that is our remit these days. It is much easier to run a shuttle to and from a flat top (which also makes a good pax carrier), and then worry about ferrying the multitude back to Akrotiri or Larnaca. In fact just as the navy did with the old Bulwark off Kyrenia during the Cyprus troubles in 74.
The only trouble is of course the rotary assets to do the job. Have we got any Chinooks/Merlins/jungly Sea Kings left untasked/committed to do the job, or do Pumas (despite their poor deck capabilities), ASW and AEW Sea Kings and Merlins (with their reduced pax carrying abilities) get called in?
As a-a says:
now that the overstretch, particularly of RW assets, will start to show
.
And what next - more assets required in FI?