Orca, you might be right however only
some fixed wind assets are being "managed for the long haul". I suspect that the end result of the long haul, in the case of the FJ community and in the eyes of their airships, is the triumphant arrival of Typhoon which (if a recent brief by a senior top neddy is to be believed) will not only cure all our AT, CAS and SH woes but will also cure cancer and reverse world poverty
The AT fleet, especially my little corner of it, is being run into the ground. As ABIW hinted to above, 33% of our total fleet is deployed. If you look at fleets within fleets my particular type has nearly 50% of available aircraft deployed covering 80% of this station's commitment. There is no long haul here - this is ops normal. My board shows month on, month off for the next 8 months at least. I've done three months away already this year (would've done more, sorry, but was on a course for 3 months too
qualifying me to do more dets!
) and this is pretty normal for everyone on the fleet. I'm not looking for sympathy here, far from it - I enjoy Ops flying and have just signed on for another 17 years of the same. What annoys me though is listening to the high paid help twittering on about Typhoon, ASTOR, MRA4, A400M etc etc painting pictures of this utopian future of shiny jets and happy smiling service(wo)men whilst all around them Rome burns.
I think we need to be a lot more short-termist if we are to have any significant effect in Afghanistan. For example, clinging onto all assets "just until Typhoon arrives" is not a luxury we can afford. I'm not sniping but with things the way they are in both theatres can we really afford to keep the Jag force flying? Seriously. Keeping pilots in current flying practice for transition to Typhoon is, I'm afraid, a pretty poor excuse. Sure there'll be skill fade but it's not like they're going to be launching straight into the Battle of Britain when they get on type is it?
Someone needs to look at where our money is being spent and why. The MoD needs to be realistic and focus our assets and resources where they are needed most. If that means some lean years for some fleets then so be it; the end result will be proper support for the blokes on the ground and that can only be a good thing.
I know lots of people (me included!!) are working pretty hard on Ops etc but this moan isn't directed at them in any way. We are engaged in war fighting in Afghanistan - the Govt aren't terribly keen to admit it and the public aren't really that bothered. A full squadron of Harriers in theatre and a full sqn or two of Apaches would a) give the guys on teh ground the support they need and deserve and b) perhaps get things over with quicker. If this means a few F3 sqns don't get their APC next year or a few Jag mates have to run the sim at Valley for a year then I don't think that too high a price to pay.