oh dear

[Data-Lynx]

Complete Lack of Service

I'll take issue with WPH and the 'Childish jibes'. The MP didn't use the forum; it was a formal letter to the Wg Cdr Staish at Akrotiri and a blog in his local newspaper. It's the scanned copy of his letter titled

Service provided by RAF Akrotiri to Transiting Troops

on House of Commons headed paper dated this month, that has flashed around MoD, Front Line Commands, many Out-Stations and some centres of MoD consultation. The MP is also an ex regular officer from the Queens Gurkha Engineers.

Some of the note can be dissected. A window fault that might have been identified in theatre and which was reported on arrival at Akrotiri remains A/C captain business in an aging and hard-worked aircraft. The pax were better off in Cyprus, but I hope the likely AOG unserviceability was radioed ahead. There are many good people in the Air Ops and Mover world who now have to expect and routinely anticipate unserviceability and plan accordingly, where assets are available. However, they were not obvious in AKT that afternoon.

The next section was frankly too familiar: cancellation of the R&R slot to Germany with a complete lack of facilities to advise families of delay and what could be 2 to 3 days loss of R&R. There was no Duty Officer in sight for ages (over 6 hrs) to manage, liaise, interpret unfortunate comments from some duty staff (who seemed more eager to get home to a comfortable Cyprus evening than service dusty soldiers) and deal with the changes. Hours of waiting comprising 'on the bus/off the bus' snafus with meals; no one apparently looking ahead to check the basics on numbers and baggage weight for a change of aircraft, plans, plans and more plans then orders and counter orders to travel without baggage. Then they arrive at BZZ without their kit.

This spat has become public, grubby, disappointing and probably short-lived. I hope that when the MP revisits the base with the rest of the DSC, the grovelling will be offset with some hard messages about ancient AT and workload. He has already said about Afghanistan that

there needed to be "political honesty" about the nature of the military commitment.

and

I do know that progress is being made, but it is painfully slow.

The second quote does seem to have an echo outside Afghanistan and Iraq. Whatever we may think of the content, the speed with which this note spread perhaps reflects the bruising that many of us self-loading luggage oiks have felt over the years. The letter included a number of questions which would be tabled in Parliament if an answer was not forthcoming and it is understood that a MoD politico has already replied. That means the dialogue may never get into Hansard so I wonder if anything will change?