Originally Posted by
serf
Is being a 'red' a secondary duty, like the other services display teams, or is it full time - is the bbmf a secondary duty?
Its news to me that the Reds' competition (the French
Tricolors, the USAF
Thunderbirds, the USN
Blue Angels or the Wop spagetti benders(?) are part-timers. When 208 had the Middle-East franchise we did it as a secondary duty. But usually there was not a hell of a lot else to do so we did much aerobatics. But I do not pretend that our slickness and precision matched the Reds.
The bloke who complained that the Reds are egomaniacs is either living on a different planet or has a king-sized chip. I have met them several times and found them to be a very pleasant, modest and mature bunch.
The Reds are the RAF's main point of contact with the public, and the great unwashed love them and roll up in their droves to watch them. They usually steal the show at any event they perform at. The politicians know this and the last time the Chiefs tried to scrub the Reds, Downing Street told them to sort out their ideas.
Besides, all this stuff is penis-envy from the grunts and the fisheads.