Rudekid: Those exercises must have really tested them operationally! Someone may correct me, but I don't remember the F3 ever having flown operationally in Iraq. If it hasn't, is this walting?
Said Red 9 was a student of mine and I can attest to his presence over Iraq in an F3 when things were shooting from the ground. I suppose you only class, 'declared wars' as frontline ops?
Rudekid: Front line credibility? Some, but not all.
Having met the other two you see fit to mention, I can attest to their humility and credibility. You don't get all the way through trg, to the Jag and then chosen for the Reds without credibility, frontline or not.
HighCirrus: Just checked the petition website and the votes are 14,825 in support of the proposition ........
New Labour spin: 0.025% of the population want to keep the Red Arrows. 99.975% of the UK either do not want to keep funding the Reds or have no firm opinion one way or another.