Nothing new in Commanders denying over-stretch. HCDC commented on this very thing last year.
"The MoD's confidence that the UK Armed Forces are not overstretched contrasts with what we are hearing from Service personnel on the ground. We are concerned that the "can-do" attitude of which our Services are rightly proud may be leading Service commanders to underplay the pressure on Service personnel and their families. The Armed Forces can tolerate short-term pressure but sustained breaches of Harmony Guidelines will damage the Services' operational capability. This is a matter of crucial importance. We intend to take evidence on the MoD's Annual Report and Accounts in the Autumn and will give close attention to the data on Harmony Guidelines."
The actual numbers of Hercs receiving foam protection are around 2/3rds of the Fleet. Respectable compared with the original plan to fit 5 Hercules with this essential protection. We really won the argument here. The luddites really believed that SF were the only people to face a small arms threat and that there was no historical case for Hercs sustaining this threat. All rubbish, of course. Found this on the RAF Careers website.
"1992–96 – Balkan Conflict: The RAF joined other nations to transport urgently needed supplies to Sarajevo, a city under siege and with its civilian population under extreme threat from both war and starvation. It was a very dangerous mission; RAF Hercules squadrons were shot at and often flew in atrocious weather. The mission became the longest airlift of humanitarian supplies in history. "
Ingram's view?
"until recently the majority of large aircraft did not routinely operate in hostile environments"
More from Ingram;
Q79 Chairman: Moving on to Hercules, you have assured us that you are taking appropriate action about the Hercules flight safety concerns and it seemed to be an area of concern to the pilots in theatre, and I wondered whether you were aware that they were concerned about the vulnerability of the Hercules aircraft that they were flying.
Mr Ingram: "I am trying to think if I have spoken to any pilots recently about that. I have not had any personal point of contact, but again, given some of the prominence which has been given to the issue, then it would not surprise me that they would be thinking that they are now flying a piece of kit that should have something fitted to it. That is what we are seeking to do. We are all experienced enough to know that there has to be a balance of risk in all of this. It goes back to the point that, if we were not to use those aircraft, we could not deliver on our mission in Iraq and, therefore, while we build up that new protective measure, we have to again use aircraft in the most effective and judicious way. A lot of those aircraft have very substantial fit on them now in terms of DAS and if the requirement is justified, it will then be procured. It takes time in any procurement stream to go through that process and one big success we have in procurement of course is on the urgent operational requirement process. Everyone who looks at this recognises the success of it, but, because you identify a shortfall or a requirement, it does not mean to say you can deliver it overnight. It is not because of lack of money, but it is then because of availability within industry to upgrade. In terms of what we are trying to do with that particular fit on the Hercules, and we are considering whether we now need that to be fitted to aircraft other than those which operate in the highest threat environment, that then has an impact on the rest of the Hercules maintenance programme, and it is trying to get the balance right because, if we start losing airframes because we are doing that particular fit, then we have another operational problem. That is where the balance of discussion is taking place at the moment as well as trying to ensure that industry can deliver on the schedules that we are giving them."
In the end we gave them a pasting, because they had no arguments that stood up. Of the 4 Hercs lost in Iraq and Afg 2 were crewed by SF and 2 from the Main Sqn. That Ingram sought to differentiate risk in a theatre of war just shows how out of touch the MoD and it's Ministers really are. Anyone out there fighting a cause should take strength from the Hercules campaign.