I'm not long out of the Service, but often used to get flack from helo people (mostly brownjobs) about why we stayed in hotels. Answer: (cos we can, and any fool can be uncomfortable.)
I have in the past (Cold war era - Tirstrup, Denmark) spent many weeks on exercise living in tents, and it was ok if there was not noise through your sleep hours.
This issue is not about tents versus hotels
per se, it is about being able to get some sleep when off duty. It's not about being soft or mollycoddled, it is about flight safety, and making your people feel valued.
I am appalled to hear that while hotac is available, it is being refused to crews who are obviously unable to achieve adequate rest.
There are times in the military when you just have to grin and bear it (at some great risk), but this is not one of them.
And what example is being shown by the senior officers out there? If I was one of them, I would insist on being billeted in the same accom as the guys doing the job. Then I could experience the problems and start making a noise in the right places. But there again, this is partly why I'm no longer "in". The tenets of good leadership ingrained in me at IOT were often at odds with the culture I experienced in higher echelons.
