At a risk of severe thread drift, the one big thing that has changed over the years (& I too do not say RAFF) is appreciation
....and regardless of what generation you come from, this is missing, and it is very important.
Minis wailing at 4am and 30mins to get into work, if you shaved on the way you got a bollicking, if you did a runner for the autobahn you got arrested. The German barns had rats and you froze, AOCs was a right royal pain in the arse, but above all else, you believed in what you were doing, and you got appreciation.
Now back to the thread. New kit, new helicopters, quality of life, teamwork and morale are all missing and when money is spent in a pointless exercise such as this, one cannot help but think that somebody, somewhere has got their priorities all wrong. Guys chewing dust by day and reliving nightmares at night have every right not to feel appreciated when in need of basic essentials whilst viewing threads such as this.
samuraimatt, patronising and uncalled for. There was a time when military ethos existed, and you did not need to keep the PEd staff in a job to prove it. The state of the nation is an effing mess, and there is no solution whilst MPs pull the strings, and those with the guts to speak out get sacked.
Rant over; I'll get my coat