Several of you seem to have slightly missed the point.. .. . I am not surprised that the civvy option has been taken, simply because my time in the RAF has destroyed any vestiges of optimism I had left.. .. .We will get 'new toys to play with', you say. Yes, that's true. But only the aircrew. What about the groundcrew, who outnumber us by over 4 to 1? They will ALL be posted away, and their compatriots will never get the chance to come here (NO, there will NOT be 'a few light blue uniforms around'.) And what of that word we have seen thrown around this forum for so long...retention. This is yet another posting that a prospective engineer cannot have.. .. . Another 50+ people will be taken off the orderly sergeant/corporal/duty runner rosters - so increasing the burden on others on station. The list goes on.. .. .Oh, and for the aircrew out there, you may be interested to know that neither of the two remaining bids, the B412 (3 axis only - as much use as a chocolate kettle for SAR), and the Dauphin (Great for SAR, less so for trooping), are not nearly as capable as the military option 84 wanted...This has been dismissed because the DEC and others have pre-decided that PFI is the way ahead. The initial investment appraisal for Cyprus Helo's was flawed and incorrect. The HICIPT ignored this fact until it was simply too late to implement a military option - for political reasons I imagine. So, yes, the Wessex has had it's day, and should go. But believe me, whatever you may read in the coming weeks, the best solution was the military option that 84 Sqn wanted, not the COMR solution that they will get. I feel that many of the respondents to my intial thread have, understandably, seen this issue more from the side of serving aircrew, and less so from the view of one who is lamenting the decline of a once proud service.. .. .Look into the faces of the engineers on 84...and then tell me I am wrong.. . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" /> . .. .'Stupid is as stupid does...'