Firstly, I apologise in advance for being slightly tipsy after another politically fuelled session at happy hour. . .Firstly, I am duty bound to apologise for some inaccuracies in my first post. Apparently the SHAR has a GR3 airframe, not a GR1. Also, G Khan has a point about AAC pilots. My comment referred to getting everyone up to a common level of skills for joint Ops - the Army and RAF must have their own slightly different specialisations that need integrating. As for the Army pilots, they should of course have the opportunity to undergo further training for a commission if they wish.
I'm amazed that you find Purple Ops such a far fetched idea. For the information of FJJP, the Canadian forces are indeed a combined operation and they have not reverted to single service. Maybe someone who has recently done the Maple Flag exercise can comment to confirm this.
I'm also amazed that many people seem so anti-jointery and its consequences. Surely it is the way forward? Many PPruners seem to thrive on slagging off each others services - not very productive, an attitude like that is it? On a similar note, why just shoot the messenger with "you ****." Combined Ops are a reality, and I thought it might make an interesting discussion about whether we should make the next step to the "Royal British Forces."
Ed Winchester, thanks for holding back recently. I'm now more than happy for you to comment on my Forum.