As a Herc mate,I can only sympathise greatly with everyone's sentiments so far.
Recently I was at Aldergrove to bring some troops home. They arrived from the province in a Chinook, deplaned (with baggage) and were promptly taken by the movements staff to complete a full check-in procedure!! I was incensed, as I feel that treating our troops in this way is not only pointless in the extreme, but it only serves to further degrade any positive opinions the standard grunt may have of the Herc ,or more generally RAF AT. They had just come off one RAF ac and could not be taken from the helicopter into another ac.
I know it sounds bitter, but I think it is just another indicator of how effective other trades (in this case the Movers and the RAFP) are at justifying, sustaining and even expanding their respective empires.
If we cannot get rid of these pointless procedures then I think we are all worse off. Would any mover or RAFP out there care to justify it?
I sit back to await a party line from someone.....