Please don't repeat all that tripe about interim SAR being the fault of some lowly sqn ldr.
Well, Clever Richard, you can call it what you like but we all know the Technical assistance came from the MOD/RAF and thats where the problems are! Civy SAR has been running well since the late sixy's without a problem and then the RAF get involved........
This story deserves much greater publicity because the UK public, taxpayer and, most importantly, the government need to know about this.
I don't think that you can get all high and mighty about the UK taxpayer. The UK taxplayer has already paid half a billion quid for 6 chinooks and 2.5 billion for the Nimrod fiasco - all RAF and all a bloody disaster!!
With regard to SAR-H, if you think this is bad, 'you ain't seen nothing yet'. Don't forget, after SAR-H comes in the military won't be there to dig the contractor out of it once all the excuses for a service that falls short of that promised start.
You're forgeting the number of times that Civy SAR machines have covered for the military when the military aircraft are U/S. Conveniently forgotten by you I think - doesn't help your biased argument!
Interesting to see some Crab baiting as soon as the story was posted. The stick that chap has received over the years for having the courage to tell the truth, even after some toe-rag revealed his identity, has been disgusting at times. Looks like he has been proved right.
Have you actually read any of Crab's postings? He started off saying that the Interim Contract would be better thanks to MOD involvement and now is happily slagging it off. He admits that there is "systemic incompetence" in the RAF and yet in the same breath ignores it and says they are the only ones who can do the job. And when he's proved wrong he accuses that individual of having a mental illness - well if he's your champion I'd quit now if I were you.
Maybe, all the anti civy rants and SAR-H RAF propoganda is more about RAF pilots having to leave the service to remain where they are rather than SAR-H itself.