Excrab,
You have totally missed my point! Yes we are there for safety and yes we do undergo training for the remote chance that one day we will have to put those skills into action. But I am not going to walk around with delusions of grandeur and claim I am a hero because one day I MAY have to evacuate an aircraft!
Heroism is individual, I would not become a policeman or join the army cos I dont think I could handle certain elements of the roles required, Im **** scared! But then people are **** scared of plane crashes!!! Now I know as a crewmember who flies worldwide countless times a year that the chances of anything serious occuring are very VERY slim and as long as I do not become complacent then I can ensure I help maintain this level of safety but while providing good customer service at the same time. Now a soldier or a police officer on the other hand.....they put themselves in the line of fire with a genuine threat to their safety on a daily basis!!! I certainly do not wake up in the morning and think "damn there is a very good chance I could be in a plane crash today"!
Now, with all the training we receive we must remember one thing....until we are in a serious situation we NEVER know how we will react! All our training could be thrown out the door. Also talking to some of my colleagues involved in the BA038 crash last January, no amount of training will prepare you for the real scenario! It is all well and good sticking your nose in the air and being flippant with your customers claiming you are only there for safety, but for all you know you are the one who will jump down that slide before anyone else out of blind terror!!!
We are not heroes just because we do this as a job! We cannot compare ourselves to other services such as the police, medics, fire brigade etc because we are just not in the same category, we are not out there day in day out saving lives, bringing people back from the brink, etc etc. Yes we have fire fighting skills, yes we have first aid skills, yes we have self defence and diplomacy skills but we are NOT fire fighters, medics, police or hostage negotiators!
When I have done something heroic then Ill be a hero but I am not a hero just because I am a highly trained safety officer disguised as a waiter. Now, on a personal note, I am a coast guard in my spare time
!!!