NEO,
Rest as defned by the CAA and FAA....and even Bristow Ops Manual rules...do not include the consumption of alcohol.
I would think rest would be better described as good food, physical exercise, and a good book or movie on the television vice consuming a lot of drink....to the point the customer would be concerned about a pilot's fitness to fly the next day.
Living cheek on jowl with the customer always presents its problems and the current situation is nothing new beyond the additional burden of stress and risk you are having to endure.
Everyone of you are there by choice....not one of you have been press ganged or ordered there by your government in defense of the realm.
Perhaps you guys need to pull up your big boy breeches and get on with the job and accept the conditions you have to accept if you are going to do the job.
You are in it for the money....take the King's Shilling and get to work.
The question I continue to pose to you.....are you being paid commensurate to your risk? Does not sound like it to me.
As to the two wounded guys.....I have all the sympathy and concern for them as you do. Read back over the dozens of posts I have made criticizing the lack of adequate security, pointing out the shortcomings of the security setup, and stating there has been a lack of concern by your management.
No one likes to hear the news that people have been hurt in any way while working in Nigeria.
Prior to this last shooting, I was told you folks out there were quite happy taking the risks and knew the risks but were willing to stay there and work.
Well.....you have taken two more casualties to Nigerian violence. The company is now taking measures to improve your safety by limiting your exposure to the risk of ambush while en-route to your workplace.
Every security measure comes at a price....usually that means a loss of freedom or a loss of privacy. If you are going to work in a dangerous place then you have to be prepared to lose some of your freedom and privacy.
You are quite correct when you talk of some needing to shed some stress that resulted from the shooting. They need to do that in a healthy way and not by peering inside a brown bottle. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is real and can result from being involved in an ambush and shootout just as occurred the other day. Professional counseling is what works for preventing the onset of PTSD.
No amount of counseling will help the stress that comes from continuing to work in a place that way deep down you really do not want to be at....the cure for that is to find a place where you are comfortable and happy being at.