Not bait mate, just fact.
Tell me the last move at YWLM related to an Operation in the last 50 years, and I'll bet you that it wasn't a Williamtown based aircraft? You may be able to site one or two in the last fifty years - but they don't justify the extra cost of having RAAF pers manning ATC.
It's a "Raise, Train, Sustain" base. Nothing to do with operations.
I believe the ATC services should be handed over to ASA. As previously mentioned, YWLM won't man outside standard published hours for actual moves related to Operations, so why the need for blue suiters? Hand it over (after all RAAF ATC are so short), move the guys to other bases so that they can man for operational moves such as those performed by the AP-3C's.
ASA are far more flexible and willing to provide a service at short notice for non-scheduled moves. They'll just bill you for it. RAAF ATC just say "No". Hand it over to ASA on a contract until the RAAF gets it numbers back up. It's not like the RAAF needs to man YWLM because they have a bunch of controllers that need to be "Deployable" on short notice.
At least the actual moves related to Operations would be services by ASA as opposed to the RAAF controllers.
Dick Smith,
I'm yet to hear a compelling reason why RAAF pers have to run the tower there. Perhaps responsibility should be transferred to ASA. For out of hours moves ASA appears flexible enough to man for a payment.
Originally Posted by C-Change
I'm curious. What do you do, or what have you done in life, that allows you to form such an expert opinion about the role of RAAF Williamtown ?
To quote the immortal "Beavis and Butthead" - "Dude, if you have to ask, you'll never know." To answer "we need deployable guys" is not relevant at all when the RAAF is so short of controllers. The requirement for the current CE of controllers is not Williamtown specific.
You should answer my questions about why Blue Suiters have to perform the tower / ground job at YWLM rather than question the basis of my knowledge.
You don't utilise any of the classified systems in tower - so there is no need for a defence member to man it. You guys are notorious defence wide (in the aircrew community outside ACG for providing a completely non - existent service for non locally based aircraft. You made your bed - Dick Smith has pointed out the bed you have made - time to lie in it.
How many times have you guys declared MBZ / CTAF whilst a non ACG aircraft is taxiing? You provide nothing to Defence other than clearing the RTS YWLM based aircraft to land.