I believe I can bring a fairly unique perspective to this discussion. For those who cannot surmise from my nickname the "Airborne" comes from my time spent on II Sqn. RAF Regiment and the "Aircrew" comes from my time as an ALM on 33 Sqn.
Statements such as "brain dead" to describe Gunners are patently ignorant of the facts. When I went to the CIO I was told that I could have any trade I wanted. The look of shock on the chap's face was quite the picture when I said I wanted the Regiment. At Swinderby OC PSF(?) was equally surprised when, having spent the better part of an hour trying to sell me on the idea of a commission, I informed him that I had no desire to be an officer. Upon arrival at Catterick I found several Gunners who were equally well or, in some cases, better qualified academically than myself who had also chosen the same course.
That having been said, yes there are Gunners who are not "the sharpest knives in the drawer". But that's the same in any trade and I can assure you all that there were ALM's, AEOps, AEng's and, yes, Pilots who would have been easily shown up intellectually and academically, not to mention common sense wise, by Gunners I served with.
Yes, Gunners look down on the rest of you. Why? For much the same reason Percy despises you. Because I wish I had a pound for every tradesman I heard tell me that they only joined for a trade and never considered the possibility of going to war. That mindset is an anathema to a Gunner who, much like an infantryman, joined to "close with the enemy and kill him". Why do you think Gunners take such pleasure in gassing you and making your lives a misery? It's because, after all the crap they have to hear about being brain dead etc. they
can gas you and watch a large proportion of you cry like girls about it. But you only got gassed annually, we were gassed monthly and had "respirator runs" that had us wear 35lbs of CEFO and a 9lb rifle while running 1 1/2 miles wearing a NBC suit and a respirator every Friday afternoon, rain or shine.
But then, from the other side, you'll find that the "greener" a tradesman is, (the more they operate from the field), the more they understand and appreciate the Rocks and, funnily enough, the more the Rocks respect them. Many here have thanked the Rocks for the training they have provided, and that will be appreciated I can assure you. For those that complain about it: You need to remember the Rocks are trying to prepare you for the most frightening, confusing and mind numbing experience you may ever face. It's an extremely difficult task because there is no exercise that even comes close to simulating the the reality... So the worst they can do is mess with you. Equate it if you will to your survival training. Your instructors didn't put you through the stress of an actual ejection or crash because they can't, so they dump you in the middle of nowhere and make you march up hill and down dale for the first day, (which is probably not what you would do right off the bat). The idea was to tire you and disorient you as best they could. They were just messing with you...
As to the question "Does the Regiment have a role?" Absolutely. The Army does not have the desire nor the skill sets required to properly defend something like an airfield. Could they acquire the skills? Of course, but there is an attitude issue that would mean the job would be being done reluctantly, ('cos they all hate the crabs who are really just a bunch of civvies in blue). The Gunner joins knowing what his role will be and he does it willingly and with pride.
Lastly, before any of you put any stead in the mental meanderings of MGD please remember he's only a Chinook crewman and is, therefore, basically a glorified "trolley dolly" who is only allowed in the cockpit to bring the butty boxes...
