SS
Thanks for that - I can readily see what you are saying - I'm sorry I should have spotted that one ie - single ac, single crew and single AGE. Ahhh! those were the days on det!!!
Sadly, that is only one way to go to war and you never know when HMG require 'just a little bit extra.' But perhaps my answer to Truckkie touched on this - notsure!? The only thing I'd say is that don't be suprised when HMG ask you to do a 24/7 surge - for a few months. If you are only crewed for 1 crew per ac then it would take a madman to ask for such a surge - and, equally, a similiar such madman to agree to it. That is not to say it has not happened before and may I suggest that it could easily happen again!
Also, I take it that slips are but ancient history? As I predicted, if I recall.
It seems as if your problem is knackered ac and those that aren't knackered are in theatre? Also predicted.
If may suggest, the fact that you can cope with 1:1 manning in theatre may be because your customers are quite close and you don't have to fly 1000 nm to the airhead. Nor do we have 2 major and a host of minor theatres all at boiling point at the same time. Unfortunately, life rarely stays that simple for long - especially with Nu Labour at the helm. How would the fleet(s) cope with a NEO in Zimbabwe, a new det in Kosovo along with a surge in AFG/IRQ?
But I am so glad that you intimate that 24/7 is NOT 'de rigeur' - that is a comfort at least! However, fatigue (especially the chronic long-term variety) is insidious and you are wise to be wary of it. Remember the 'Flintstones' camp with the 12x12s, hot and hot running water to the accompanying sound of Uncle Sam's B1s/JSTARS/E3Ds getting airborne every half an hour - seemingly all day (when we were trying to sleep)? I recall I blew a gasket when the Admin WO decided that we should have a camp fire drill just as the Herc crews had got to sleep - at about midday!! Happy days! At least the MCSU was 24/7, even if the mealtimes were not! As they say
'An army marches on its stomach'
- which always was my interpretation of 30 Sqn's 'Ventre a Terre'!
ps I'd wipe those icicles off your brow, if I were you!
Omega - thanks for your kind words
flipster
Last edited by flipster; 11th Mar 2009 at 21:04.