Some good questions, but as expected, not really answered. Our Lords and Masters obviously have absolutely no idea how much damage to morale and families that this prolonged, grey and murky, rumour driven Project Belvedere is causing.
Wives and Husbands of serving personnel cannot get employment as potential local employers/businesses believe that the spouse will soon be moved because they have heard that everyone is going to Lyneham. Others who attempt to keep their children out of the Boarding School system suddenly find that the search for a suitable state school to deliver stability is now in flux as they may be moving.
Senior Officers that brief that Odiham will not be moving 100% are then made to look like they are telling porkies or absolutely out of touch of what is really going on as the next day rumour leaks out about another aspect of Belvedere impacting the future of Odiham.
How many years does it take to conduct a study and make a command decision? If the factors, constraints and all of the other study variables are that dynamic then stop and wait for stability and allow the dust to settle rather than knee jerking and presenting the charade of 'cost savings with capability enhancements' because it just doesn't wash anymore - and I challenge any JHC staff officer or Treasury bean counter to genuinely make all of this work and activity 'cost neutral' and I further challenge to see no decrease in capability.
Whatever is going on in the JHC they had better start to either make a decision and/or think very seriously about the way this whole debacle is communicated as it is screwing service families over as they strive for stability in a very unstable world, both at home and on operations. Just another push factor that will drive service families away
At least the Fisheads are now getting a bit of the Joint unsettling action of Belvedere - Army with Dishforth to Wattisham, RAF with Benson and Odiham to Lyneham, and now the latest (old) rumour for the Junglies going down to Culdrose. Now they too can jump aboard the roller coaster of Belvedere as their many comfortable years in Somerset conceivably come to an end....if the rumour is true that is
