To paraphrase a flag rank some time ago "I'm struggling for a/c and crews in 'stan, so why on earth would I want to have NVG trained, Mountain experienced crews sitiing on their a***'s in the UK"
Because the harrier/chinook/apache/typhoon...(ok maybe not yet
) guys who are doing such fantastic work supporting coalition troops in the sandpits for and on behalf of that flag rank need to be trained and train themselves
before they deploy and know with confidence that if things go wrong at that stage then those NVG trained mountain experienced crews sitting on their a***'s in the UK will respond and come help immediately.
Because the British public who traditionally don't really quite understand what it is that the boys are doing in the sandpits although, thanks to the red tops and charities such as H4H, are now becoming more aware & support the guys more
but in their eyes actually saving little Jimmy from the tide/mountains/lilo is what the UK military & Coastguard helos are renowned for and continue to receive fantastic public support for and therefore in turn provides fantastic
PR for the UK military - needed in these difficult times & same argument as to why the reds are kept.
Because the UK stands committed to providing its international commitment to SAR provision for its region and unlike other nations is actually able to fully meet that commitment.
Because as things stand at the moment the UK military has a commitment to provide a significant proportion of that SAR capability so dont go blaming the guys and girls that are doing (very well) the job they have been given.
Because when the **** hits the fan in the UK through natural disaster / terrorism / large scale, mass casualty accidents / human nature and failings thereof the UK public are grateful & proud that there is a rehearsed and proven system in the UK that responds professionally and gets on with the job 24/7 in any weather.
Of course a 100% civilian provided service could and probably in a few years will provide an equally professional service for the UK masses to be proud of but you only have to look at foot & mouth, fireman strikes etc to see how quickly the UK fall back on their military for support in times of crisis.
Also the argument for employing guys in 'rest' tours will never be won either way but it is simple human nature that if you dont give them a chance to rest they will quickly become exhausted & disillusioned and look elsewhere for employment, taking their experience and abilites with them. I've always wondered whether the general RN ethos of SAR as a rest tour or the RAF ethos of SAR as a career has the stronger argument. Both have massive advantages and disadvantages. Both work for their own Service needs, both provide a professional SAR service. Both would be equally welcome should I need their services on a dark night but the arguement continues. I just feel the UK population as a whole are lucky to be in a position where effective SAR cover, whether RAF/RN/CG comes with the territory.
SW