Nige,
And here is a touch of irony for you...
One thing is for certain, one of the most inspired decisions in recent years was the timely leasing of the C17, which was deployed on Ops almost overnight.
Promoted to Wg Cdr in 1996, he (Elliott)took up an appointment in the Directorate of Air Plans with responsibility for all Air Transport and Air Refuelling aircraft. This tour coincided with the Strategic Defence Review during which he sat on the Strategic Lift Working Gp – a team whose recommendations were to subsequently result in the introduction to service of the C-17 aircraft.