Cazatou
"So you wish to see the end of emergency Casualty Evacuation for premature babies born overseas to Military Families - coupled with an end to Compassionate Evacuation for Serving Personnel overseas to enable them to visit dying loved ones before it is too late? In the 14 years I served on 32 these were regular occurrences. Is this a price worth paying to keep what is basically a 58 year old airframe design in operation for a few more years?"
is there no other platorm - C-130/A-400M/C-17/VC-10/Tristar/CH-47/Merlin - that can perform these roles?
can - and i ask because i don't know - the platforms on 32(TR) drop into Bastion to bring the unfortunate Cpl Goodbloke back to Newcastle to be with his dying mum, and do we really send the families of service personnel to areas where premature babycare doesn't exist?
do we really need - given the less than palatable other options available - to retain what apears to be a very much 'one-trick pony' platform, and not one with unique capabilities - at the expense of a single GR4, or Frigate, or ASTOR, or a Bay class landing ship?