Winco,
Thanks for your full and concise answer and I admit I wasn't really interested in the figures, we all know you can't make money displaying a military team, it would be nice if you could.
I also admit you're right about the money saved not being used for our servicemen and women, lets face it, how many times did we actually cut our navy to pay for the carriers, only to be told that we had to lose something in the SDSR to pay for them again!
The point is that despite wanting to keep the best display team in the world, there comes a time when the money just isn't available any more. I've seen (from my lowly vantage point) the difficulty getting budget holders to pay for something they consider "not theirs", so I can see what you mean about the money saved going into something else rather than the military. They've picked the MoD pocket in the past to fund all sorts of civvy related stuff so a few million quid from the Reds would soon disappear. None of that means the Reds shouldn't be got rid of, rather, it means that the only thing saving the Reds is emotion and flag waving, and that will only get you so far (ask the crew of the Ark).
When it finally happens and you hear the next day about a government incentive to help Guinea Pig breeders fight stress by providing respite breaks to Bermuda; just remember, you called it!
Cheers