Can't we just reminisce about the Harrier instead?
In the current financial climate, we stand more chance of bringing back hanging than we do the Harrier. Its premature retirement is a great shame and like many servicemen, I hope that it will not prove to be an unwise cut, but like everything else, I have had to accept it and move on. Surely we could actually move on and read the happy stories of the Harrier -all marks - from the posters here, rather than the tabloid-esque gloom and doom - I get enough of that at work.
This perhaps highlights something else too. The RAF at the moment is turning itself inside out as some seek to support THE war, others seek to demonstrate their relevance in a cash-strapped organisation and most worry whether they will have a job to look forward to. It is up to our leaders to reassure us that there is a way forward, but I'm not sure they know what that is since they are at the beck and call of accountants who know how much everything costs, but put little value on capability and who come almost daily to ask for more reductions when they realise they have failed to balance the books. So we sit in the dark a little bit longer, listening to more and more rumour about cuts and how we will all be worse-off. Future Force 2020 might sound sexy, but does anyone feel reassured by that? However, are we in this mess because we are no good at writing contracts, or because the accountants are no good at understanding what we do?