Cuckoopen...a good post......well worth reading by all that ever wondered what sort of process we all went through in more detail...as you know...I could do nothing but support or agree with you.
I do agree however, that Tucum has rushed to a judgement in this case about RM activities on this programme....you have lanced that one....but his extensive experience has taught him that this is often not the case...and certainly in the past.....his view on submarine requirements etc were mean't to reflect on how bizarre and inapproriate the RM system has become in other projects using the MoDs conventional approaches.
As a former Bid Team member, while I would never subscribe to the a statement that the SAR-H IPT acted perfectly...clearly it didn't in at least one sad respect...nor was it consitituted in the way I would have like to have seen...but there is no doubt it did sterling work using a process that was intially unfamiliar, time consuming and demanding....and in the end of the 2 compliant bidders a winner was chosen...the sad bit is that the winner may well have gained advantage from the other goings on to the detriment of the other bidder...who knows at this stage.
However, given wider events, I am now glad it has all been kicked in to touch despite the immediate loss of the prospect of a shiney unfied and very competent SAR-H based UK SAR Force.....I only hope the opportunity of such a future development will not be lost for too long!
ClearedtoRoll
Ref your post and my last para...a minortiy we might be...but it is already getting bigger..even at ministerial level if my sources are right. And so it should after more than 8 years of UK National Resilience Policy development...and hence my last para to Cuckoopen...this is the straegic issue that should now influence any new UK SAR replecemnt policy/requirement...not the more narrow one that would have produced a perfectly competent UK SAR helo force...but not much else.
BTW your opening paras re mil pers moving to industry etc is prefectly valid in general cases ..and ever so if they move to an company that has already won the business that they were previously invovled in. However, it is not appropriate (and indeed illegal for senior personnel unless they are vetted and a waiver issued) for such people to move with knowledge to a company that is bidding for a contract and their information can help them then win the contract. Furthermore, in the SAR-H EU Competitve Dialogue process and rules as used in the SAR-H process....any inapproaite passing of any bidders confidential information required the immediate cancellation of the competition...so there we go.
Last edited by Tallsar; 9th Feb 2011 at 12:51.