Most of the ones on the RAF list will be young and well educated - they probably don't have families and mortgages
Sorry (for the thread drift, if nothing else),
but the majority of RAF personnel being made redundant will not in fact be young RAF pilots.... I'd think a high proportion of those about to be sacrificed, thinking they were highly skilled specialists (that covers crew chiefs, Ops support, rear and front end crew) who were highly valued by the RAF, have significant financial commitments....and are now finding out that their "career", which appeared to be rock solid this time last year, actually has about 3 months to run.
There are people - and I'm not talking aircrew here, although my description probably describes a few - who have achieved a significant skill level, substantial rank, and who have all sorts to pay off, from car loans to mortgages to making sure the kidds finish Uni.... and they're going to get 3 months pay and the sort of kiss off that Michael Corleone gave Fredo.
This isn't about your local Halford's closing down, it's the Royal Air Force - and yes we should be treating the poor sods involved as a special case. Why? Because last time I looked the employees at Waitrose didn't sign a blank cheque that included being killed to further national policy.
Sorry, but I AM getting annoyed at people who insist on treating the armed forces personnel as if they're doing nothing more than that working at DVLA.
Dave