MC
I agree it's surprising to see quite senior Virgin guys turning up at GSS... however things not quite as bad as you describe at GSS... basic in yr 1 is certainly not great, but there is flt pay (c£500-£800 per month on top), in 5 years I've only done one positioning trip down the back and my guess is even with secondees, the amount of retirements coming up will mean that a command will come up far quicker than at VS... personally I wouldn't swap GSS for VS (even with no staff travel!!)