Cleared to Roll: I'm afraid weak leadership is not a new phenomenon; the knee-jerk reflex has always been around. I recall Stn Cdr Gutersloh (& this was not his fault) in '89 having to go around the Unit & surrounding countryside one Saturday evening, terminating Xmas social functions due to the crash of a USAF A-10 on an apartment block in the Clutch, with regrettable loss of life.
This Biblical over-reaction was due to a directive from the Foreign Office, generated by their equivalent of the Orderly Corporal, in response to an out-of-hours request from his opposite number at the German FO. Herr Flick sent out a demand to all NATO forces Germany that a period of sombre reflection be observed by same. Quentin Fawcett-Home at HM FO leapt upon this with zeal & gusto, certain that this would propel him to become HM Ambassador to Washington DC before you could say "where's my Pimms?", and instigated this Draconian reaction. The other Nato (G) forces, when confronted with the same request, quietly ignored this tosh. It was interesting to note that the Bars/Clubs/Whorehouses of Germany continued to party as normal. 'Twas ever thus.................
HB
Last edited by Halton Brat; 30th May 2011 at 13:39.