SA,
I feel that I am quite lucky. At least I can afford to put my hand in my pocket to make good of the bad. Its the young (engineering) kids with families back home to support whilst they also work bloody hard to support the rest of us in doing the bidding of the penny pinching serpants that I really feel sorry for. They are the ones that really need the OA and who will get nothing.
Everyone from Waddington who I spoke to at the air show had something to say about the quality of the det.... the giste was that morale was not as good as it could be and one of the main causes was the application of allowances. The point that I was trying to make is this.... We shouldn'd be reliant upon OA, but on adequate rates. We should be either on rates (or capped actuals that actually cover the cost of eating) plus LOA, or under field conditions with food etc supplied. It seems that neither apply and the lack of carry over means that you have to dip into your own pocket to eat a meal of the same standard that you would receive in your appropriate mess. I totally agree with your comments about the younger members of the det not being able to afford this.
F-Plod,
4 months of the year? In 2-week steps? You mean they get home every fortnight?
But try it for 10 years straight as happened to a good number of AWACS guys during the Balkans campaign!
W