"If we're going to bin all the other Air Combat Service Support trades and branches why retain the engineers? After all the only deploy to the same places that the other trades go to so there is no military reason that they too can't be contractors (are they at any greater risk than the contract chefs in Bastion/KAF?).
While we're at it. Do we really need our AT/AR crews to be regular service personnel. Don't they do the air equivalent if the RFA's maritime role? So let's bin them too. If we do that, then the policy could be extended to the non-Fast Jet ISTAR lot too.
So we'd be left with was a Royal Air Force comprising Fast Jet Pilots, the odd Tornado WSO, and Support Helicopter aircrew."
....and dont forget
each one would have his/her own 1*,2*, and 3* of course!
