Originally Posted by TEEEJ
For those that haven't seen the article written by Sharkey.
Thanks, TEEEJ, I hadn't seen it. It is striking in one particular way. Having started out by stating that there is bound to be a lot of single-service
PR aaround the 30th Anniversary, Ward then embarks on one of THE most blatant single-service rants I've seen in a long time. And I'm sorry, but I'm not taken in for a moment by his 'justification' that this all about avoiding procurement mistakes today.
The RAF, as Ward says, played very much a supporting role apart from the front line assets he mentions. That is undeniable and down to equipment scales at the time. He and his wonderful Harrier mates would have gone hungry very quickly without it.
Originally Posted by Ward
The overall campaign is correctly perceived as a predominantly naval, amphibious and land force battle since, whilst the Royal Air Force contribution to success was considerable, it was mostly confined to personnel transport and logistics effort with a very small front-line part in the ground support of own forces. RAF forces directly involved in front-line operations were confined to one Vulcan, eight Harrier GR3s and one Chinook helicopter.
Interesting order in which to list the main players. Those that won the war and then the RAF. Hardly balanced. Actually, the war was won by the guys on the ground, with support from everyone else.
Originally Posted by Ward
But the Sea Harrier could not have achieved victory in the air war without the dedication and professionalism of all those embarked in the Task Force.
Or the people that kept your supply chain alive.
Originally Posted by Ward
The average age of these young lions was barely 20.
And the age of everyone else involved?
That 'paper' failed to convince me or hold my attention because it started out as just another piece of his self-opinionated FAA/RN/Harrier self-worship. Write something balanced instead. We already know how great the Harrier guys have always been.
For the record, I honestly believe that the Royal Navy is, in many ways, the most professinal of our armed forces and I fully recognise the magnificent job they did in the South Atlantic. It is Ward's 'Paper' that fails to impress, not the subject of his writing.