Proper Use of Military Pesonnel?
This may be short-lived, and shoot me down if you like, but:
It must be true - Daily Mail says so - 80 RAF drivers are to be trained to drive fuel tankers as a contingency plan for the possble forthcoming strike by fuel road hauliers.
Presumably they will have some knowledge already, possibly as fuel bowser drivers (or they may just be plucked from a limitless source of LGV [formerly HGV] qaulified drivers); if so, this would leave a fairly large hole in manning of that speciality. Who would back fill (no pun intended) their posts at unit or depot level to provide fuel for our aircraft?
Notwithstanding any possible operational ramifications, is this a proper use of military personnel? Civil contingency planning involving military is supposed to cater for emergency situations; flood assistance springs to mind; foot and mouth; firefighter strikes (but only because of the protection of life aspect). I do not believe it should be enacted to interfere in industrial disputes (except the aforementioned firefighter case).
So, who is going to refuel your aircraft if 80 warm bodies are diverted to other duties?
Mister B
Anyway, shouldn't all available personnel be training for the summer jockstrap event...?