MaroonMan4 - thanks for what I think is possibly the most sensible post I've seen on this thread for some considerable time!
A couple of observations...
- The last time OCEAN deployed, she left Guzz in Mar/Apr 2011 and returned in December. That was a little over 7 months and there were CHF aircraft and personnel on board for most of it.
- The AURIGA deployment in 2010 saw SK and Lynx embark on OCEAN, head to the East coast of the States and conduct a LitM exercise, before heading down south for a short trip to the South Atlantic and returning via West Africa.
- During the TAURUS trip in 2009, we had Lynx embarked for the whole trip, departing in Feb and returning in Aug, just under six months.
In all cases, there were personnel from CHF who did the whole of the trips on board. Admittedly, some of the crews and maintainers for the aircraft weren't on board throughout every deployment and there were roulements, but we had the capability available. The SKs were on board for some of the trips, but the roulement plots for Afghanistan would have been affected if we'd kept the Kings on board all the time, so we didn't. One SK Flight embarked three or four weeks after they got back from Afghanistan last year, spent nearly two months away in the Med and then came back to VL to work up before deploying to Afghanistan in the Autumn. Over the previous 24 months, they'd done three tours in Afghanistan (including Christmas) and had embarked for two deployments of two or three months in between each. I know we're all working hard, but keeping LitM going isn't as simple as a couple of DLs every few months!
Happy Easter to everyone, hope those in dusty places stay safe and hope that the CH boys in Yuma are all OK, if a little shaken up.
