Hi Snafu,
I see the detail is in the wording and is the 'Support staff' a bunch of civilians that are posted to ships as and when required and what about the aircrew?
If the support staff are civilians then where is that line being drawn regarding the manning of front line warships?
The site lists these ships as having this type of support:
HMS Ocean, HMS Chatham, HMS Ark Royal
Are both Chatham and Ark Royal still in commission and why not civilianize the rest of the ship's company aboard that other warship, why be selective?
Apologies for thread drift but.......... ouch!!