so by the time we get to 2018 we've had several people aboard
Not quite the same as having a few jets embarked ourselves and everyone in the carrier getting experience.
Rather than doing a work up from scratch.
It will be from scratch for most of the personnel involved. Why do you think so many people have expressed safety concerns (such as those mentioned
here)?
The lack of adequately training personnel could delay the carrier coming into service by another three or four years, the Navy commander has said.
Another officer has told The Telegraph that the loss of carrier deck handling skills could prove "disastrous" with fatal accidents caused by inexperienced ratings.
and..
With the loss of the aircraft carriers Ark Royal and Illustrious there is little employment for highly specialised deck crew that safely fly and recover aircraft.
The senior officer's concerns that have been passed on to the head of the Navy, are that with the "skills wastage and inability to ramp up level of skills" the new carriers cannot be brought in "in the timescale envisaged".
"I believe it would not be possible given the reduction in the Navy and difficulty of retraining these skills that they can be brought in time scales envisaged.
"The experienced people who we would put on ships are all leaving because they don't have work. This situation is considerably worrying."
Surely basics are basics - Harrier or F35B? Things like handling live aircraft on a moving deck at sea, making sure that the ship is heading in the right direction and speed to launch or recover aircraft, and lots of other whole ship aspects.
To my mind, we also need to think of crises that may occur this decade. The current mantra seems to be cut back, make do, ignore risks, get defeated. Yet despite the cuts, our politicians seemed determined to make noises with respect to possible crises involving Syria or Iran.