Contractorise civilian search and rescue - what a good idea - the Coast Guard have been doing it for some time.
But what about military search and rescue which is why SAR was created, in the first place.
At first the idea was to pull our guys out of the North Sea/English Channel when they needed it and it wasn't just airborne rescue - it was mostly the Marine Branch. Then with the development of helos it became a worldwide commitment to pick up Brit military aircrews wherever they had gone down.
Then gradually parts of it became a national 999 service. The point is that SAR is/was for the military - the RAF and RN civilian rescue service, fantastic though it is, was a spin off.
So Bristow is now going to go into dangerous operational theatres to rescue our boys and girls. Great, if they can do it. I hope they can.
Rgds SOS
Last edited by SOSL; 26th Mar 2013 at 21:59.