Danny,
The competency book sounds akin to a little gem they dropped on ground tradesmen. I seem to remember getting my "Record of Tradesmans Qualifications and Experience" (I forget the form number now), mid 70s. Everywhere I went I had to be re qualified to Marshall, refuel etc etc. I still have the book somewhere and if I find it, it will probably bring back some memories. I do remember thinking though that, at the point of introduction, my "record" was to be effectively zeroed. It was not retrospective for us older sweats, so our experience started on day of issue of book, as opposed to the preceding 15 or 20 years of service. I must say, I never found a use for that particular tome, it may explain why I'm not sure of its location at the moment.
Your journey towards the Royal Air Force that I knew is moving on, and I for one am starting to see things, in your story, that are familiar to my service. It's interesting to see how someone of your experience and history sees the things I also saw and I, like many look forward to your continuing career, even if it is in "Air Tragic"
keep it going Danny, "memoriam fecit hoc" (Dean Martin 1964).
Smudge
