TTN
I hope you do.
gr4techie
I must have misunderstood what you meant by "need lots of gold braid and badges to make them feel special."
They complied with the Dress Code for this very special celebration which was 'White Tie or equivalent Mess Dress with miniatures'. I'm certain the overwhelming majority of our members, probably all, are pleased when current and former service personnel wear mess kit to our formal dinners - and would be disappointed if they didn't.
I've noticed that you've commented, on a few occasions, that there's not much sign of public support for the armed services beyond the immediate vicinity of military establishments so I hope you are pleased to see that we demonstrate our support.
We have strong links with the armed services and have Affiliated Units in all three, including Reserve and Cadet units. Those affiliations are active, not notional.
One of my first tasks when I became Master was to visit HMS Illustrious (an affiliated unit) to present our Air Safety Trust Award to a member of the ship's company - Leading Airman (Aircraft Handler) Stephen Ashcroft. Seven members came with me. My term of office ends in a couple of weeks and one of my last tasks will be to attend a dinner at Middle Wallop (next Friday) to present a Master Air Pilot certificate to a member of the Army Air Corps - another affiliated unit.
My only personal link with the services was as a Cadet Pilot in the University of London Air Squadron, also an affiliated unit. Not much when compared with the regular contributors in this forum but, 40 years later, I'm still proud of it. I was delighted when the Squadron agreed to provide a Guard of Honour on two occasions during my Master's year - for the Duke of York last May and, on this occasion, for the Duke of Edinburgh.
In these challenging political/financial times, I think it's important as ever to show support for the armed services and we, the Air Pilots, do so in many different ways.
FL
Last edited by Flying Lawyer; 1st Mar 2014 at 23:49.