In 1940 a certain Sqn Ldr Bader took command of 242 Sqn at Coltishall. Prior to his appointment the Sqn had taken a mauling care of the Luftwaffe and they had no ground support equipment/tools/spares etc.
All Bader had was 14 brand shiny new Hurricanes but he had the balls to refuse to declare to Group that his squadron was ready for ops until he had got said spares etc.
Not surprisingly he got summoned to Group HQ for tea and no biccies with the AOC pdq. There he made the valid point that with no fitters/ground crew/spares etc. the squadron would be unable to sustain any ops for more than a day or two.
The result? He got his spares/groundcrew/tools etc. within a couple of days and more importantly he got the respect of both his squadron and his AOC! I can't see any Wg Cdr or Gp Capt doing the same today yet squadrons are expected to perform as normal when seriously under-strength, due to cuts and/or a serious exodus of experience and we are still expected to field a "Premiership" team......it's like trying to play professional football with only 8 (or less) in the team. Doubtless, there are still good "players" in the RAF but if under-strength, how can we possibly win unless we opt for five-a-side and forget playing in the league any more?
I really do feel sorry for those having to cope with the stress of having to compromise their standards because of the pressures of being expected to maintain flying rates/serviceability states/targets with insufficient resources. Small wonder morale is so bad and retention so poor.
MB