My Brooke-Popham Essay at Staff College in 1992 was about just that! We had already ventured into a very recent war against Iraq without a CSAR capability and many of my fellow aircrew from the Tornado GR1 world were languishing at 'Saddam's Pleasure', perhaps, for want of a UK capability to recover them before capture. My paper was fully supported by both the ASC hierarchy and the SAR office in Main Building, to whom I was invited to present my findings. The paper was retained by MOD to assist in the staffing of their own work.
Of course, there are issues of resources and priorities but, as I pointed out, there is no greater priority or expensive resource than aircrew in an offensive air war and their recovery from behind enemy lines should feature amongst the highest of priorities; not only aircrew but others of similar importance too.
Twenty-two years later and we are no further forward! With the loss of SAR, we will lose not only the assets but the expertise to carry out CSAR in the future should the requirement ever surface from within Whitehall!
Bloggs
