I got so sick of reading some of the responses that I skipped all of page 5 and most of page 6. Being told by those from 20 years ago that we 'don't do enough ops' or that we 'aren't hardened to an operational environment' leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth.
The fact is when I joined up I could have expected ops from time to time, in fact as most young thrusting aircrew I wanted it. The fact is for my entire career all I have known is NI, Iraq, Afghan, the falkland and Africa. In amongst this my flying pay was reduced by a year, my pension reduced by 3,500 a year and my service extended to 22 years for my pension-none of which I signed up for.
People might say 'it's the military, this is what you signed up for'... Well no actually it wasn't. My terms and conditions that I signed up to have been altered beyond all recognition, I wasn't told that my entire career would be ops in the Middle East, and I wasn't told that even the smallest chance to boost morale such as an Adventure Training trip would be denied due to cost.
Some will say 'leave then'. This is the saddening point, I probably will leave, along with a lot of my comrades, pilots who have a lot of experience, who mostly enjoy the job and want to stay in because they believe in something that I can't quite put my finger on. But for now they are marginalised, told that 14 years of ops isn't enough (and for those above who sat 'you haven't done constant ops for that long' try speaking to a few of the herc guys or rotary guys in particular who've know nothing else) and that the general state of affairs will not improve, in fact it will deteriorate.
Good luck with recruiting, and good luck with retention. As always Per Ardua Ad Astra...unfortunately a lot more Ardua than expected.