Oh Biggus, the SARFARCE can do better than that!
The hierachy consisted of the boss and 4 Flt Cdrs, so 1 x Wg Cdr and 4 x Sqn Ldrs. I returned to the same fleet 10 years later, only to find that the hierachy now consisited of 1 x Wg Cdr and 6 x Sqn Ldrs. The number of personnel was the same (actually slightly less), no more hours were being flown, no new tasks. Everything was pretty much the same as before, and, at least to my eyes, there was no noticeable improvement in the way the Sqn was run.
that's nothing! Look what happened in SAR Wing, which had bumbled along admirably rescuing people for decades with 1 Wg Cdr in charge, 2 Sqn Ldr Sqn Commanders with nine flights (in total) each commanded by a Flight Lieutenant - plus a Sqn Ldr OC eng and a Jengo. That's what I joined in 1978.
By the time I left it in 1999 the SAR Force was commanded by a Group Captain with a Wg Cdr 2i/c and of course a Wg Cdr OC ENg. The two squadrons, each reduced to three flights, were commanded by Wg Cdrs with a Sqn Ldr 2i/c, and each flight now commanded by a Sqn Ldr Flt Cdr.
And as you found
"there was no noticeable improvement in the way the Sqn was run"
No wonder it's being privatised. Amazed it took so long!
