Spot on as always Doug,
The start of the det I just posted was my second, with the same crew in two months. I certainly was grateful to be part of a team with some seriously good operators in the "front carriage". Certainly, every part of that trip was a wartime exigency, GASOs went out of the DV window ! I believe the sub captain was briefed to do a survey of Kuwait beaches with a view to an attack via that route. Our Eng in Darwin was well advised IMHO, as I would hope you would value my opinion (back in the day) on aspects of serviceability, that might affect onward progression. Oddly, in 6 years as a GE, I believe our slight delay in Sydney was my one and only time of causing a diversion and delay. Though, in fact, it wasn't me or TT but a badly leaking rear GITZ. I will relate a further experience during the GW1 conflict, where on Det with an SF crew, I was denied the opportunity to address a problem on a degrading engine performance, which would take little more than the removal of four fasteners and a "dusting" of the component. So three weeks in to the four week det and our leader collars me one day and says, "I hope you will fix No3 before we return to LYN, but only on the night before return". Why says I, if you've carried it for four weeks, you can surely take it home. The aircraft of course returned to full performance, engine wise, prior to our departure for home. It could have performed to spec throughout the det. Given some reciprocal faith in professional competence.
That compass is "the dogs gonads though", I once bought a Nav, whose crew was unfortunate enough to have me as their allocated GE, a 400 degree, Asian compass, honestly gov, I thought 400 as opposed to 360 would be more accurate. He did not appreciate it. Despite the fact that uncannily, there was no northing on the dial, but Mecca's relative bearing was always present.
Smudge