I remember being told I was being promoted but they were sorry I was posted to Cottesmore and JFH. I arrived to find a Station that had no money to fix anything, so roofs leaking etc was the norm but we had wonderful new pans for the Harriers to park on as the single pan that TTTE managed with, was deemed not suitable for 3 Harrier Sqns. In my first week the Stn Cdr ordered all Tornado memorabilia be removed from the Sgts Mess and on my first table top exercise informed me the Ground crew would be left behind if the day came a FARP had to be evacuated. The Harrier world to me was a strange one, and one I never really got.
My tour never got any better, the only bad one in 27 years. The Jaguar OCU was run on a shoestring but it had great people involved, big difference.
That being said the aircraft like the Jaguar had useful life left in it, and we are indeed fortunate the wars we have since been involved in have meant the aircraft have not been missed.