SVC terminology
I will accept Smudges invitation to comment on the SVC question as , as he puts it the oldest G.E. on the site, ( I hope he means oldest as in seniority in the job not as in Anno Domini but he might be right there.) An SVC ( Servicing Crew ) was generally but not always another engineering tradesman allocated to assist the G.E. on route when there was either a shortage of G.E.s or the route didn't justify the use of two G.E.s but there was a need for two man working e.g. cold climes in the winter where a safety man was required would be a prime example.
It was also a very good morale booster as there was a certain amount of SVC trips spread round the station to non technical areas, to give some people who would not otherwise get to see what the aircraft they backed up in their way went out and did. I took, over my ten years as a G.E., many people from around the station on these trips and the general comment was that there was a lot more going on down route than they had imagined and that some of the things that they experienced would affect the way they did their tasking back at Lyneham, that if they were a little more careful with say spares re-supply a lot of problems down route would not occur.
In general SVC were a good idea, as always you got the odd plonker, explaining that a certain informality on the frame was accepted but that when in a normal military environment that normal military conventions applied was required at times.
Spares resupply was always a bit of a lottery, being stuck in Nassau waiting for a Turbine overheat keyer unit to come from Southern at Miami who wouldn't supply it until Command paid for the Tacho Genny they had a month before, was a bummer, more days on the beach until somebody paid up, and sitting in Oman after a valve housing leak waiting for a Techie to arrive to assist with the task and the PRC to seal the housing, Techie arrived fourteen hours later by Gulf Air, PRC turned up four days later as it was DAC and had to come out civvy freight and before you ask we weren't allowed to use sealant from the SOAF as it might not be the right stuff, echoes of Smudges part no debacle. That and sitting in St Louis waiting for a prop change kit which turned up without the prop lifting dolly securing nut, it was only about 2 foot across easy to miss! And I could go on, the list is if not endless certainly rather long.
See you on the Eighteenth Smudge, should be a good day.