Originally Posted by
safetypee
Nostalgia is a strong emotion. My good fortune was to attend both Trenchard 'mills', Halton and Cranwell.
There was something about the location of Halton which added to the spirit of the training system.
A pre-service visit to the then 'new' airframe workshop, the sight of real aircraft lined up, to be explored taken to pieces, the smell of hydraulics ... this was the place to be. Three years later with the arrival of the first Lightning instructional airframe ... I want to fly that.
Trenchard's legacy enabled both.
It's disappointing to see the concept of apprenticeship, technical and flying excellence in decline (military at least). This was central in the Trenchard idea; much of what remains of the RAF has been founded on this.
Modern management tends to focus on the near term, because the future is uncertain, costly, ...
There is a lack of vision; will constant reorganisation deliver the much needed military agility and flexibility often required in unforeseeable futures. Are the politicians dazzled by cost, or reacting to the reality of the modern world including economic constraint, all short term; the military leadership remains weak and fragmented, a pale shadow of the likes of Trenchard.
Having been in the same training regimes ie No1 & 2 TT, I agree totally with all you have said.
It was VERY strange to attend ACTS with no technical trainees at Halton, yes many ghosts there indeed. And sadness too.
As a mech then FT I remember some outrageous weekends activity there and then there were the nurses, not easy to get into those social circles as a "trainee" but well worth the effort
What I cannot see is the cost for returning Halton Hall to it's original condition, strange that.