Airman fined for helmet damage

[wub]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4216133.stm

[hyd3failure]

It surprises me that he is still in a job. Do you think that if he worked for a civilian company and deliberately did this then he would still be worlking for them?

[wub]

It seems his exemplary service record saved him but it is a strange tale

[SRENNAPS]

It amazes me, there are hundreds of professional SAC's & CPL's out there that cant sign on, but this man stays in because "He had a bad day"


And as for his exemplary service record with two decorations - well most of us have that these days.

Just who do we look after in todays RAF.

[buoy15]

Got my helmet crushed back in the 70's - can't remember her name, and I don't thimk she got charged.

[Pielander]

It surprises me that he is still in a job. Do you think that if he worked for a civilian company and deliberately did this then he would still be worlking for them?

Nothing would surprise me. It's amazing what people get by with when start they start throwing things like 'stress' and 'bad days' into the equation.

I know it's not quite the same, but I work at a large British jet engine company (for the next two weeks anyway), and there's a guy there who takes six months off out of every year due to 'stress'. Fair enough, you might say - so he's stressed. But, it's more that a little bit coincidental that six months is exactly the amount of time you can have off sick before your pay gets halved. Now you're either too sick to work or you're not, right? So, on the Wednesday he's too sick to work, as he has been for six months, but on by Thursday, he's made a miraculous recovery and he's back in work as bright as a button. :confused: For the avoidance of any confusion, this guy does not have a stressful job by any means.

A more blatant lefty-union-empowered p!ss-take, I have never seen, however, not only does it go unchallenged, but it also results in the guy being given an even easier job on the same pay! :yuk:

[light_my_spey]

Sorry, this one is taking the piss, not just out of the system but also all the individuals around him.
"He was on a low that day and he now accepts that it was a stupid and destructive act, albeit a one-off ".
I've had plenty off 'bad days' but that doesnt mean I should start knocking the bollocks out of anything near by to relieve my anguish.

Should have been binned at the first opportunity. No doubt he will be turned down for redundancy and promoted to the next rank.

[FOMere2eternity]

Add to list of things that need sorting: ability to fire morons, just as you would have in any other job and this MUST include officers too!

That would put the cat amongst the pigeons...

[tucumseh]

While it seems there’s no doubt this chap did the deed, the cynic in me recalls many precedents where senior officers and civilians have ordered the destruction of perfectly serviceable or repairable kit, only to authorise a replacement buy shortly after. On one occasion that I know of, lack of that kit was subsequently cited in a BOI. Those responsible got promoted. Perhaps he, or his advisors, suggested raising this?? Methinks much embarrassment would follow. Management sets the tone.

[BEagle]

Back in 1969/70 I was told by one of our Chipmunk QFIs that, when the RAF pulled out of Geilenkirchen, a whole load of brand new G-Plan furniture still in poly bags was broken up and burnt by the blunties rather than being sold off locally. He'd filmed this with his cine camera and told the Stn Cdr that if he was ever charged anything for wear and tear on his OMQ furniture, the film would be made public.

So the Stn Cdr had him shipped of to a CFS Chipmunk course rather than his expected posting as a Canberra Flt Cdr.......

[ShyTorque]

Was this chap offered any medical opinion? A few years ago he would possibly have been offered a week or two in Ward 13, RAF Hospital Wroughton for assessment.

Cheaper to close the hospital and just fine him instead?

Not that I'm a sceptic, but looking at his previous record, I am sceptical. Or is he just trying to tell the system something, like GET ME OUT PLEASE? :(

[buoy15]

He may have had a point when, in mitigation, he said he only made the damage more obvious to prevent someone else down the line returning it as "No fault found"

We have many problems with CAMBS Buoys.
A 4mm dent renders them U/S at £4500 a time
The only way to prove them is with a 'feel' check, running the fingertips all over the casing, because any damage is not obvious visually.

Aslo returned many serviceable items to stores over the years, only to see the storeman shred them with scissors or a knife.

Loved many, Trusted a few, Always paddled my own canoe;)

[JessTheDog]

The conduct rating "exemplary" hides a wide variety of sins as those who have written F6000s will testify to! To get a lower conduct rating that even sounds derogatory, you have to be seriously naughty.

[BackfromIraq]

Quote: "Elwood, who served with distinction in both Iraq conflicts and was decorated twice..."

If he's 30 now, and GW1 was in 1991, he would have been too young to serve out there by far. Maybe Resinate North and South? Decorated my @rsethe things they give out for that are like tagnuts.

I hate to think what would happen if so many of the rest of us were too lazy to work...

B@stard. Such willful destruction deserves a late night meeting with a baseball bat.

[L1A2 discharged]

And if he behaves himself could be re-promoted in a short space of time.
It sucks.

[Stitchbitch]

I don't think he would be the only one who's ever 'damaged' a helmet. Those of you who wore the MK.10B may recall that on the earlier builds the laminate cracked around the ear tape loop. Once discovered on after flight the drill was to gently push the edges of the helmet inwards and if it appeared that the helmet shell material was weak ,then people would often keep on pushing, rendering the helmet properly u/s. I would rather send a guy out to a jet with fully serviceable kit thats going to give some blast protection ,than to just let stuff go that could actually fail on them.
I heard a rather diffrent side to this particular story,but however you read it he left himself open to getting busted. I would just like to know when they are going to catch and charge all those lineys who wipe their bits in oxymasks...:mad:

[Arkroyal]

Bit off topic, but Beags's post reminded me of a similar MQ happening, when OMQs were to be re-offered as Senior rates MQs.

Some destructive soul had to remove a foot or so around the edge of every carpet in the houses, as SRs are not allowed fitted carpets:confused:

[heights good]

i have decided im not feeling great today i think for a laugh im going to destroy 2 servicable engines, because i can. Failing that i might just put some designer dents in the tail rotor or smash the windows. Choices , choices, choices i cant really decide. What do you guys think?

[TechyFilth]

HG,

whatever you do, be careful, we wouldn't want you being done for hurting yourself and thereby rendering yourself unfit for duty!!

I suggest leaving something near the intakes and claiming cognitive failure, something to do with hassle from the Feds or trouble with ACRs......

How careless of his 'CO' (or more likely SNCO) to leave his conditioning stamp around. Maybe it was mitigating evidence such as this that lessened the sentence......:ouch:

One the subject of stupidity, do you remember when MT wagons didn't have radios....because we paid extra to have them removed!!!!

[FatBaldChief]

Sabotage is sabotage no matter what form it comes in.
Indicative of the laziness and malaise overtaking some junior ranks?
Discuss.
fatbaldanddontlikesabotage:8

Nice to see lazy airmen getting promoted too. How do his reporting chain feel now?

[MSF]

It's a promotion thing guys.
I had a friendly conversation with the SWO at Northolt one day.
I had just stopped a P&SS guy at the gate , trying to get on to the base, A Giraffe,if my memory serves me well.

Anyway the SWO was feeling benevolant and told me that the only way for an airman to be assured to get SNCO promotion was to sin and then to be re-habilitated, at Colchester,if possible.
The sin must be serious enough to get you RSDR, but under no circumstances must it involve civilian authorities.

He had been in Colchester on at least one occasion.
As he said, it gets you noticed.

[TheNightOwl]

Arkroyal - would that have been Lossie, in the late 70s - early 80s? I was a Chief Tech there, in an ex-officer MQ, and was called at work by SWMBO one morning when a face appeared with a clip-board to inform her that he had to cut a border from the edge of the fitted carpet in our lounge/dining-room as we were not entitled to a fitted carpet since I was only a SNCO.

You can imagine the response he got from SWMBO, and left only after the bod from MPBW over-ruled the instruction!

Prats!!

Kind regards,

TheNightOwl.:ok: