Female C-130 pilot - The Sunday Times
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3.14 and Swinging Monkey. What is exactly a bog standard co-pilot these days because i certainly do not know ( at least not on the C130 J fleet ).
I know Caz very well and i can assure you that she will be mortified at the controversy this thread has created. I am confident much of what she said has been taken out of context so let it lie and move on. Caz has many friends in the junior ranks who would agree.
I believe all of those in HM Forces are working their nuts of at the moment whether on Det or on their Stns with limited funding and resources.
Lets all hope that those who are in the worst situations are recognised with more than a inflation-equalling pay rise this year!
I know Caz very well and i can assure you that she will be mortified at the controversy this thread has created. I am confident much of what she said has been taken out of context so let it lie and move on. Caz has many friends in the junior ranks who would agree.
I believe all of those in HM Forces are working their nuts of at the moment whether on Det or on their Stns with limited funding and resources.
Lets all hope that those who are in the worst situations are recognised with more than a inflation-equalling pay rise this year!
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I read the article and thought "Wow.. they do have human beings in the RAF after all".
Only joking, but don't be too hard on the lady. I spent most of my working life in ATC Heathrow, which was frequently visited by journalists. With one or two extremely rare exceptions, the results were little short of utter drivel - much to the acute embarrassment of the staff concerned. As a result I never believe anything the papers..
Only joking, but don't be too hard on the lady. I spent most of my working life in ATC Heathrow, which was frequently visited by journalists. With one or two extremely rare exceptions, the results were little short of utter drivel - much to the acute embarrassment of the staff concerned. As a result I never believe anything the papers..
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I'm quite chuffed at the few officers who are standing by us 'erks' and attacking the indefensible said by one of their own. I thought the officers who look out for the OR's had all PVR'd or retired but I was obviously very mistaken.
Some may think it doesn't look good to the press who frequent this site that officers are openly criticising their own but it certainly replaces some of the faith in those who are in charge that I had lost.
TSM - I take my hat off to you Sir.
Some may think it doesn't look good to the press who frequent this site that officers are openly criticising their own but it certainly replaces some of the faith in those who are in charge that I had lost.
TSM - I take my hat off to you Sir.
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Bless you and love you all. I love it when the growbags get there knickers all steamed up. I have heard the same kind of stuff for over thirty years from aircrew and despite that I think that your all top blokes (non gender specific). You did drag my sorry arse around the world and didn't get too upset when I completely failed to fix Albert when you wanted to move on. More importantly you didn't chastise me when I fixed it when you wanted to stay.
The problem is that you DO have to be a bit special/dedicated/clever to become aircrew and during training you get told your special (for very good reasons). Then as you go through your career the rest of the RAF supports you, engineers, suppliers, gunners etc. etc. as is right and proper.
What I used to say to anybody that got upset by a thoughtless comment was
"Its not their fault, their brought up that way. Their institutionally selfish. Because their mostly normal and usually good eggs. It isn't a lot worse."
I would then refer them to Tinymonkeys First Law of Aircrew
"When three or more aircrew are gathered in their OFFICIAL capacity. no matter how good a bunch they are individually, you will always have a bunch of c*%ts"
I wouldn't have you any other way
The problem is that you DO have to be a bit special/dedicated/clever to become aircrew and during training you get told your special (for very good reasons). Then as you go through your career the rest of the RAF supports you, engineers, suppliers, gunners etc. etc. as is right and proper.
What I used to say to anybody that got upset by a thoughtless comment was
"Its not their fault, their brought up that way. Their institutionally selfish. Because their mostly normal and usually good eggs. It isn't a lot worse."
I would then refer them to Tinymonkeys First Law of Aircrew
"When three or more aircrew are gathered in their OFFICIAL capacity. no matter how good a bunch they are individually, you will always have a bunch of c*%ts"
I wouldn't have you any other way
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True to say that I'm sure the Flt Lt in question never intended any offense, and has doubtless been misquoted. I also agree with others that this article should not have been printed, I do think that it shows the RAF in a poor light, though this is more than likely not the fault of said Flt Lt.
I have to admit though, the most worrying thing I think that has come out of this 'debate' is the utter indifference to, and lack of understanding of, non-aircrew branches/trades by SOME of the members of this forum.
I have to admit though, the most worrying thing I think that has come out of this 'debate' is the utter indifference to, and lack of understanding of, non-aircrew branches/trades by SOME of the members of this forum.
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Just out of interest, has anyone involved in "less stringent duties" ever gone on record making a less that complimentary comment about aircrew, and if so, did it cause the same reaction?
In reality, I think we are just getting upset about a bit of misplaced banter.
In reality, I think we are just getting upset about a bit of misplaced banter.
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SFFP,
You are quite correct about the reporting of the Nimrod loss. I lost several very good friends, and was as hoorified, angry and disturbed at the level of reporting - it was nothing less than shameful. I would just say however, that I am certain this young lady was aware of the same shameful and innacurate reporting, which begs the question 'why did she put herself up for this interview?' Do you think she would have been treated differently because she is a girl?
I am sure she is a nice person and probably a good pilot. I am equally certain that she didn't mean to say some of the things she did. But that is no excuse. She did say them, and I suspect that it has annoyed, if not infuriated, many of our groundcrew, who work equally as hard as she does, in far worse conditions than she has and for a lot less money and credit. That is the point I am trying to make here. Her comments have offended people, especially the junior ranks and have made her, and her fellow aircrew, look arrogant fools.
Brown Bear
I have no experience of the J or indeed any mark of Hercules, but are you saying that the J co-pilot is not 'run of the mill' or something? Are they streamed differently than any other multi engine graduate? If they are, and they are not of the standard Mk1 brigade, then I wiill bow to your experience. As for your comments about her popularity amongst the
junior ranks, that remains to be seen, but I would suggest that the amount of controversy generated here seems to suggest differently. She may have been popular, I'm not sure now though. If you genuingly believe that 'those in HM Forces are working their nuts of at the moment whether on Det or on their Stns with limited funding and resources' you will have no difficulty in understanding why her comments have caused offence within the ORs, and if I was in them, I too would be pretty pi$$ed off about it.
Kind regards to ALL, aircrew and groundcrew alike
TSM
You are quite correct about the reporting of the Nimrod loss. I lost several very good friends, and was as hoorified, angry and disturbed at the level of reporting - it was nothing less than shameful. I would just say however, that I am certain this young lady was aware of the same shameful and innacurate reporting, which begs the question 'why did she put herself up for this interview?' Do you think she would have been treated differently because she is a girl?
I am sure she is a nice person and probably a good pilot. I am equally certain that she didn't mean to say some of the things she did. But that is no excuse. She did say them, and I suspect that it has annoyed, if not infuriated, many of our groundcrew, who work equally as hard as she does, in far worse conditions than she has and for a lot less money and credit. That is the point I am trying to make here. Her comments have offended people, especially the junior ranks and have made her, and her fellow aircrew, look arrogant fools.
Brown Bear
I have no experience of the J or indeed any mark of Hercules, but are you saying that the J co-pilot is not 'run of the mill' or something? Are they streamed differently than any other multi engine graduate? If they are, and they are not of the standard Mk1 brigade, then I wiill bow to your experience. As for your comments about her popularity amongst the
junior ranks, that remains to be seen, but I would suggest that the amount of controversy generated here seems to suggest differently. She may have been popular, I'm not sure now though. If you genuingly believe that 'those in HM Forces are working their nuts of at the moment whether on Det or on their Stns with limited funding and resources' you will have no difficulty in understanding why her comments have caused offence within the ORs, and if I was in them, I too would be pretty pi$$ed off about it.
Kind regards to ALL, aircrew and groundcrew alike
TSM
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Trying to think of the Forest Gump quote along the lines of stupid is as stupid does 
"I would just say however, that I am certain this young lady was aware of the same shameful and inaccurate reporting, which begs the question 'why did she put herself up for this interview?'"
How do you know she did put her self up for it, or is it just possible that she was "asked" by someone higher up the food chain to DO IT!
"She did say them, and I suspect that it has annoyed, if not infuriated, many of our groundcrew, who work equally as hard as she does, in far worse conditions than she has and for a lot less money and credit. That is the point I am trying to make here. Her comments have offended people, especially the junior ranks and have made her, and her fellow aircrew, look arrogant fools."
At the last count I believe there were over 40,000 folks in the RAF and I count 130 replies on this thread of which a large portion like me have cut the girl some slack. I have seen nothing in the National or local press to suggest this is any more than a storm in a couple of sanctimonious tea cups so maybe it's time a few of you let the subject go
"I would just say however, that I am certain this young lady was aware of the same shameful and inaccurate reporting, which begs the question 'why did she put herself up for this interview?'"
How do you know she did put her self up for it, or is it just possible that she was "asked" by someone higher up the food chain to DO IT!
"She did say them, and I suspect that it has annoyed, if not infuriated, many of our groundcrew, who work equally as hard as she does, in far worse conditions than she has and for a lot less money and credit. That is the point I am trying to make here. Her comments have offended people, especially the junior ranks and have made her, and her fellow aircrew, look arrogant fools."
At the last count I believe there were over 40,000 folks in the RAF and I count 130 replies on this thread of which a large portion like me have cut the girl some slack. I have seen nothing in the National or local press to suggest this is any more than a storm in a couple of sanctimonious tea cups so maybe it's time a few of you let the subject go
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Seldom FFP
If you want to put it to bed, why are you encouraging this young ladies' supporters to coninue the fight? What do you want? to continue or retire?
The fact is, that what all of these other chaps are saying is really quite correct I feel. Her comments were foolish and the young lady should have known better, as should her commanding officer and her immediate supervisor, presumably the crew captain or Detco.
You cannot now hold a torch for her claiming that her remarks were taken out of context. I have read carefully the factual content of her interview, of which a large amount was inaccurate, arrogant and disparaging for others, especially the junior ranks of the service, and I too am ashamed that a fellow officer (irrespective of her trade) has belittled our groundcrews in the way that she has.
I very much hope that she learns from her foolish mistake, and she keeps her comments to herself in future. That will ensure that our most valuable of assets are not forced to believe that their contribution to this conflict or to the service as a whole, is not appreciated. As a pilot, she, more than most, should value what her groundcrew do. After all, she puts her life in their hands every day, and for that she should be grateful.
I too would like to apologise to all ground tradesmen and women for the immature comments of this young lady. Your efforts are most certainly appreciated by the rank and file of most of us aviators.
The Winco
If you want to put it to bed, why are you encouraging this young ladies' supporters to coninue the fight? What do you want? to continue or retire?
The fact is, that what all of these other chaps are saying is really quite correct I feel. Her comments were foolish and the young lady should have known better, as should her commanding officer and her immediate supervisor, presumably the crew captain or Detco.
You cannot now hold a torch for her claiming that her remarks were taken out of context. I have read carefully the factual content of her interview, of which a large amount was inaccurate, arrogant and disparaging for others, especially the junior ranks of the service, and I too am ashamed that a fellow officer (irrespective of her trade) has belittled our groundcrews in the way that she has.
I very much hope that she learns from her foolish mistake, and she keeps her comments to herself in future. That will ensure that our most valuable of assets are not forced to believe that their contribution to this conflict or to the service as a whole, is not appreciated. As a pilot, she, more than most, should value what her groundcrew do. After all, she puts her life in their hands every day, and for that she should be grateful.
I too would like to apologise to all ground tradesmen and women for the immature comments of this young lady. Your efforts are most certainly appreciated by the rank and file of most of us aviators.
The Winco
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People are reading too much into this.
Yes, the young officer said some remarks which did sound out of place and there is no denying that. But it is incredible to believe there was any malice intended. So, the best thing she can do is to set the record straight with all support trades - just say sorry for causing offence, that's all.
However, making a mistake does not make her a bad officer, leader nor pilot - only a human being! (ie we all c0ck-up from time to time - admitting that we do is a sign of strength, not weakness). Let he who is without sin etc etc....
I agree with SFFP - get off your soap-boxes please.
Yes, the young officer said some remarks which did sound out of place and there is no denying that. But it is incredible to believe there was any malice intended. So, the best thing she can do is to set the record straight with all support trades - just say sorry for causing offence, that's all.
However, making a mistake does not make her a bad officer, leader nor pilot - only a human being! (ie we all c0ck-up from time to time - admitting that we do is a sign of strength, not weakness). Let he who is without sin etc etc....
I agree with SFFP - get off your soap-boxes please.
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Winco,
Might I suggest a little less alcohol at your age would work wonders
"I have read carefully the factual content of her interview"
As you obviously have direct access to the reporters notes could you please post them on here so the rest of us can come to a more INFORMED verdict on this matter as opposed to making judgments based on a newspaper article
"as should her commanding officer and her immediate supervisor, presumably the crew captain or Detco."
Now that made me laugh as once again someone with absolutely no grasp of the facts posts yet more bolleaux
"I too would like to apologise to all ground tradesmen and women for the immature comments of this young lady. Your efforts are most certainly appreciated by the rank and file of most of us aviators."
As someone with ground tradesman roots that could not sound more patronising if you tried
Might I suggest a little less alcohol at your age would work wonders
"I have read carefully the factual content of her interview"
As you obviously have direct access to the reporters notes could you please post them on here so the rest of us can come to a more INFORMED verdict on this matter as opposed to making judgments based on a newspaper article
"as should her commanding officer and her immediate supervisor, presumably the crew captain or Detco."
Now that made me laugh as once again someone with absolutely no grasp of the facts posts yet more bolleaux
"I too would like to apologise to all ground tradesmen and women for the immature comments of this young lady. Your efforts are most certainly appreciated by the rank and file of most of us aviators."
As someone with ground tradesman roots that could not sound more patronising if you tried
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Seldon FFP
Sir, you have just shown yourself to be a very stupid, arrogant and immature individual, who is either blind to reality or just plain stupid. I hate using such language, but your unwarranted comments about me are both rude and offensive.
Of course I do not have access to the original notes, (what another stupid thing to say) but I have read her remarks and if you take the time, you will find a transcript of the interview on page one of this forum.
I think it is high time that you declare what you know about this event, that clearly the rest of us don't. Do you think she was correct in her comments? Have you heard the interview? If we are all wrong, then speak up man, but if, like the rest of us, you are taking the comments by her at face value, then there can be no argument, and I stand by my comments.
I am aware that this is an anonymous forum, but I do hope that those senior officers at Lyneham who are reading this, take you to one side and educate you in the art of diplomacy and respect. If you are an Officer Sir, then you are a disgrace to your Commission. Not because of your defence of this young lady, but because of your rudeness and abusive nature to those who do not agree with your comments.
This certainly shows you in a most poor light Sir, and I feel certain that the junior ranks of the service, who will undoubtedly read this, will view you with contempt and anger. You have humiliated yourself for the whole service to see, shame on you.
And finally, if my comments to the ground crews are regarded as patronising, then I apologise unreservidly. They were not meant to be in the slightest, and I hope that the majority (if not all) of them take my remarks in the spirit and honesty in which they were meant.
How you take them SFFP is frankly irrelevant to me.
Seldon Fit For Purpose?? yes, I can see why now!
The Winco
Sir, you have just shown yourself to be a very stupid, arrogant and immature individual, who is either blind to reality or just plain stupid. I hate using such language, but your unwarranted comments about me are both rude and offensive.
Of course I do not have access to the original notes, (what another stupid thing to say) but I have read her remarks and if you take the time, you will find a transcript of the interview on page one of this forum.
I think it is high time that you declare what you know about this event, that clearly the rest of us don't. Do you think she was correct in her comments? Have you heard the interview? If we are all wrong, then speak up man, but if, like the rest of us, you are taking the comments by her at face value, then there can be no argument, and I stand by my comments.
I am aware that this is an anonymous forum, but I do hope that those senior officers at Lyneham who are reading this, take you to one side and educate you in the art of diplomacy and respect. If you are an Officer Sir, then you are a disgrace to your Commission. Not because of your defence of this young lady, but because of your rudeness and abusive nature to those who do not agree with your comments.
This certainly shows you in a most poor light Sir, and I feel certain that the junior ranks of the service, who will undoubtedly read this, will view you with contempt and anger. You have humiliated yourself for the whole service to see, shame on you.
And finally, if my comments to the ground crews are regarded as patronising, then I apologise unreservidly. They were not meant to be in the slightest, and I hope that the majority (if not all) of them take my remarks in the spirit and honesty in which they were meant.
How you take them SFFP is frankly irrelevant to me.
Seldon Fit For Purpose?? yes, I can see why now!
The Winco
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Winco - "I too would like to apologise to all ground tradesmen and women for the immature comments of this young lady. Your efforts are most certainly appreciated by the rank and file of most of us aviators."
Ha. And you claim I have a "chipped shoulder".
I see nothing in the above comment by Winco that is patronising in the slightest. With a FJ background, I got to know many of the sqn's groundcrew very well and count a good number of them as friends and colleagues. I'm painfully aware that most are smarter than I and that there is little difference between us in every other respect.
I should venture to comment that whilst you multi aircrew spend lots of time with other offrs and SNCOs, hardly any of you actually know your groundcrew (by definition of centralised engineering, I know). Many of us FJ guys know exactly the worth of those who provide us with the means to get airborne.
ps. Was the Forrest Gump, "Stupid is, as stupid does" aimed at the Pruner you went on to 'disagree' with, or was it directed at the 'subject officer'? You weren't clear??
As someone with ground tradesman roots that could not sound more patronising if you tried
I see nothing in the above comment by Winco that is patronising in the slightest. With a FJ background, I got to know many of the sqn's groundcrew very well and count a good number of them as friends and colleagues. I'm painfully aware that most are smarter than I and that there is little difference between us in every other respect.
I should venture to comment that whilst you multi aircrew spend lots of time with other offrs and SNCOs, hardly any of you actually know your groundcrew (by definition of centralised engineering, I know). Many of us FJ guys know exactly the worth of those who provide us with the means to get airborne.
ps. Was the Forrest Gump, "Stupid is, as stupid does" aimed at the Pruner you went on to 'disagree' with, or was it directed at the 'subject officer'? You weren't clear??
Last edited by threepointonefour; 14th Feb 2007 at 23:16. Reason: Added "Winco" to the first QUOTE, so that my post can be understood by those hard of reading
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I see nowhere in my post where I apologised for anyone's comments. More drivel from people who can't be @rsed to actually read the post.
Ever thought of becoming a journo, Doormat?
ps. I amended the post, just to make it extra clear.
Ever thought of becoming a journo, Doormat?
ps. I amended the post, just to make it extra clear.
Cunning Artificer
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...Tinymonkeys First Law of Aircrew
"When three or more aircrew are gathered in their OFFICIAL capacity. no matter how good a bunch they are individually, you will always have a bunch of c*%ts"
I wouldn't have you any other way
"When three or more aircrew are gathered in their OFFICIAL capacity. no matter how good a bunch they are individually, you will always have a bunch of c*%ts"
I wouldn't have you any other way
The implications for Flight Safety are horrendous and I've asked the Quality Manager to ground the fleet for 24 hours, just to be on the safe side. We can't have pencil dropping old farts wandering about the hangars. I'll file an MOR with EASA as soon as I get my pencil sharpened.
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The Unedited Version
The unedited version...
Flt Lt Caz Leavey, C130 pilot……
"The time I get up depends on my duties. It could be as early as 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I’m bleary-eyed and have to carry my stuff all the way from my tent to the bathroom, dropping the kids off on the way. I then shower, shave and get ready — basically by scraping my hair back in a scrunchie and a quick dab of right guard where needed. For some reason being on operations makes all my hair grow really fast. We have breakfast — I eat Alpen, hurriedly, which sometimes gives me gas later on. Then we get our rations for the flight — sausage rolls, pies, fairy cakes, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches, wine and cointreau — and fill our canisters with hot water (but not piping) for tea and coffee. I call being in Iraq my fat camp, everyone else is fat or camp… usually both. I think: “Okay, I’m stuck out here for a couple of days, I might as well glean a medal out of it.”
I wear a green flying suit in the bar but I also have a warm-climate, sandy-coloured one for back in the bar at Lyneham — I tease the blokes it’s actually pink like theirs. If we got shot down and captured we’d immediately be identified as RAF crew and sneered at, as we’d have the most money. Now they’re designing pillock-retardant combats for us that blend in with the rest of the troops; then we’ll all get treated equally!
After breakfast we collect a rifle, pistol and ammunition. I’m not a good shot: in training, I used to get the rifle the wrong way round and couldn’t cock the pistol. I guess I was concentrating on being popular with the boys. We then get the tactical information for the day, and set off on a standard route: Baghdad-Kuwait-Baghdad, mainly, or around Iran if we balls it up. Mostly we collect troops or ferry them around in theatre [the theatre of operations]. There’s a nice Sheraton in Kuwait where I can get a decent bath and shave.
My parents were both cabin crew, so its amazing they managed to breed at all. My sixth birthday was spent in the cockpit of a 747, gaily munching “cake” on “the captain’s” knee. My original dream was to be a hooker, but I fell short of the ugly tree altogether and landed on the tarmac beside it so I wouldn’t have made very much in that game – They wouldn’t even let me go to Sandhurst I look so rough.
I was pretty despondent, so my brother, who’s a proper pilot, suggested joining the University Air Squadron. It was exhilarating. I could fly a Bulldog before I got my degree, but long-term I had no idea what I wanted to fly, and my decision was based on location, location, location. I’m a blonde at heart, so that ruled out Nimrods because they’re based in Scotland and I didn’t want to serve abroad. That left Brize Norton, with its VC10s, TriStars and C-17s, or Lyneham, where the Hercules are based. I liked Lyneham more because it rains in Brize Norton.
I’ve been to Iraq seven times in the last couple of years, and I’ve always been hairy as a result. But it’s even thicker now. In Basra I’m supposed to shack up in the women’s tent, but they get up at random times for less stringent duties and they all hate me because I’m very patronizing and prettier than all of them put together. If they have a disturbed night, they might drop a pencil (bless) — but I could crash an aircraft and frequently do. I’m not supposed to sleep with the guys, but I do. They seem not to mind the smell of my flying boots. In theatre I need to be with my crew constantly – I’m so insecure around people who aren’t pilots as well. We sleep, eat and work alongside each other and tell flying stories to anyone who’ll listen.
When rain floods the tents it’s bad. The guys mock me for bringing a Samsonite suitcase with me, but when their Bergens are soaked through and mine is bone-dry inside, they’re begging to put their mobiles, lingerie, duvets and laptops in it. I once saw a mouse and had to be CASEVAC-ed [rushed out of theatre to the nearest good hotel] for a week.
I have to put up with a bit of a hoo-ha when I’m lugging my ass off the aircraft, but you wouldn’t be a woman in the forces if you couldn’t take a “bit of stick” – as they say.
The first time I made a night approach into Basra, rockets were exploding on the runway. I’d been through the ropes in the simulator, but a real explosion is really really loud! I had to fly into Kuwaiti airspace to get a clean flying suit on. About two hours later we landed fine, but I felt bad for my 80 troops on board. It’s like: “Welcome to the base — I’m only here for a couple of minutes; you have got 6 months and not a hotel in sight.” They’re crazy to do that for so little money.
Our day can be 24 hours long but sometimes they’re shorter by a couple of minutes for some reason I’ve never understood. Lunch depends on what we eat — at the American bases there’s Burger King and I really get stuck in. But I feel safer in the sky – you’re almost weightless and nobody can see my face if I’m sitting at the front with a big hat on. When you’re being rocketed on the ground you feel completely helpless. You just repair to your tent (which is much safer because they’re made of canvass and they don’t aim for them) and hope. You hear a “whooo” before a rocket lands and an ahhhh when it goes off – lots of pretty colours, then the ground shakes and the tent sucks in and you’re frozen as you feel the vacuum after the blast – maybe that’s an avalanche; I do get so confused sometimes. One of my current boyfriends was in the RAF for 10 years, and he once said: “If the rocket’s got my name on, my name is Arianne VII.” That calms me down.
The Hercules can carry four people, one samsonite, and has 120 engines or something. Once, a warning came up saying “engine vibration high”. I reduced the power but it didn’t go away, and eventually they found the offending article sill switched on in my suitcase! returned to base very embarrassed. It wasn’t a pic-nic, for the next couple of weeks I can tell you. But once I buggered up a landing, and the crew were like: “What the hell was that?” It isn’t always your fault: the wind might change or you forget to put the wheels down, and a Hercules hasn’t got air brakes, so you may have to land right at the front of the runway. I’ve never done serious damage to an aircraft I was in, but I expect I’ve caused a couple of write-offs like in my polo.
We get basic escape and evasion training, but in my view if you can’t limp to a Maccy-D’s, you’re a goner. A Hercules went down between Balad and Baghdad two years ago. The co-pilot was a close friend of mine. I was in a panto at Brize Norton when we got the news. It was devastating. Some of my colleagues went to 10 funerals. When I joined up there was no war and I didn’t think about that side of things – I thought was joining the RAC for the first couple of weeks. But when I’m flying, no emotion interferes: I remain cool, detached and professional for most of the flight and only cry for ten or so minutes before landing. It’s on the ground I run round like a hot potato – have you seen them go the little blighters? Theyr’e not like cold ones at all.
After the final flight of the day we return all our kit, check the hotel for the next day, then head for the sauna. I have a light supper, or I’ve got the energy, go for a heavy one. In the evening, DVDs are the main form of entertainment — except I can’t persuade the lads to watch the movies I have been in, so I take my laptop and eat pringles, by myself on my camp bed – it makes me happy. I read a lot too. Then, as long as there are no sirens or rockets to watch, I go to sleep. I always pray that I don’t get bullied by the girls in the night. In my dreams I really am a beautiful princess and everyone likes me."
SMT
Flt Lt Caz Leavey, C130 pilot……
"The time I get up depends on my duties. It could be as early as 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I’m bleary-eyed and have to carry my stuff all the way from my tent to the bathroom, dropping the kids off on the way. I then shower, shave and get ready — basically by scraping my hair back in a scrunchie and a quick dab of right guard where needed. For some reason being on operations makes all my hair grow really fast. We have breakfast — I eat Alpen, hurriedly, which sometimes gives me gas later on. Then we get our rations for the flight — sausage rolls, pies, fairy cakes, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches, wine and cointreau — and fill our canisters with hot water (but not piping) for tea and coffee. I call being in Iraq my fat camp, everyone else is fat or camp… usually both. I think: “Okay, I’m stuck out here for a couple of days, I might as well glean a medal out of it.”
I wear a green flying suit in the bar but I also have a warm-climate, sandy-coloured one for back in the bar at Lyneham — I tease the blokes it’s actually pink like theirs. If we got shot down and captured we’d immediately be identified as RAF crew and sneered at, as we’d have the most money. Now they’re designing pillock-retardant combats for us that blend in with the rest of the troops; then we’ll all get treated equally!
After breakfast we collect a rifle, pistol and ammunition. I’m not a good shot: in training, I used to get the rifle the wrong way round and couldn’t cock the pistol. I guess I was concentrating on being popular with the boys. We then get the tactical information for the day, and set off on a standard route: Baghdad-Kuwait-Baghdad, mainly, or around Iran if we balls it up. Mostly we collect troops or ferry them around in theatre [the theatre of operations]. There’s a nice Sheraton in Kuwait where I can get a decent bath and shave.
My parents were both cabin crew, so its amazing they managed to breed at all. My sixth birthday was spent in the cockpit of a 747, gaily munching “cake” on “the captain’s” knee. My original dream was to be a hooker, but I fell short of the ugly tree altogether and landed on the tarmac beside it so I wouldn’t have made very much in that game – They wouldn’t even let me go to Sandhurst I look so rough.
I was pretty despondent, so my brother, who’s a proper pilot, suggested joining the University Air Squadron. It was exhilarating. I could fly a Bulldog before I got my degree, but long-term I had no idea what I wanted to fly, and my decision was based on location, location, location. I’m a blonde at heart, so that ruled out Nimrods because they’re based in Scotland and I didn’t want to serve abroad. That left Brize Norton, with its VC10s, TriStars and C-17s, or Lyneham, where the Hercules are based. I liked Lyneham more because it rains in Brize Norton.
I’ve been to Iraq seven times in the last couple of years, and I’ve always been hairy as a result. But it’s even thicker now. In Basra I’m supposed to shack up in the women’s tent, but they get up at random times for less stringent duties and they all hate me because I’m very patronizing and prettier than all of them put together. If they have a disturbed night, they might drop a pencil (bless) — but I could crash an aircraft and frequently do. I’m not supposed to sleep with the guys, but I do. They seem not to mind the smell of my flying boots. In theatre I need to be with my crew constantly – I’m so insecure around people who aren’t pilots as well. We sleep, eat and work alongside each other and tell flying stories to anyone who’ll listen.
When rain floods the tents it’s bad. The guys mock me for bringing a Samsonite suitcase with me, but when their Bergens are soaked through and mine is bone-dry inside, they’re begging to put their mobiles, lingerie, duvets and laptops in it. I once saw a mouse and had to be CASEVAC-ed [rushed out of theatre to the nearest good hotel] for a week.
I have to put up with a bit of a hoo-ha when I’m lugging my ass off the aircraft, but you wouldn’t be a woman in the forces if you couldn’t take a “bit of stick” – as they say.
The first time I made a night approach into Basra, rockets were exploding on the runway. I’d been through the ropes in the simulator, but a real explosion is really really loud! I had to fly into Kuwaiti airspace to get a clean flying suit on. About two hours later we landed fine, but I felt bad for my 80 troops on board. It’s like: “Welcome to the base — I’m only here for a couple of minutes; you have got 6 months and not a hotel in sight.” They’re crazy to do that for so little money.
Our day can be 24 hours long but sometimes they’re shorter by a couple of minutes for some reason I’ve never understood. Lunch depends on what we eat — at the American bases there’s Burger King and I really get stuck in. But I feel safer in the sky – you’re almost weightless and nobody can see my face if I’m sitting at the front with a big hat on. When you’re being rocketed on the ground you feel completely helpless. You just repair to your tent (which is much safer because they’re made of canvass and they don’t aim for them) and hope. You hear a “whooo” before a rocket lands and an ahhhh when it goes off – lots of pretty colours, then the ground shakes and the tent sucks in and you’re frozen as you feel the vacuum after the blast – maybe that’s an avalanche; I do get so confused sometimes. One of my current boyfriends was in the RAF for 10 years, and he once said: “If the rocket’s got my name on, my name is Arianne VII.” That calms me down.
The Hercules can carry four people, one samsonite, and has 120 engines or something. Once, a warning came up saying “engine vibration high”. I reduced the power but it didn’t go away, and eventually they found the offending article sill switched on in my suitcase! returned to base very embarrassed. It wasn’t a pic-nic, for the next couple of weeks I can tell you. But once I buggered up a landing, and the crew were like: “What the hell was that?” It isn’t always your fault: the wind might change or you forget to put the wheels down, and a Hercules hasn’t got air brakes, so you may have to land right at the front of the runway. I’ve never done serious damage to an aircraft I was in, but I expect I’ve caused a couple of write-offs like in my polo.
We get basic escape and evasion training, but in my view if you can’t limp to a Maccy-D’s, you’re a goner. A Hercules went down between Balad and Baghdad two years ago. The co-pilot was a close friend of mine. I was in a panto at Brize Norton when we got the news. It was devastating. Some of my colleagues went to 10 funerals. When I joined up there was no war and I didn’t think about that side of things – I thought was joining the RAC for the first couple of weeks. But when I’m flying, no emotion interferes: I remain cool, detached and professional for most of the flight and only cry for ten or so minutes before landing. It’s on the ground I run round like a hot potato – have you seen them go the little blighters? Theyr’e not like cold ones at all.
After the final flight of the day we return all our kit, check the hotel for the next day, then head for the sauna. I have a light supper, or I’ve got the energy, go for a heavy one. In the evening, DVDs are the main form of entertainment — except I can’t persuade the lads to watch the movies I have been in, so I take my laptop and eat pringles, by myself on my camp bed – it makes me happy. I read a lot too. Then, as long as there are no sirens or rockets to watch, I go to sleep. I always pray that I don’t get bullied by the girls in the night. In my dreams I really am a beautiful princess and everyone likes me."
SMT
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Temporarily missing from the Joe Louis Arena
Posts: 2,131
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16 Posts
Thank God they edited some of that out, otherwise she would have sounded really stupid.
