I believe he's holding it the wrong way round

[Al R]

GeeRam,

Sorry about this abbreviated reply, but the 'server busy' crisis wiped out my long and boring answer.

Needless to say, thanks for your polite correction about the differences between Diplomatic and Royal protection duties, and yes. That last point did make me wonder too.

[Al R]

rockape 2k7,

As a PS,

My favourite speech impediment story about CC (behind his back of course) is about a navex briefing he gave us one night in BCTS. We were of course, always shagged weren't we, and wanting to nod off.

Anyway, he goes around the class confirming the basics of the exercise.

"Ok, which direction is South... SMITH!!"

And Jim duly points it out.

"Good. North..? JONES!!!"

"That way Corporal".

"Right. Good. Rhich direction then is.. Rest? BLOGGS!!" (I'll spare him)

Bloggs comes to with a sudden start.

"Sorry Corporal?"

"You rill be you ranker. Rhere's the rest?"

"The rest of the course Corporal? On the 4 tonners I think"

I'd never seen someone lifted up and thrown down a spiral staircase with such consumate ease before then.

[rockape2k7]

Al R - Good tale - all I remember is him calling everyone a 'cwow' and taking us up Sutton Bank for a 'fun run' one saturday afternoon

You are right about postings alot of 5A went to 51 and 58, but a batch (me included) went to QCS. A surprising number of the guys on that course are still around - mostly FSs now.

[Al R]

Mike,

Puhhlease. No one likes a smart arse.

rockape2k7,

Sutton Bank. That takes me back. I remember being confused on an FT navex one night ('89), when I realised that Land of Nod Wood had become Land of Nod stumps without anyone telling me or updating the map. Good lesson that one.

I was the last on that intake to get out, shame really. After 20+ years I was just starting to get the hang of things. And lasted the longest too I think. One went AWOL from Cyprus and was discharged after being caught by the police escaping from the MGR at Uxbridge in those powder blue denims. He took over the family business but is now a train driver making 36k for sitting on his arse. He ran someone over (a jumper) which is sad.

Another is now one of only a handful of people who train police RTA investigators to train others. I saw him on a police camera action type thing dragging a truck driver from his cab and tackling a hoodie, which was good drills. Another wrote a book (he went AWOL too) about his time in 2REP in Africa and that can be found in Smiths still. One got out to sell photocopiers, and then drove a rig out of Glasgow, one went back to University and the couple of others, who knows?

5A had Flynny and Taff Powell didn't it? What about #### (Mark maybe, I forget) Wilkins?

[Al R]

AIDU,

One of the reasons I didn't post here for a few weeks was because you followed me around the board making sarcastic comments and generally, trolling anything I posted. Now, I'm sure that that admission gives you a nice warm fuzzy glow, but I come here because I like the ambience. The place has a nice feel to it; it could even be a NAAFI.

I accept that all military bars have an irritating little sod in the corner with no mates and all they do is snipe at people who walk past, but give it a rest will you? I may not have been aircrew, I may not have had such an interesting career as you, I might not even get paid as much as you or have as much going for me as you.. but I did do my little bit in my little way. So, do me a favour mate?

Shove off and keep your silly comments for someone else in the real world.

Cheers.

[Kitbag]

Al, since I put AIDU on the ignore list life is so much more pleasant Things are so much more chilled, shame its not possible to do the same with important things.

[Pontius Navigator]

Kitbag, oh it is, it is.

We had a particularly obnoxious staff officer. His emails all had the statutory disclaimer - these are my opinions alone etc. I set up a rule. Everything from him went straight into the Delete tray.

If it was important I would get a nice phone call from someone else.

Got back to work on Monday. Not too many emails but the machine speed was pants. If there was an attachment it could take 30-45 min to load. If there was a deadline date on the emails of Monday or earlier I simply deleted unread

[Al R]

Kitbag,



Cheers, what are the benefits? Does this mean I get to miss his posts?

PS: How 'king annoying is it getting this?

<<The following errors occurred when this message was submitted:

1. This forum requires that you wait 120 seconds between posts. Please try again in 1 seconds.>>

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

PS: How 'king annoying is it getting this?

<<The following errors occurred when this message was submitted:

1. This forum requires that you wait 120 seconds between posts. Please try again in 1 seconds.>>

It's probably only really annoying if you are now a civilian who should have way more better things to do with his life but is still trying in vain trying to out do Beagles daily average PPrune posting record on the Military Aviation Site...........................

[Al R]

Seldom,

I might have better things to do, true. But than again, I now have a choice what to do.

And just imagine it. If I had joined up 10 or 15 years later, I too could have spent my evenings after the Mess had closed, surfing the internet for a couple of hours with all my cyber friends, and telling other people where they were going wrong.

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

AlR,

"I might have better things to do, true. But than again, I now have a choice what to do."

And with all the marvelous opportunities the world has to offer once you leave the service, travel, recreation, hobbies, new career to pursue, new horizons etc etc you choose to spend most days posting in here, new average is 3.85..........

Said it before but will say it again when I leave in just over 4 years time I am going to be way to busy enjoying my new life to spend every day posting in here.....................and of course there is the added fact that once I have left I wont be "Military Aircrew" any more so wont really fit the "A forum for the professionals who fly the non-civilian hardware, and the backroom boys and girls without whom nothing would leave the ground. Army, Navy and Airforces of the World, all equally welcome here." descriptor


Timing..............

[Al R]

Seldomfitforpurpose reiterated for our benefit: "said it before but will say it again "

Lucky us.

It would be remiss of me not to remind a serving member of the military that much of what the RAF does is now done by civvies? Honestly, its true. Not like in my day of course, but then again, time marches on and things improve. When I joined up lad, admin clerks on units still actually used.. 'cardex' and didn't have sophisticated computerised systems optmised for administrative efficiency and performance that you seem to benefit from today. But it seems that you can't wait to put it all behind you? Surely it hasn't been that bad? Think of all those years wasted, doing something that you cant wait to forget about . So although I seem to have committed the cardinal sin of having 3.85 posts during billable time, at least I tend not to do it in my own time.

(.. tamps down baccy in pipe and looks down affectionately at the misty eyes youngster) I look back with much happiness on my time nipper, but I don't and won't deny it ever happened. Since leaving, I've travelled the world in a slightly more salubrious manner than I was previously used to, I have taken phone calls from F1 champs (no, I don't work on the BBC switchboard) and the highlight? Going up the Hill at Goodwood. And you know something? When the Reds went over afterwards, I felt 100% proud that I had been just ever so loosely, a part of that. There, said it - 'proud'. Ughh!!

And how's this for a dull story to finish off with, one that you can smugly take the p#ss out of? I attested 25 years ago tomorrow. I took the oath of allegiance next to my oldest friend and together, we travelled to to Swinderby. We were allocated bed spaces next to each other, took our rifle Tests of Elementary Training together, finished the BFT together (he physically pulled me along) and were 3 places apart when we passed out. He failed an inspection, so instead of us all going to see ET in our first weekend leave pass, we stayed to help him prepare his kit for jankers, and stagging on. Childish and freakish to someone like you, maybe. He wanted to be commisioned, but at that point in time his sense of ambition seems to have deserted him. He became an aircraft technician and it was up to me to climb the loftier peaks. Of Catterick. Per ardua.

All the best, and at least we now know we only have 4 years to wait.

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

25 years...............get some time in sprog .................the saddest thing is that in 4 years when I leave having completed 38.5 years of service you WILL still be posting in here...................

[Al R]

Dear god.

I’ve just looked at the time you posted that! First thing this morning, you must have ripped air trying to get at the ‘puter (“Is the server back up, where is it where is he, I’ll show that young b#stard. How DARE he have a future and an enjoyable life when all I want to do is forget the past 40 years?!”).

Calm down old 'un - its only a messageboard. I hope that your next 40* years prove to be a little happier than the past 40 seem to have been. And given that on average, a person’s best intellectual input occurs in or around their late 20’s, I reflect that it’s a shame for all of us that there wasn’t the internet around in 1983.

* estimated.

[Maple 01]

it’s a shame for all of us that there wasn’t the internet around in 1983.

Have you never heard of ASMA old boy? How quickly they forget.....

[Al R]

Cheers Mapes.

I knew there was one more I had to add to the 'ignore' list.

[rockape2k7]

CC is on his way back..!

I have it on good authority that CC may well be on his way back into our ranks. At an Aux Sqn at a secret Oxfordshire base....

[Yeoman_dai]

I got all excited about this, a thread which is more aroud my knowledge base, and where I can contribute... but it seems to me that the last 2 pages are nothing to do with pistols, but firstly a conversation, followed by two old blokes arguing about... nothing, as far as I can see. (Steady chaps, it's all a joke )



To get back on thread, i've always thought that there are three possible ways downed aircrew can behave if faced with capture - fight it out with your 13 odd rounds, and hope to be treated well at capture (yeah right), fight it out then turn the weapon on yourself (Kipling, anyone?), or just as has been mentioned, hand the weapon over and hope that by acting nice you will avoid being killed to death.

All aircrew i've ever talked to have gone for the final option, meaning what is the point of a combat pistol? Surely, what would be better is to have a survival pistol, a large calibre revolver maybe, used to defend oneself against large predators, or get some food - the basic advantages of a combat pistol, such as larger capacity magazine etc wouldn't be needed in such a situation.

If the aircrew needed a true combat weapon, then a pistol wouldn't cut it anyway, and you'd be better off giving them the Carbine L85A2 a la AAC Apache crewmen, which i've fired and isn't a bad little weapon, if badly balanced.

Hopefully that'll rile enough people up so we can get a decent discussion going again...

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Colt AR-7 to snag dinner, large tube of laxative/gyppo guts microbes to get in among the enemy if they let you anywhere near the cookhouse.

[Pontius Navigator]

Dai, not so much as back on thread but back from the dead.