Post Remembrance--The Irony?

[Firestreak]

Quite rightly, every year we observe Remembrance Day. Now that the appropriate day has gone, as a retired serviceman I am no longer welcome on an RAF station unless I happen to be an Honorary Mess Member. Can anyone explain this please?

I understand that most messes are now underused, surely allowing in retired personnel would be beneficial all round. If we look to our retired USAF colleagues, they retain access to bases, BXs etc and indeed can use the equivalent of RAF indulgence passages. Why does the RAF not acknowledge retired personnel, after all, we gave many years of service and might like to stay in contact?

[ 24 November 2001: Message edited by: Firestreak ]

[Tigs]

I couldn't agree more! I think it is because when you decide to leave the RAF (for many at a legal - end of contract), after sweating blood and tears, the organization seems to think that you are disloyal.

[ 24 November 2001: Message edited by: Tigs ]

[kbf1]

Funnily, the army doesn't tend to be quite so difficult about that. Most families and people with a connection to the regiment get a number of concessions through either the families office or the Regimental Association. Certainly limited mess privilidges are granted and where the RA is active a number of "old boys" attend guest nights in the mess. I can't understand the mentality behind that, but I suspect it is because you join a regiment in the army, and you join the RAF, and it is much easier to get lost in the system.

[Grimweasel]

Quite Right!! The American forces and ex-forces are looked after a lot better than the UK troops.

It is only right that after you have served your country, you should have access to facilities such as messes etc.

This brings us to one of the biggest bug bears in the forces. Why do we constantly get ripped off by NAAFI? Anyone who has served 'Down South' will know what I'm on about. Everything is vastly overpriced, usually out of date, and we are expected to pick up the extra shipping cost. Hey NAFFI, its not our fault we are here, so stop ripping us off. US forces are looked after a lot better by AAFES, who offer tax free discounted goods. It is about time that the MoD started giving us these little extras. It would help morale and retention I'm sure.

What say the fellow members?

[Wholigan]

Couldn't agree more. I raised this some time ago and got no satisfactory response. When you think about it, there are many complaints about messes being under-utilized and not making a profit, and thus needing to charge over the odds to those who do use them. If they were open to anybody carrying a "retired ID card", I believe that they would be much better used; there are loads of retired folks living close to service establishments who would like nothing better than to frequent the bar and/or dining room on the odd evening. This would push up the bar profits by a not-insignificant amount (especially if the retired folks were a load of my old mates!).

And we'd promise to sit in the corner out of the way to relate our old war stories to each other ---

[Flatus Veteranus]

Quite right. Its another good reason why the RAF must reopen Chivenor!

Another "lost" perk was access by retired personnel and their dependentsto RAF Hospitals. Both my wife and my daughter had ops at Halton after I had retired. That perk was worth more than most medical insurance policies.

[Max R8]

Frankly one of my lost perks as a current serving member of the RAF is access to military hospitals...that's because they are all gone!!! Over 25 years I've had minor ops for sporting injuries, wisdom teeth, etc at Halton, Ely, Nocton Hall and Wroughton..all now closed. To be honest with you the I find the "atmosphere" of a modern officers' mess run by contractors has all the ambiance of a motorway Travel Lodge with food provided by an attached Happy Eater! I fondly remember those traditional messes with loyal and ancient local staff with a "no problem, sir" attitude and bars full of flying suits putting the world to rights. Now, despite the stirling efforts of some excellant mess staff, it seems it is just too difficult within the contract to do all those special things that made an RAF mess a special place. I just can't see filling the bar with WIWITRAFs dragging the Nintendo generations back to the bar. Your welcome to it if that's what you want.

The USA do it right. Full facilities for their vet's and full facilities for those still serving!!!

[MightyGem]

Is Wroughton shut? The sign was still on the main road when I drove past last week.

[The Nr Fairy]

MG :

I'm fairly sure it's shut - my ex-RAF dad used to work there and he says that there's shedloads of what were new operating theatres mothballed - why the NHS can't use it, I don't know.

Anyhow, isn't Wroughton well out of your normal bailiwick ?

[Jackonicko]

Halton is certainly mothballed, despite being a superbly equipped modern hospital with scores of beds and excellent operating facilities.

It was never just an RAF hospital, either, its excess capacity being used by dependents and the NHS, and it seems little short of criminal to see it sitting their boarded up and dead.

And the PMRAFNS officers with their barking mad headgear were unusually sexy, too.......

I wonder why they all closed with so little fuss being made, and what the justification was?

[exrotarybooty]

I served in the Royal Marines for 22 years and the RAF for 13 years and as ex-RAF I know what you mean! However, most ex-Royal Marines join the Royal Marines Association in their local area, and they meet about once a month at their nearest base. The meetings are held in one of the messes, and we are made VERY welcome. Once a year we all meet up at Lympstone in Devon for a weekend thrash. We have a motto, "Once a Marine, always a Marine", and happily it is true.
It's a shame you guys couldn't experience something similar.