Pilot shortage?

[The Helpful Stacker]

Kind of like stabbing yourself in the foot to get attention?

Its not stabbing yourself in the foot, its "an unfortunate consequence of defence cutbacks".

The government makes headline-grabbing decisions all the time that only occassionally have real substance. Isn't it about time the military as a whole stopped following the mantra of "improvise, adapt and overcome" in order to deal with neglect from above and started to play the spin doctors at their own game?

I don't want to see the Red Arrows cut and I also understand that pipeline times mean that such a move would have little real impact of cockpit fill but I suspect the man on the Clapham Omnibus understands or cares little for the temporary closure of an OCU but may be a little more upset if their favourite red jets aren't ripping across the sky come summer time.

[serf]

What about the next (2012) season; if we are so short on the front line, can we afford to take pilots from there to put in the Reds? Any Typhoon pilots in the team this year?

[Jabba_TG12]

Definately worth reading the whole of the document in TEEJ's link... jesus christ, ripped to shreds doesnt even begin to describe it.... no wonder things have turned out the way they have.

[2Planks]

I am no particular fan of 2 of the interrogees in that farce. However, they have to be congratulated on keeping thier cool. I would have reverted to Anglo-Saxon a short time into the meeting. I detest the political grandstanding on these committees. Today, the Public Finance lot, tomorrow more granstanding from the Defence one, another day the gang in charge of industry, the next some regional development bunch. The MOD is a long way from perfect but sometimes we cannot win with all these competing requirements from various interested parties of MPs all with their own agendas, coloured by a desperate need for individual re-election.

Now what time is happy hour before I blow a fuse!