'Shocking pictures show female RAF recruit hurled around by naked servicemen'
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In this article from July 2015, she says she did report to a "high-ranked" officer
No mention of the incident that was photographed though.
She recounts stories of being mooned by all the men lined up with their trousers down as soon as her helicopter touched down; of people talking about her ‘p****’ whenever she mentioned an amateur film she was making about cats; and even being tied to a bed by the men.
“It didn’t go any further than that, and I was clothed but it was frightening. As a 19-year-old woman, what can you do? I had to laugh through it.”
Crookshank did eventually request a meeting with a higher-ranked officer to explain what was going on, but when he flew to the mountain he see her, they held the personnel meeting in her bedroom. “He basically said, keep quiet and we’ll give you a flight on a Tornado F3,” she says. “So I took the flight.”
“It didn’t go any further than that, and I was clothed but it was frightening. As a 19-year-old woman, what can you do? I had to laugh through it.”
Crookshank did eventually request a meeting with a higher-ranked officer to explain what was going on, but when he flew to the mountain he see her, they held the personnel meeting in her bedroom. “He basically said, keep quiet and we’ll give you a flight on a Tornado F3,” she says. “So I took the flight.”
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It would appear her immediate CoC and those present were in the 0.1%. It's a shame that no one intervened instead of relying on a 21 year old to report the abuse. This individual is now active in preventing sexual harassment and bullying within the military so I think it sounds rather insular to dismiss this as a publicity stunt. Fortunately (hopefully!) things have moved on?
Oh Dear, the Alice Chicken has finally been found out. CBFFI plucked their feathers back in 2010 big time when he found out what Mount Alice's alcohol consumption was really like and put a 2 can rule on all of the mountain sites.
The only other 'Senior Officer' at that time that visited those sites, and was part of 303SU, was a SEngo SO2 as the sites were 90% manned by technicians. The remainder were admin, chefs and a medic. Knowing him as I did, a stickler for detail, I do not believe that he would have asked her to keep quiet. I visited once a month and, funny old thing, no antics. My XO also went regularly. The only other officers would have been visitors.
As to the mooning. Standard practise at all the sites. Funny the first time you see it but then...
As someone said, time does not diminish the seriousness of this allegation. She can still make this formal.
As to the mooning. Standard practise at all the sites. Funny the first time you see it but then...
As someone said, time does not diminish the seriousness of this allegation. She can still make this formal.
Speaking as an ex-C/T who left in 86 who took part in many high jinks. What is in that report and video, even allowing for the fact that she may be "gilding the lily", is deplorable. I have been responsible for the day to day running of small locations and anything like that would have been stopped. Presumably there were other NCOs on site and, initially, my feelings would have been passed to them, if that failed I would have been more direct. The whole story smacks of "mob rule" and should never been allowed to develop to the level it did, and ,no, I was not a F252 waving firebrand but given a situation like that, I could have been.
Perhaps they should transfer to the RM who, I believe, have a tradition of themed parties.
Perhaps they should transfer to the RM who, I believe, have a tradition of themed parties.
I took the 78 Sqn company vehicle, shutdown and spent the night on Alice and Byron on 3 separate occasions when tasking. Always found the 'locals' welcoming enough but a tiny bit weird. They sang their own songs and had a few strange customs. Nothing offensive that I can recall, but then I'm not female.
The 'Alice Chicken' as depicted in the photo did a streak through the middle of a gig by The Stranglers (CSE show) in 1999. It was amusing but pretty harmless. The 'locals' always mooned our departure and any F3 fly past - standard.
The 'Alice Chicken' as depicted in the photo did a streak through the middle of a gig by The Stranglers (CSE show) in 1999. It was amusing but pretty harmless. The 'locals' always mooned our departure and any F3 fly past - standard.
I totally agree with Wyler re MPA being a lot worse. There were many females bussed up to the mountain sites for parties meals etc. The blokes wanted some female company.
Initiation ceremonies were common in almost every bar. Some were very extreme and were attended by all ranks. I will only give an example of one' Crab and Sprocket. All arrivals had to get through one of the different sized sprockets. More often this involved being naked and covered in swarfega. Both sexes.
I hated the extreme drinking culture at MPA, particularly in the early 90's. The violence that entailed was vicious in the extreme, with the corridors of the Death Star covered in blood on a Fri/Sat evening.
Initiation ceremonies were common in almost every bar. Some were very extreme and were attended by all ranks. I will only give an example of one' Crab and Sprocket. All arrivals had to get through one of the different sized sprockets. More often this involved being naked and covered in swarfega. Both sexes.
I hated the extreme drinking culture at MPA, particularly in the early 90's. The violence that entailed was vicious in the extreme, with the corridors of the Death Star covered in blood on a Fri/Sat evening.
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My tour in MPA was in late '93 and yes there was an extreme drinking culture in force. This is looking back with today's head on, so extreme would be a good word to use. At the time though it was the norm so was not seen as being extreme. Although it has to be said I stuck to the Messes and didn't venture down to the Death Star, I believe that risk was dependant on the resident battallion of the time. I also did a full tour of RAF(U) Goose Bay in the late '80s and that drinking culture put MPA in the shade. I did visit one of the Radar sites for the evening, may have been Byron, and it was much the same there as MPA. With today's head on I'm not saying that it was right, either MPA or Goose, but it was the norm. For all the holyer than thou's, think back to the latter part of the last century and recall Fri beer calls and then driving home. Ridiculous behaviour but I think most of us from that era were guilty of it at one time or another. Times like attitudes change, imagine lighting up in the middle of a restaurant these days, or even on the flight deck ... it USED to happen, maybe the world has improved, maybe it hasn't. My only thought on this particular incident is "Why bring it up now and not at the time?"
Last edited by Top Bunk Tester; 2nd Aug 2017 at 17:07.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
to a "high-ranked" officer
Anyway, brave woman for raising the issue again. The two pictures are interesting though apart from the question of who took them. In one she appears to have her hand around the man's neck not pushing him off. OTOH in the other, where she is upside down, one man appears to be standing on her hands.
Last edited by Pontius Navigator; 2nd Aug 2017 at 17:44.
Having done 2 tours at MPA in 96 and 04 I would add that the heavy drinking culture was across all ranks. I dread to think how many cans were shipped down to MPA every month!
In media speak this can be anything from a Sergeant to whatever.
Anyway, brave woman for raising the issue again. The two pictures are interesting though apart from the question of who took them. In one she appears to have her hand around the man's neck not pushing him off. OTOH in the other, where she is upside down, one man appears to be standing on her hands.
Anyway, brave woman for raising the issue again. The two pictures are interesting though apart from the question of who took them. In one she appears to have her hand around the man's neck not pushing him off. OTOH in the other, where she is upside down, one man appears to be standing on her hands.
She took a Camcorder up there with her and asked somebody to film her first night on the mountain. Wouldn't have been the first to do it and definitely not the last. Likewise she most likely asked someone to film her going around the site so she could show the folks back home what the place was like. I did just such a thing in 1988 when I first got to Byron. I do actually know a couple of Female ASOp from that era who know the lass in question (one of them I gave lifts to for 4 years in 1991/95) and they said she told everybody at her home base when she got back. I was at Alice in 1999 at the back end of 751SU and none of what you saw on that video was happening. There was the 'Alice Chicken' which high spirits has correctly alluded to as being a bit of 'harmless' fun, it was kind of a chipndale act that was done as part of the major dining in nights and all the female visitors were normally primed of his (normally only one) existence. In fact he didn't touch anybody and it was the female visitors that molested him. It was nothing like what was shown on the film. Getting Mooned was normally a leaving present by somebody standing on the roof of the accommodation, not something that happened on arrival and not by half the unit!! Looks like she had the misfortune of going to a unit that had more than the normal number of 'Sex pests' who think with their balls rather than their brains and that most if not all of the SNCO's there fell in that category (I could name at least a dozen suspects off the top of my head that I ran into during my 30 years in the service).
Last edited by MAINJAFAD; 3rd Aug 2017 at 21:17.
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OK, here are the facts. I was the CO from 1999 to 2002.
There are about 20 people on the remote Radar Sites ranging from Chefs to Technicians. The HQ is the Control and Reporting Centre at MPA. The HQ is known as Griffin and the Unit 303SU.
The radar site boss was a Chief Tech.
All the TG12 personnel were based at MPA. However, we did send one to each site on a 2 to 4 week rotation, male or female, for the experience and also to fill an operational requirement that is not relevant to this 'story'.
Did things occasionally get out of hand on the remote sites? - yes. The main culprits were usually visitors invited up from MPA for parties. It was an irritation but nothing major and the usual I.e too much drink, some damage and the odd scuffle.
Initiation ceremonies were always an issue and often difficult to police. You could have call the policies you wanted, and we did,but when the helicopter leaves and the doors are shut.....these activities were by no means unique to the radar sites. Some of the worst happened at MPA.
Regarding this young ladies account: those pictures seem genuine enough and are not good. That activity was not condoned and had I, or any other Officer, been aware of it it would have been stopped immediately. Those responsible would have been dealt with accordingly.
However, no complaint was ever made either at the time or in the months/years afterwards by this female (or anyone else on the site, including dozens of visitors). Everyone was interviewed when they left 303SU and we always encouraged honest feedback in order to make things better for those who came next. If she was so traumatised and upset why did she not scream from the rooftops. She did not. Offered a trip in an F3? Rubbish. That was not within anyone's gift who worked on the unit.
Friends of mine saw her show last year and asked her direct questions afterwards regarding names etc. She was unwilling or unable to answer.
The fringe is starting next week and she has a show to advertise. This is nothing more than a publicity stunt.
There are about 20 people on the remote Radar Sites ranging from Chefs to Technicians. The HQ is the Control and Reporting Centre at MPA. The HQ is known as Griffin and the Unit 303SU.
The radar site boss was a Chief Tech.
All the TG12 personnel were based at MPA. However, we did send one to each site on a 2 to 4 week rotation, male or female, for the experience and also to fill an operational requirement that is not relevant to this 'story'.
Did things occasionally get out of hand on the remote sites? - yes. The main culprits were usually visitors invited up from MPA for parties. It was an irritation but nothing major and the usual I.e too much drink, some damage and the odd scuffle.
Initiation ceremonies were always an issue and often difficult to police. You could have call the policies you wanted, and we did,but when the helicopter leaves and the doors are shut.....these activities were by no means unique to the radar sites. Some of the worst happened at MPA.
Regarding this young ladies account: those pictures seem genuine enough and are not good. That activity was not condoned and had I, or any other Officer, been aware of it it would have been stopped immediately. Those responsible would have been dealt with accordingly.
However, no complaint was ever made either at the time or in the months/years afterwards by this female (or anyone else on the site, including dozens of visitors). Everyone was interviewed when they left 303SU and we always encouraged honest feedback in order to make things better for those who came next. If she was so traumatised and upset why did she not scream from the rooftops. She did not. Offered a trip in an F3? Rubbish. That was not within anyone's gift who worked on the unit.
Friends of mine saw her show last year and asked her direct questions afterwards regarding names etc. She was unwilling or unable to answer.
The fringe is starting next week and she has a show to advertise. This is nothing more than a publicity stunt.
If you really were the CO of the mountain sites then you did a **** job if you didn't know any of this was going on!
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Sorry to bring this old thread back but I'vee just stumbled across it. I was the NCO admin at Byron the same year as the reported incident and this sort of stuff happened all the time. Initiation ceremonies happened as soon as you landed and there was sexual innuendo everywhere. As for interviewing everyone as they came off the mountain, the only interview I received was from my 1st RO during my Det Report.
If you really were the CO of the mountain sites then you did a **** job if you didn't know any of this was going on!
If you really were the CO of the mountain sites then you did a **** job if you didn't know any of this was going on!
The swarfega sprockets>>>>interesting thing is until you tried you didn't realise they EXPANDED; well you could get nakid if that was your thing I suppose.
An anecdotal tale
Worse thing I encountered was on orderly cpl "down the back" with a Lance Jack on a Friday night.
Mucho shenanigans going on down 48 but as we both wanted to keep out remaining teeth in situ the unspoken agreement was to avoid serious trouble.
In the end It was quite uneventful, no pools of blood or vomit....
Well it was until we were accosted by a florid faced gentleman who demanded that we run down 48 to find "the women".
Now, being a RAF engineering technician may have meant that I wasn't the brightest match in the box,
but this did set some warning bells off.Unfortunately my Lance Jack colleague was having none of this and enquired if said gentleman was in fact
pissed!The volume rose to extreme level as he proclaimed himself to be a "Provost Officer of the Royal Air Force" and "I am going to charge you both with failure to obey a direct order!!"
"Oh My"
It was at this point some more snowdrops arrived including someone in charge.
OK he was on a lead, but there was also the Ord Off, someone with a THICK blue/dark blue band , and a troop of RIC with batons.
I thought, here we go; were done for now; tell Laura I loved her; etc etc when said Thick bands "Get this man under close arrest I'll deal with him in the morning [ok later on that day but you get the jist]
And this Prv Off was picked up and bodily removed by the RIC to much, of no avail, bluster.
Turns out he'd been looking out for women alright...odious bastard...I believe he was shipped out "return of post"..
Now about that time the boat crew had a run ashore in 12 facility......
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If you really were the CO of the mountain sites then you did a **** job if you didn't know any of this was going on!
He didn't say he "didn't know any of this was going on!"...he actually gives a pretty good account of it!.
What he said was no formal complaint was made...which is an entirely different thing.
Since you were a SNCO and somewhat "closer to the coal face" so to speak, maybe you should not be chucking stones in your glasshouse, no?
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
You should work to the rule:
Do I want to read about this in the currant bun?
Do I want to read about this in the currant bun?
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Since you quoted his entire post is it unreasonable to suggest you actually read it????
He didn't say he "didn't know any of this was going on!"...he actually gives a pretty good account of it!.
What he said was no formal complaint was made...which is an entirely different thing.
Since you were a SNCO and somewhat "closer to the coal face" so to speak, maybe you should not be chucking stones in your glasshouse, no?
He didn't say he "didn't know any of this was going on!"...he actually gives a pretty good account of it!.
What he said was no formal complaint was made...which is an entirely different thing.
Since you were a SNCO and somewhat "closer to the coal face" so to speak, maybe you should not be chucking stones in your glasshouse, no?
As for my post, if you read it properly you'll see I didn't state SNCO. The NCO admin on the mountain sites was a JNCO. The SNCOs were as bad as the rest so there was no point saying anything to them.
I therefore return your stones as I don't live in a glasshouse.
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Been there, seen it and done it, visiting a girlfriend at the time at her block, I was standing OUTSIDE chatting to her through her window, the block was in a dip with steepish grass slopes around it, going to leave I slipped on the damned wet grass bank and my arm went through her window, I was told I was being charged with assault as she got hit by a piece of glass but fortunately was not injured, OC WRAF and the plods had cajouled her into that pearl, I was also being charged with being out of bounds!
On the interview I was asked if I had seen the out of bounds signs, I said yes it was screwed on the wall in front of me, I then said the fact I could stand by the Berlin wall did not put me in East Berlin, and standing looking at a sign in front of me does not put me out of bounds, nor does it put me in the WRAF block either.
The girlfriend realised what they were trying to do and soon put a stop to their insidious little tricks, I had owned up to the accident straight away and ended up with a bill for the window and that was the end of it..
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
NL, may I say I had been given no option but to find her guilty and fine her the sum ordained. It was the cost of one nights B&B at the Petwood in Woodhall Spa.