Military accommodation not fit for animals
I seem to recall that on a base in the 90's many of the MQs were sold (given) off to the local council who refused to accept them in the state they were in. So much of the budget was spent refurbishing them so that the council would accept them leaving not very much (almost nothing) of the budget for the occupied MQs and the rest of the base.
I couldn’t believe that Daedalus OM at RAFP Cranditz was having a new roof fitted when I saw it the other day - the old one can’t be older than 22 years old! All these ‘new builds’ are proper sh!te and just like modern houses are not built to last. When Trenchard/Churchill invested in the RAF’s real estate in the 20s/30s then at least it was built to last - it’s just that the chimps we employ seem incapable of doing so. What happens is that the MOD sells the site off for peanuts and then some proper craftsmen are employed by the new owners to restore these lovely buildings with modern glazing and heating. Go and have a look at former RAF Bicester - sold off for £2.5M - where the average 4 bed detached costs over £0.5M - now looking resplendent as a new vintage aircraft and vehicle tech hub. The Quarters have also been flogged off on the cheap and the personel at nearby Croughton are mostly out in rented accommodation.
The (mis)management of our estate makes my blood boil. It won’t be long before Halton, Henlow, Brawdy, Chivenor, Mildenhall and Colerne are all sold off for a pittance - Hullavington has already gone for next to b^gger all.
Grrrr...
The (mis)management of our estate makes my blood boil. It won’t be long before Halton, Henlow, Brawdy, Chivenor, Mildenhall and Colerne are all sold off for a pittance - Hullavington has already gone for next to b^gger all.
Grrrr...
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I couldn’t believe that Daedalus OM at RAFP Cranditz was having a new roof fitted when I saw it the other day - the old one can’t be older than 22 years old! All these ‘new builds’ are proper sh!te and just like modern houses are not built to last. When Trenchard/Churchill invested in the RAF’s real estate in the 20s/30s then at least it was built to last - it’s just that the chimps we employ seem incapable of doing so. What happens is that the MOD sells the site off for peanuts and then some proper craftsmen are employed by the new owners to restore these lovely buildings with modern glazing and heating. Go and have a look at former RAF Bicester - sold off for £2.5M - where the average 4 bed detached costs over £0.5M - now looking resplendent as a new vintage aircraft and vehicle tech hub. The Quarters have also been flogged off on the cheap and the personel at nearby Croughton are mostly out in rented accommodation.
The (mis)management of our estate makes my blood boil. It won’t be long before Halton, Henlow, Brawdy, Chivenor, Mildenhall and Colerne are all sold off for a pittance - Hullavington has already gone for next to b^gger all.
Grrrr...
The (mis)management of our estate makes my blood boil. It won’t be long before Halton, Henlow, Brawdy, Chivenor, Mildenhall and Colerne are all sold off for a pittance - Hullavington has already gone for next to b^gger all.
Grrrr...
It’s looking increasingly likely that I’ll be leaving after 15 years into a 30 year contract. The housing situation is one of the main factors.
From this family it appears that people are the number one priority in name only.
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I remember in 76 some poor kid at Saints had life changing injuries, she ran down the stairs, slipped and went through a glass panel at the bottom, all because someone had scrimped on the costings and fitted ordinary glass instead of safety glass.
MG.....is my Sarcasm too deep for you?
The Title of the thread is...."Military accommodation not fit for animals".
Thus....if MOD bans animals....then the problem is solved.
That MOD forces humans into accommodation not fit for animals... is quite telling what it thinks of its Service Members and the families.
We had the same problem for years with each Service having different standards for housing particularly Enlisted Members Barracks accommodation.
After each scandal....a few very senior folks retire early with full pensions and some cheap paint, plaster, and bath fixtures gets applied to the places that generated the scandal.
Imagine, You do Fifteen Months in Combat....get re-deployed to your Unit Home Duty Station.....and you are confronted with this!
If I had been the Father....my Son would not be living in that Barracks for a single minute....but would be bivouac'd on the CG's front yard with me standing guard over him with a Media Film Crew in attendance.
Let the General explain that to the President that sent my Son off to war and the Media.
The Title of the thread is...."Military accommodation not fit for animals".
Thus....if MOD bans animals....then the problem is solved.
That MOD forces humans into accommodation not fit for animals... is quite telling what it thinks of its Service Members and the families.
We had the same problem for years with each Service having different standards for housing particularly Enlisted Members Barracks accommodation.
After each scandal....a few very senior folks retire early with full pensions and some cheap paint, plaster, and bath fixtures gets applied to the places that generated the scandal.
Imagine, You do Fifteen Months in Combat....get re-deployed to your Unit Home Duty Station.....and you are confronted with this!
If I had been the Father....my Son would not be living in that Barracks for a single minute....but would be bivouac'd on the CG's front yard with me standing guard over him with a Media Film Crew in attendance.
Let the General explain that to the President that sent my Son off to war and the Media.
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Good hit! 
SASless.
SASless.
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I seem to recall that on a base in the 90's many of the MQs were sold (given) off to the local council who refused to accept them in the state they were in. So much of the budget was spent refurbishing them so that the council would accept them leaving not very much (almost nothing) of the budget for the occupied MQs and the rest of the base.
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I went to the Summer Ball there in 1997 shortly after it opened. You're right it is in ****e order (as is the one at Cosford) - it was probably built down to a price.
For those with far too much time on their hands....this link will take you to a document that pertains to the DOD's decision to be rid of "Temporary Buildings" constructed to accommodate the build up of American Forces during WWI....and later WWII.
It was a daunting task for Engineers during both Wars....as for example we went from a 270,000 Man Army in 1940 to an 8,270,000 Army in 1945.
Those Temporary Buildings were not designed for long term use.
We were still using a large number of them into the 1990's.
They were not built for creature comforts....just dry places for eating, sleeping, with the barest of toilet facilities.....no insulation and perhaps a Coal fired heat of some kind....that had to be hand fired.
After the War, there was a huge building project called "Capehart Housing" with the majority of that work being done in the 1950's.
The last of those Married Housing units were razed just a couple of years ago.
The current standard of married housing....is of a much higher quality and modern design.....although there still exists a large amount of the older units.
With the draw down of Force Numbers....the DOD actually began to Lease vacant housing to non-active duty persons to provide funds for maintenance for all of the housing.
With the improved funding of DOD under the new administration....those folks are slowly being evicted.
To put the Temporary Barracks thing into perspective....my Father's generation used them, I used them, and my Son would have used them, and possibly my Grand Son....for a building with a 2-4 Year design life.
Lap of luxury it were....I dream of having such a place yet today I do.....NOT!
We have our problems with military housing but are making good progress on the problem once again......due to the Money being available.
It was a daunting task for Engineers during both Wars....as for example we went from a 270,000 Man Army in 1940 to an 8,270,000 Army in 1945.
Those Temporary Buildings were not designed for long term use.
We were still using a large number of them into the 1990's.
They were not built for creature comforts....just dry places for eating, sleeping, with the barest of toilet facilities.....no insulation and perhaps a Coal fired heat of some kind....that had to be hand fired.
After the War, there was a huge building project called "Capehart Housing" with the majority of that work being done in the 1950's.
The last of those Married Housing units were razed just a couple of years ago.
The current standard of married housing....is of a much higher quality and modern design.....although there still exists a large amount of the older units.
With the draw down of Force Numbers....the DOD actually began to Lease vacant housing to non-active duty persons to provide funds for maintenance for all of the housing.
With the improved funding of DOD under the new administration....those folks are slowly being evicted.
To put the Temporary Barracks thing into perspective....my Father's generation used them, I used them, and my Son would have used them, and possibly my Grand Son....for a building with a 2-4 Year design life.
Lap of luxury it were....I dream of having such a place yet today I do.....NOT!
We have our problems with military housing but are making good progress on the problem once again......due to the Money being available.
MG.....is my Sarcasm too deep for you?
The Title of the thread is...."Military accommodation not fit for animals".
Thus....if MOD bans animals....then the problem is solved.
The Title of the thread is...."Military accommodation not fit for animals".
Thus....if MOD bans animals....then the problem is solved.
I ha to say that having signed for most of the buildings at Mount Pleasant in Jan-May 86 I was a bit surprised to see them all still standing on the 'Island parish' TV series filmed in the FI 30 years later. I seem to recall a 'life' of either 10 or 15 years. I think 'death star' itself (the accommodation complex) would withstand a nuclear explosion
Added to that, it is a building singularly lacking in any architectural merit.
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In 1956 I was posted to RAF Worksop. No married accommodation available so was temporarily in AMQ at West Barrier, RAF Finningley. Cooking was done over a 2-burner (or 3-) oil burning cooker device, front room heated by a coal fire which had an oven incorporated at the rear, accessed from the kitchen. Was glad to leave such a primitive dwelling and move to a hiring in Worksop. Things have moved on since then.
In 1956 I was posted to RAF Worksop. No married accommodation available so was temporarily in AMQ at West Barrier, RAF Finningley. Cooking was done over a 2-burner (or 3-) oil burning cooker device, front room heated by a coal fire which had an oven incorporated at the rear, accessed from the kitchen. Was glad to leave such a primitive dwelling and move to a hiring in Worksop. Things have moved on since then.
I stayed in the WD OM for a week around 1985,and thought it pretty grim.What I remember most however,was that the fitted furniture,wardrobes etc was raised on stilts about 8-10'' above the floor.I was later told that this was so that the space below could be counted in order to meet the minimum square footage requirement for officers accomodation.Is there any veracity to this,or is it just myth ?
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That is, sadly, true. OH was OC SSF there, so be assured of veracity! Mercifully I only spent a week there doing an ATC ADP Course ... living there would have been awful, although the Bar was OK!
WD OM was undoubtedly one of the worst the RAF ever created, and the OR’s accommodation was similar. Appalling place!
WD OM was undoubtedly one of the worst the RAF ever created, and the OR’s accommodation was similar. Appalling place!
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There are JRs at Waddington who have not had hot water for well over a year. Absolute disgrace and one of the many reasons I pulled the handle. It’s hard to look a subordinate in the eye when they are living like that whilst the station is spending tens of thousands on a vulcan statue at the main gate. Complete joke and they are voting with their feet.
When I briefly existed in the OM at Brize before escaping to my own house, one of the major embuggerations was the hot water system. Turn on the tap in your washbasin in the morning and cold, brown liquid would flow. You had to run the tap several minutes before the water became even tepid...
Roll forward to a Mess Meeting. Someone had proposed spending a huge amount of dosh on new Ladies' Room curtains; however those of us who suffered the water problem spoke against the motion with one voice. Whereupon some blunty stood up and muttered about 'different budgets'. To which the leader of our mob said he didn't give a stuff - but was it right to spend money on something totally unnecessary when even the basic need of those paying to live in couldn't be met? Bless him, the PMC agreed and the Ladies' Room retained its entirely adequate existing curtains.
Roll forward to a Mess Meeting. Someone had proposed spending a huge amount of dosh on new Ladies' Room curtains; however those of us who suffered the water problem spoke against the motion with one voice. Whereupon some blunty stood up and muttered about 'different budgets'. To which the leader of our mob said he didn't give a stuff - but was it right to spend money on something totally unnecessary when even the basic need of those paying to live in couldn't be met? Bless him, the PMC agreed and the Ladies' Room retained its entirely adequate existing curtains.
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Answer is to bring back National Service. In Australia when this was introduced they had to fix all the quarters at Kapooka and most other bases as it was condemned as not fit to live in. It previously had been good enough for us..