Messing
 

All,

I have just received a beautifully writen letter offering the chance of much better accommodation (finally getting out of a transit block which makes having naked pictures of yourself and your family taken in Abu Ghraib look enticing !!! ) to be advised of the following rules and regs :

1. All personally owned electrical equipment should be taken to ( some random punter living in the mess!!!!!!!! Mmmm ) to be PAT certified. Otherwise I will be personally liable for any call-out charges should my devices trip a cb. I should add that the cost of this PAT cert shall be met by me !!!!!!!!!

2. I may not move any furniture out of my new room including the bed in order to replace it with any of my own (presumably that also includes my chiropractic mattress which cost a small fortune and which like so many quietly suffering flyers, I NEED !!!)

3. I may not re-decorate my new room - NO! I must try and make the place as comfy as possible by accepting magnolia walls and issue furniture.

4. I may not use blu tack on the walls or any type of pin/nail, instead any posters/pictures etc must be capable of sustaining the hover for quite some time.........!!!!!!!

Referring to currently running threads elsewhere on the forum - these are just some of the little things which we in the forces must accept as payment for being at the beck and call of a little dog trying desperately to play with the big dogs and run in the long grass !!!!!!!!

It goes without saying how utterly pi**ed off and angry I am at constantly being treated like a five year old and putting up with so much s**t in return for working my ass off for others!!!!!

Yes it has been a bit of a rant - BUT .......the facts are the facts!

Thoughts ?.........................................

Where's your initiative 9.81? Don't singlies still get married to avoid this nonsense?

Indeed, or perhaps I should change which side i bat for and co-habit in a new same sex ' marriage ' !!!!!!!!

Are you complaining or grateful for the cheap accom....not sure what your twist is?

Despite you being a paying tenant the Service does prefer to honour the 'you pay us' side of the agreement over the 'we have to legally do certain things' in return. Once more your basic rights are less than a prisoner.

I would suggest you speak to a similarly harassed singly, agree to a Civil Partnership, which apparently doesn't require consummation :eek: , whereupon you can leave the block and enjoy limited human rights. Moreover when you're posted you can own things bigger than triwall boxes, have them moved by removals men AND get £900 for a holiday...

Fake gay - it's the future for singlies!

Your intentions may be honourable but others would take advantage (and have!) and leave others to clear up after them. That costs money. I agree it all seems draconian but I have seen some inventive ways of making life comfy.
Good point made earlier, if you can find a better landord outside at the same price, feel free.

Complaining about cheap accomm.?

No not at all. But why is it that everything is a constant ' rub up the wrong way ' ? A constant fight? We are all working hard - we really don't need all these petty little things creating a ' them and us attitude '!!!! We seem to be able to adjust to the rapidly changing times and apply countless civvy-inspired rights to our personnel and working practices - and I agree not all of them good. But come on......painting the walls in a room? Putting up your own curtains? Sleeping in a single bed with less than adequate mattress? Petty petty petty !!!! I am sure I am capable of returning the walls to the original colour - it's not beyond the capabilities of a child ! I am not asking the station commander to personally move my bed in!!!!

Just another big pat on the back and a well done .....tell you what .....let us try and help you make things as comfortable and homely as possible, so that when you return from the two 3 month dets that you do every year, you can relax and re-charge your batteries in a comfortable and familiar environment......... Oh no silly me .........LETS NOT !!!!!!!

Since you are a paying customer, can you:

1) Get the hot water problem fixed quickly?

2) Eat what and when you want?

3) Use your own toilet?

4) Share your bed (oh yes, it's a single)

5) Get a good night's undisturbed sleep (or day's sleep when on nightshift)?

I suggest that the company should be paying YOU an allowance... :ok:

You could always stay in the transit accom, the reasons for the restrictions are usually in place to stop "some" people destroying decent accom. As for the Elec side of life I think that its probably driven by H&S.

Just moved into new accom myself so know the probs.

To 747,

This forum is ' military aircrew ' and of course extends to everything associated with 'things military'. Funnily enough messing is a fundamental way of life for a lot of us in the Air Force - and it therefore has a bearing on our way of life. If you don't like it or think it has nothing to do with prune then I suggest you have another think about what prune is for and whather your contributions are any more valid than mine! Just a suggestion. And your 'handle' perhaps says more than you realise !!!

1)Get the hot water problem fixed quickly?

yes

2) Eat what and when you want?

yes

3) Use your own toilet?

yes

4) Share your bed (oh yes, it's a single)

yes

5) Get a good night's undisturbed sleep (or day's sleep when on nightshift)?

yes

Thanks 9.81, now I recognise the humour behind his name. (It took me two days, plus your help).

Vecvec, I'm bloody jealous of your excellent Mess accomodation.

vecvec......

Don't know what air force mess you live in.........

1. Get hot water fixed quickly........
*** Mmmm been tryin works services to replace bulbs in my communal bathroom for two months !!!!!!!!! *** H+S hazard at night !!!!

2. Eat what want, when want ?
*** you are obviously unfamiliar with Air Force regs regarding the cooking and preparation of food in mess accomm. And To the best of my knowledge when I land at 0300 the kitchen is not open for breakfast. ***

3. Use own toilet.
*** Like I said - mine is communal along with the shower ***

4. Good nights sleep blah blah blah......
*** Do me a favour......I'm bored now............

9.81m/s/s

I fully sympathise

I have the misfortune to live in the recently refurbished accommodation in the SNCOs Mess at the covert DLO headquarters in Cambridgeshire.

I live in as I am serving married unaccompanied (voluntarily) and therefore do not pay for accommodation but do pay for food.

When I moved into the new accommodation which is ensuite in September after a struggle to get furniture etc there were several outstanding works services which are still outstanding despite promises of the contractors returning to sort things.

In addition the laundry rooms were not equipped with the necessary plumbing for the washing machines. These have been sat idle for over 2 months now.

The accommodation suffers from all the usual problems of an old mess, noisy etc. Although I don't pay for the accommodation I believe that I am entitiled to expect a reasonalbe standard and level of service which we do not apear to get despite constant badgering.

The standard of food in the mess is poor with very little possibility of being able to eat healthily and of course you have to eat at the dictated times.

Is it too much to ask these days for a minimum acceptable standard to observed across all messes.

C-130 Techie............


Well said. I think it's all about give and take and having the decency to cut through the crap to help the boys and girls out a little. The military is not the samaritans - but warfare and welfare are not mutually exclusive. Lets all try and be sensible and decent about such matters - they really do matter - and constant pettiness really can totally p**s people off!!!

Ignoring the current standard of rooms, support etc... How much would people be willing to pay for living in if all the problems were removed?

All of the hassles over work services, dining arrangements etc could easily be addressed and solved. BUT, it would cost. There is only so much that would be available from central funds, so it would undoubtedly involve livers-in digging deeper. Seriously, a £200 upfront deposit (returnable) for redecoration, repair or contract cleaning required on move-out and a £20-a-night fee may come close to the mark. Much cheaper than an equivalent standard hotel, but frankly, who would want to pay £600+ a month to live in?

The driving point has to be how much people are willing to pay. Work out what could be done for that, check the balance in terms of value for money, adjust the amount willing to be paid and repeat as necessary. This iterative process would then find the point of balance. Personally, I suspect that we're fairly close to a balance point at the moment.

As for the idiotic restriction about no blu-tack, no nails; sod it. You will never have as much money in your pocket as when you are a living-in singly (don't get married...or have kids....!) so you don't want posters - get decent framed art while you can still afford it. Then put the nails in anyway to hang it and just buy a small tub of ready mix polyfilla when you move out and a small palette knife (total <£5) and fill the holes. Get enough practice and you won't even need the tin of magnolia paint that sits in the garage of everyone on the married patch as you'll do such a smooth job that will blend in.

9.81 I don't really think you know what my "handle" means. Do you see the civvy pilots moaning about their accom on terms and endearment. As the name suggests its a "Rumour network".

Surley this sort of moaning should be done on the dedicated RAF site? What will people think if they see you going on about the state of your room.

That wouldn't be the crappie mover related site that you or some other sad Muppet has set up elsewhere - would it?

SDF

747...........The problems that 9.81 is bringing to our attention (not moaning) is not restricted to living-in life in the RAF. The problem exists in just about every mess across the nation in every service. Civilian contracting has killed the traditional "exclusive club" life in all our messes. If any SNCO or Officer is allocated a room in a mess on a 2 or 3 year tour then that person should be allowed to have the room unfurnished (at no extra charge) and be provided with decent catering at times when the catering is required (especially after night flying or middle of the night landings). It used to be done so it is "doable".