MT RANT
 

I've been out of the RAF for 10 years. Talking to an ageing Sqn Ldr today, was a bit taken aback by the apparent loss of status of serving officers. He used an MT car for a journey to the dunker at Yeovilton, leaving home at 4am. Returned to base mid afternoon, refilled with fuel (why?) and took the car back to MT. An hour later he received a call from MT asking why he hadn't washed the car before returning it. Is it me?

Who is supposed to clean the car then?

If he has an FMT600 (must have to have a service vehicle) then he must had read MT orders which state "all vehicles must be returned to MT refuelled and cleaned". Of course everybody reads MT orders before signing they have don't they?

Only one person on a station has an automatic right to someone else cleaning his vehicle for him and when he drives around there is a little flag on the front.

Erm, common courtesy perhaps...? Something wrong with giving the car back the way you picked it up...? What does his rank have to do with anything? Or is washing a car below someone holding a queen's commission... :hmm:

Do pilots wash their aircraft when they've landed? I don't think so. What's the difference? (OK, did sometimes after an SH detachment if the techs were still en-route, but not as a rule).

"What does his rank have to do with anything? Or is washing a car below someone holding a queen's commission... "

Quite frankly, yes!
Or at least it bl@@dy should do.
"Rank hath its priveliges" unfortunately is no longer true in todays Britain.
Unfortunately now rank only has the responsibilities and none of the Perks. No wonder everybody gets disillusioned and leaves.
If you don't want to wash cars for officers, you should have to get some ambition and get promoted!

Erm... No, our aircraft get washed every 35 days IAW the Aircraft Maintenance Manual, by the aircraft wash team... Next unrelated comment...?

Oh grow up please... It's people like you that make us Junior Ranks despise officers... Give me one reason you shouldn't have to wash a car that you've gotten dirty...

The adage used to be 'rank hath it's priviledges'. Being a lesser being meant that more mundane work was done by the underlings. I doubt that an Army Major would consder washing his vehicle - his 'man' would do it for him. I do stand to be corrected on that!

No idea, but this isn't the Army... If you like the idea of having your 'underlings' do all your dirty work for you, maybe you should have joined them...

Perhaps that sort of approach worked a bit better when the officer/OR balance was a bit more triangle shape but please do tell me again, whats the ratio of officers to airmen in Her Majesties (ever so modern) Royal Air Force?

Perhaps one of the lads can clean the car after he's finished doing his fifth period of guard of the year, shortly before he goes off to Afghanistan but not before he pushes a couple of shifts on the recently LEANed AEF.

Anyway, none of our commissioned brethren have answered the question. If he's used an MT vehicle he must have signed MT orders, by not returning the vehicle washed he is in violation of MT orders is this not so?

Perhaps its like one of those high spirits/blatant vandalism things.

Maybe not, but an Army pilot washes his own aircraft! Professional pride.:rolleyes:

Car Wash?
 

Not a problem here!! Those lovely chaps at Lex just bung the car through the car wash! The MT here, run by a contractor is easily the best I've come accross in 20 years in the mob. If its frosty they warm the car up prior to pick up and also let you have the car the night before a journey to save you coming in 'specially to pick up the wagon....bloomin' marvelous!:ok:

Phew - I was beginning to think I was the only one fighting the cause here...:D

No 'cause fighting' going on, just a statement of fact. MT orders demanding cars being cleaned really aren't necessary in this age of 'customer satisfaction'. All sounds a bit out dated really......Lex are providing a service, and a good one at that.....

Simple efficiency.
Sqn Ldr earns (very) approx £50 per hour actually worked each day
20 mins to wash car = £17

Junior Rank earns approx £10 per hour
20 mins to wash car £3

Same reason that large multinationals used to fly their execs on Concorde
It saved them money because it saved their very expensive time

What's the problem? Don't all MT yards have a vehicle wash? Just drive in dirty and drive out clean then return car to MT!! It's not difficult. Even better, next time ensure you get a hire car. As stated Lex do a great line in cleaning.

Or the MT Officer could negotiate a volume discount rate with the local drive-through car-wash, and give each driver a wash token on collecting the vehicle. My local is £3.00, but I bet for 100/month they'd come down to £2.00 :ok:

I presume that the "customer" of the MT section has to carry our any major service that becomes due whilst he has the car out!

Time to offload MT and have the cars supplied by one of the hire firms -probably at a reduced cost. They would set up a facility on base, prep the cars and:ok: have them serviced.

I'll tell you what - I'll wash an MT car when you go and get shot at in Iraq. How about that. What next - do I have to do the washing up after my meal in the mess? How about you do your job, I'll do mine.

Does the RAF reimburse the cost of a car wash as well as the cost of the refuel? If so, then there is not a great problem in putting the car through the automatic car wash at the garage at the same time as refuelling it.

Otherwise, was there an automatic car wash available at MT? If not, then did MT provide the facilities to wash the car, including the changing room for the Sqn Ldr to change into overalls prior to washing the car? If MT do not provide the tools and the facilities to enable the car washer to keep his uniform clean, then they cannot expect the order to be complied with.