What do those who serve really think of the back room boys and girls?
 

Having been in the RAF for 26 years and swallowed the line that those who do not fly are essential for the agile, capable air force etc (and totally believed it being a non flyer), I just want to press to test amongst the RAF community. Who impressed you the most during your service and what was their specialisation?

I will jump in first and say the guys on the line turning round and rectifying, packing chutes high on the Victors tail, indeed all the liney duties in all weathers, wet, dry, hot, cold, dusty, icy, thank-you folks.:ok::ok::ok:

Navy chefs

MCSU. They could generate a banquet out of thin air in seconds flat. As a prime sauce(:}) of morale in the middle of nowhere they have no equal.:ok:

I'll go with Navy Chefs too.
Who in their right mind would sign up for a course that has yet to be passed by anyone, ever?
Coat...me....getting.

SH groundcrew in general. :ok:

Aircrew Feeder, 24/7

Check the question guys - Navy chefs!!! What Steve Seagull.....
Not an RN question.

F-4 Air Defence armourers loading a full fleet of aircraft with 4 x Sparrows and 4 x Aim 9, testing the lot for functionality and then downloading back into the peacetime/practice fit. Reminds me of their self deprecating 'T' shirt too - "?? Squadron Armourers - The Best In NATO. We Don't Know How It Works But We Can Lift it!" Great Days!

A definate culinary theme allready, RN or RAF. Funny how, when you are out and about, it all boils down (sorry) to basics, eh?:)

Two current station commanders, both impressed me when they were Sqn Ldr's, and I'm pleased to see they went on to greater things.

Two pilots: 1 for an incredible landing at MPA in really sh*tty weather, and a Herc one air to air refuelling when we couldn't actually keep up with the Tanker without a shallow dive. When we descended through cloud so thick I could only see the first black bit of hose, I was REALLY impressed.:eek:

The engineers who constantly pull rabbits out of hats to get our transport fleet turned round and up in the air again.

Who impressed me most.....
 

Definately the guys from Supply POL.

Never yet heard of any a/c delay due to non availability of fuel at an RAF airfield.

Teams of extremely hard workers who generally go unnoticed - but who work hard in the background to ensure the supply of fuel to keep the a/c flying.

All the techies out there who work all hours and all weathers fixing the aircraft that are broke, whilst us aircrew go home or back to the squadron. Keep it up! :D

All the ones that are legends, regardless of branch/trade. Some blunties are legends, some are not, you know who you are!

Having been both sides of the line , All I can say is that when the chips were down, the respect was mutual.

Linies changing an Nimrod MR2 radar scanner amidst the depths of a Kinloss winter!

Have to agree with Covec, many engineering rabbits pulled out of backsides to keep The Mighty Lunchbox flying. Been out a few years now but those guys on the line (and in the shed) were some of the best, most innovative, professional and skilled engineers you'll ever find, anywhere. Which is why our Lords and Masters decided to offer them all redundancy, obviously.

Brilliant thinking.:oh:

Being from the ground side of things, many thanks for the vote of confidence but having done the GE thingy and seen the professionalism of my flight crews my vote goes to them.

TSW teams, Northern Ireland.

Throughout Op Banner, the boys and girls at Omagh, Enniskillen, Ballykelly, Armagh, Dungannon, and Bessbrook, would be there doing the business for mil helos.

Thanks :)

John Milton (1608-1674)

"God doth not need Either man's work or his own gifts.
Who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best.
His state Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait."

Not sure I could do Milton but, 'Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth' - Muhammad Ali.:)

Well, I was most impressed with a service I wish I never had to use; it demonstrated to me just what the services can do if necessary.
It was the priority movements cell at Innsworth that got me Comp A'd back from Cyprus to my mothers house in Gloucester in the space of hours when my father was diagnosed terminally ill and who dealt with my distraught mother in an exemplary fashion.
If anyone from that department reads this, thanks again :D

RAF Police, true backbone of the airforce enforcers of dicipline and order sadly lacking in some individuals.

Yeah right!!!!!!!!!!! pass me another glass of meths! it's got to be the linies they are the true backbone.
And now they get the same pay as coppers and cooks, bloody joke!!:mad:

The suspense is just too much. When are you telling us the punchline??? :p

Edit: Oops. Best read the next post...... :\

No thank you. Without you requiring us stackers to play with Avtur in the field we'd have been stuck on some ghastly MOB somewhere counting nuts and bolts.:{

I must say that my time on TSW was when I felt the most valued by those we supported than at any other time throughout my RAF career. Would have been nice to see more traffic at Dungannon and Ballykelly though as cabin fever could soon set in in those sleepy hollows.;)

Oh and leave the porn in the toilet alone, thats for stacker perusal only.:}

Never been let down by a squipper, never fail to be let down by PSF. Lineys are the chosen children of god and I cannot praise them or JHSU enough.

Many other trades are essentially a large wrench to through in a well oiled machine.

Without question, the boys and girls on first line, who are there in all weathers fixing crew-in snags and whatever. The absolute unsung heros of the service. My respect to you all.
TSM

The Sunday evening I came from one of the Scottish Isles in 100% fog and having run out of routes to Glasgow Southern General other than all the way round the Mull, asked Macrihanish for fuel at no notice and got it, full service, no questions asked, from a "closed" airfield.

One life saved, well done people.

Sven

Big thumbs-up to the Pongo Posties. Rode shotgun with one for a few days in Saudi and the lad didn't care how long it took but the 'mail will get through.' Thumbs-down to the Medal Office but they have been re-railed and are now back on track - or so I've been assured.

The TSW boys and girls anywhere, stuck out in the middle of nowhere and often living in sh**. Always good for a cup of tea and a egg banjo.:ok::ok:

Armourers.

My seat worked as per the shiny advert.
Had last been serviced by a young guy who had just finished training.

Going back a bit to the late 80s-early 90's.

JHSU, the hookers, what were those guys on? Very good at rigging stuff, cool as cool things standing underneath a hovering Chinook, one would occassionally reach up and shake hands with the crewman in the centre hatch once he'd attached the hook. Mad as a box of frogs i tells yer.:D

Excellent thread.

I'd like to second Wokkameister's vote for the squippers; our 2 lads on Op Jena in GW1 were worth their weight in paladium (usually to be found working way outside their specialisation, and very effectively too).

- Then there were the cooks (forerunners of TCSU) who saw us right wherever we were - Norwegian huts, W German beech forest, Otterburn or sand-side, always producing the goods.

- Lineys, Airworkies and Reems (yes, even the Reems on an independent Sqn were worth having around) who kept the aircraft serviceable and available under sometimes very demanding circumstances.

- The Regt lads who'd accompany SH wherever we went, culminating in the lads who manned the 2nd M134 on the Chinooks in the above-mentioned unpleasantness. Oh, and "Ape" the pup-rescuer, seeing off the Croat louts then giving mouth-to-nose resuscitation to the dog they were tormenting. Top people.

A big 2 thumbs-up to them all :ok: :ok: