I agree with the above...

Just remember, my money part funds his life of Riley, and like many others in this country, I object, as I can see no point in having any form of Monarchy, when all rules and dictats come from Brussells, the Monarchy has absolutely no power so has no reason to exist.

Tourists will still come to this country to see where the 'Royal' family lived, even if they no longer live there, to see the Crown Jewels etc etc.

Proof of the waste of time giving Military jobs to the Royals, is the time William has had away from his job in the Army, he has been with the RAF and Navy for eight months, so just exactly was his job in the Army?.

Time for a change.

I expect a slating over this from the Military Officers over this, as you all have your Commisioning Scroll, signed by the Queen, but I do wonder how close a National referendum would be.

Jackonicko - I hope your posts on this thread aren't indicative of the quality of your journalism.

Why should any SAR flight get more eng manpower?

Why should anyone be chopped just because William is coming to SAR?

He is a good chap who will, I am sure, make the grade as a SAR pilot and he won't be given an easy ride because we can't afford to have non-capable crew on SAROPs. When he makes it to the front line (and yes the OCU really is 9 months long on top of the SARTU course) it will be as a result of application and ability, not birth and position.

Is he not a little young to be given his pipe and slippers :rolleyes:

Ah yes the typical Pinko response! :ugh:

So we replace the A-political Royal Family with what? - Presadent! Brilliant - we have just successfully lost (despite what you say) a big tourist attraction and at the same time managing to promote some wanna-be lying b@stard of a politician to head of the country! wonderfull. Is it not bad enough that we have a European, National, Devolved, and local governments all milking our hard earned.

How much do you think El Presidente would cost? :*


Sorry for the deviation .

And how long before some Dingbat calls an emergency just so they can be rescued by a Prince.

(O.K. in a big yellow wokka rather than on a White charger, but the basic principal is the same)

Actually, no it doesn't. The Crown estate pays more money to the Exchequer than it receives. Therefore the Crown is actually subsidising the rest of the country. Just because the Civil List is paid from the Treasury everyone assumes that they all contribute to the upkeep of the Royals. Lies and statistics (with a bit of spin) anyone?

My guess would be about 80:20 in favour of keeping the Monarchy, so not very close at all. :rolleyes:

And for all those harping on about not doing the full selection procedure just remember he is a commissioned officer, having completed Sandhurst on his own merit, is therefore eligible to tranfer to either the RAF or RN, subject to Service need, and as he has obviously shown some aptitude towards flying having completed the training he already has, he theoretically has an automatic bye in the aptitude arena. Just remember, it wasn't that long ago that anyone who successfully completed the EFT syllabus on their UAS also got an automatic "pass" on the aptitude tests even though they would still have to sit them.

As PW is a pretty accomplished horseman and polo player one might argue that is all he needs - wasn't that one of the prerequisites for becoming a pilot in the RFC? :E

William receives an allowance from the PoW, whose income comes from his estates, principally the Duchy of Cornwall, so William does not cost the taxpayer as such, though the taxpayer a) pays his military salary and b) pays for the Royal Protection team that guard him.

my two-pence worth
 

Personally, I think he's getting quite a bit of stick here (no pun intended). If I were in his position I'd do precisely the same (although I'd probably do some time as rearcrew first to get the back seat and winchman perspective). The SARTU long courses are designed to put everyone to the test so if he gets to 22 or 202 then he'll be competant to do the job. Having said that, with no operational experience, it will be a steep (i.e vertical) learning curve. I don't think he'll get preferrential treatment, just a few extra remedial flights and air warning chances as and when. It's in everyone's interest for him to pass the courses.

In my opinion, it can only be a good thing both for him and the RAF from a PR point of view. That is until SAR-H when it all changes that is. From what I understand about "Royal Duties", I wouldn't like to trade places with him once the SAR detatchment is over.

fair play I say! :D

"steady, winchman on the deck, off the hook, in the water"

Daily Telegraph Get it Wrong Again.
 

Good luck to him I say. He did alright up at Linton (insider knowledge!) and now he want's to do the only proper flying Job that he's allowed.

My gripe is the Telegraph explaining how the Sarf (Search and rescue force!) delivered aide to Mozambique in 2000. As I remember it 33 Sqn went from a Norway det to aid relief inside a week and then worked their little buts off until the aircraft broke and then did some more!

SAR boys do a fantastic job but credit where credits due.

Maxaoa

"SARBOYS!! W*NKERS!............ Oooh........Hello Your Royal Highness!"

The EU can't sack the PM. The Queen can

The EU can't dissolve parliament. The Queen can.

The EU can't choose the Prime Minister. The Queen can.

The EU can't deny a sitting PM a dissolution of parliament. The Queen can.

The EU can't prevent a sitting government from seeking to extend its time in office beyond the statutory five years. The Queen can (via options 1 and 2 above).

The EU can't prevent a sitting government from trying to impose a state of emergency in a bid to extend its life beyond five years.

Guess who can?

Don't forget that the monarch has the power to refuse Royal Assent to a bill, so that if a government attempted to pass (say) an enabling law with the intent of turning Britain into a one-party state because it was clearly going to lose the next election, it'd end up with.... a general election.

And she has the power to do those things whenever she damn well pleases, and as often as she damn well pleases. Just because the constitutional position in the country is such that exercising these powers is either retained as the nuclear option, kept dormant to reflect the balance between unelected monarch and elected parliament, or done upon the advice of the government or Privy Council doesn't mean that she doesn't posess power.

Being an active sort of bloke, I suspect he will soon get fed up with sitting around twiddling his thumbs all shift and eating all that free food!:E

Does this mean half-lifing components Royal Flight stylee with it's attendant b*ll-ache? Also I understand the OCU are having problems with ac availability?

Archimedes - You also missed out the peculiar quirk of this country that has anyone who joins the Armed Forces (well at least the RAF, British Army or Royal Marines) swear an oath of allegiance to the Head of State rather than to government.

The bottom line is that although we are paid for and do the bidding of the elected government the military are ultimately answerable to the Queen (and her successors) and are thus apolitical, exactly how a military should be.

Tourist,

thank you for saying exactly what I was thinking.

Archimedes - yes, absolutely - but, have you not heard Gordon's plan to enact all remaining royal prerogative powers into statute - meaning that htey will be decided by parliament rather than the monarch? This effectively makes Britain a republic, and no-one seems to have noticed!

OA - you're correct, but the powers I noted above will still lie with HMQ and her successors (at least they did last time I looked).

Completely OT - Is it my computer, or is the advertising sidebar making this page rather squashed?

Good luck to him I say.

The SAR long course is no easy option, or the OCU.

Hope he makes it into a frontline SAR cab.

Great PR for the RAF and good character-building stuff for our future Monarch.

Good luck HRH

By all accounts at Shawbs he had a "good pair of hands" and is certainly worth a shot at SAR. It sems t be an excellent compromise and we (the RAF in particular and the forces in general) should be chuffed - nay, proud that he wants to do (as close as he ever can) a real job with us.

As has been stated earlier, if he didn't have a very good chance of success, the Airships wouldn't have allowed it. The bigest fun (ad one has never been a Sarbouy) will be to see the reaction of the Squadron that doesn't get him!

And it won't be Cyprus - press release specifies sea king :D

Off topic warning

No I agree .. the latest additional advertising is a total pain :( More adverts on PPRUNE now than ever before....

personal opinion .. me no like ... :(

End off topic warning