as for jibe about techies coming face to face with the enemy, why not ask the poor f:mad:ker who had his leg took off by shrapnel at basra a few days back!!!!!

The Helpful Stacker. As per Srl 11, I think you will find that the "yellow and green checkerboard thing" is probably the Squadron recognition bar you'd normally find either side of the fuselage roundel.

THS wrote:

Cosford Apprentices??;)

DZ patch or TRF... they all provide? Recognition. The green n yeller thing is a 31 spec item, most FJ sqns are now allowed to wear them. Does it make you hot under the collar that it's now allowed to be seen to belong to something? Perhaps you'd rather he wore nothing and was misidentified as a blunty? Hold on, he could be the Sqn J1 blunty (not the SACT). Helpful Stacker, you are right, the badges come with velcro to enable them to be removed, so that when the VIP has done one, the boys/ girls can return the badges allowing the unhelpful stacker to count them off on his F.668...:} As for the big gay RAF badges that extend across the R/H chest, I'm with you on that one. Individual unit badges :ok: Big gay pointless badges :=

Hurrah:D Finished.:eek:

The yellow and green abomination(!) is the 31 :yuk: Sqn nose flash as explained above. All the 138 EAW :yuk: Sqns have them.

You don't get up to date CS95 shirts if your epauletted ones are fit for use. Hence the enforced different appearance. It isn't that he can't afford to buy one, it's our employer that can't! Some airconned-portakabin-dwelling to55er at AUD had a pop at me earlier this year for having an old-style shirt. Must have been a Saturday or Sunday as he was off duty...

So this Typhoon deployment... has this brought forward a date for any possible deployment?
Surely four months after being declared op ready for FGR ops they can help the lads on the ground out occasionally!

'So this Typhoon deployment... has this brought forward a date for any possible deployment?'

Yes, it bought forward the deployment date for the deployment if it were to deploy.Possibly.:}

Lets let the 'system' have a chance to mature and work out any bugs before it gets a baptism of fire. GR.4 is a mature 'platform' and able to do the close air support bit. I'm sure the lads on the ground would appreciate the help and would feel comfortable with Tornado. Would you feel comfortable with an untested newly qualified CAS jet just yet or would you rather people put it through it's paces first to ensure it's completely up to the task in hand? :ok:

ok hands up!! my typing and english needs work.

A detachment for a deployment....
But surely if the Sqns been declared operational, these bugs HAVE been worked out, and any qualified Typhoon guy is as good as a qualified Tornado guy. Besides its not as if the Typoons havnt practiced enough having done Tucson, Vegas and Abu Dhabi this year.(according to the RAF news)

Why buy what we already own?

Then, Gospel of St John 8:7

'Commander-in-Chief of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Clive Loader said: "The declaration of Typhoon being multi-role capable is a truly significant step in the development of this remarkable aircraft.'

BBC NEWS | UK | Eurofighter 'fully combat ready'

Notice Typhoon being declared multi-role capable and not the 3 sqns worth of pilots, ground crew and logs it would take to man such a det...

'From today a number RAF Typhoons will be at operational readiness to deploy overseas if deemed necessary. There are no plans at present to deploy Typhoon to Afghanistan or Iraq; the RAF's Tornado GR4 Force is due to deploy to Kandahar next spring to replace Harriers.'

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Equipment and Logistics | Typhoons declared ready for ground attack role

Will they? Won't they? One day!

Or Cosford Boy Entrants