Should the RAF be scrapped? (merged)
 

Today (Mon 9th Aug) Jeremy Vine (BBC Radio 2) speaks to someone who says that the RAF should be scrapped in order to save money from the public purse...

Anyone have an opinion? :confused:

On that logic, why not the Army and the Royal Navy as well?

And the Fire Service.

And the Police.


It'll save heaps.

Well, why not? Whilst we are at it we could also scrap the NHS, the Dept for Work and Pensions, FCO etc - all to save money. Utter tripe and based on un-confounded leaks and hearsay. No decisions have been made yet; only options discussed and by that very process of discussing all the options then some hares will be set running. We still have the 4th largest spend of GDP on defence of any country so maybe we should trim back and stop trying to police the world for a few years

We should all just wait and see; what will be will be, but with Liam Fox saying last week that the amalgamation of the RAF and Navy would be too much for any Government to stomach I just see this as bored media types with airwaves and column inches to fill.

The British Armed Forces
 

Dave and Nick seem to think the Canadians have answers for all questions. Since the Canucks went from their three services to Candian Armed Forces back in the 1960's, maybe we'll follow them, and the Belgians....

If we do then there are all sorts of other savings that could come about, on things like uniforms. If you mix Navy and RAF Blue, with Army green, don't you end up with a purplish hue?

Anyone out there fancy that?

If (big if) we do this, does this mean that, like our cousins, the jets have British armed forces on one side, and a bit in Welsh, Gallioc and many other languages on t'other?

Must go, those nice people in white coats just arrived with my afternoon tablets.....

Just listened to...
 

...ex-navy t$$t basically advertising his new venture with a load of bulls$$t about stuff he obviously hasn't a clue about.

Then JV is really a Dail Mail readers forum isn't he...

5d2d

What goes around comes around. The RAF was formed before the end of WW1 in order that it be "an Independent Airforce", that is free to exploit airpower in the form of strategic bombing (with aircraft such as the HP 0/400). However, peace nearly put paid to it and it was only by undercutting the cost of Iraq ops as proposed by the Army that Trenchard kept his shrivelled baby alive. It was WW2 and the renewed use of strategic bombing, which this time extended post war in the guise of the V Force, that ensured its continued independence. Now that much strategic airpower has passed to the Royal Navy in the form of Trident and Tomahawk we are almost back to square one. With present incumbents weaned on a diet of "Fighter Command good, Bomber Command bad", the RAF's raison d'etre seems to be in doubt within its own ranks let alone those without. "Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it"!

Isn't it about time we heard what the Foreign & Commonwealth Office has to say about its policy for the future of the UK, BEFORE any discussion on what is or is not needed?

Until such a policy is stated, not even Dr. Fox can formulate a decision on what goes or stays! (It'll not stop him though as he is a political animal and cares little for the effect of his actions!):*

Too true FZ. We have after all been operating way outside the bounds of the last SDR for a long time.

When our chiefs get the reduced budget this time, they should have a contract against a set of scenarios we could cope with (a single village armed with sharpened guava fruit) and a contract statement that anything above and beyond that has to be separately funded

Probably a good idea ... especially since the USA won't be defending GB any more.

Per Ardua Ad Astra...
 

Is this where it all ends? :(


http://7t5.co.uk/Halton%20Camp/Astra%20Cinema%2B.jpg...

Someone attempting to be helpful no doubt, pity they were talking out of the methane valve outlet. :cool:

Per Ardua ad Astra: After work, we go to the cinema?

Jeremy Vine provides Tabloid type current affairs programmes. What next.....scrap the RAF because a Transgender Gypsy on Jeremy Kyle said so......:rolleyes:

14 Posts so far and nobody has argued against scrapping the RAF.

What do we need the RAF for ? What do they provide that someone else couldn't provide? AT ? Could the Army do that? SH ?.... again...the Army could do that. SAR...thats going so no snags there... Typhoon... we need the RAF for Fast Jets...Army wouldn't be interested in that and its too difficult for the RN.

If we look at history, it tells us that to have a large and effective combat ready armed force on home soil, the easiest way is to radically cut defence spending...

That's a fact that simply cannot be argued with!
























It will of course be another countries force, after an invasion due to the home countries lack of credible defence.......But will be a large and effective force none the less!:E

Rock on Tommy, if you think Gateway House is bad ..........:}

vecvechookattack
RN would obviously argue that they can do fast jets. Indeed the argument would probably run that if you had all jets carrier capable then they could flex between force project and homeland defence when needed.

The RN can do "Embarked Fast jets" very well but they are not very good at the Land thing.... Best leave that to the experts

British Airways? :}

The RAF supports huge numbers of 'hangers on' and useless idiot top staff and is repeatedly ripped off by suppliers who must joke among themselves " how many zeroes shall we add on this invoice ?! "

However it seems to have saved this country, unlike the berks of all political flavours except Winston Churchill ( a rarity indeed ) what was it he said ?!

A dear friend once wrote to me in a book, " He who would wish to know what shall be, must first know what has gone before ".

Bin the politicians first, this lot in particular with their banker chums, bring on the Replublic !

( I wasn't a leftie until forced recently )

DZ