Lossie protest
 

Apparently RAF Leuchars is in the melting pot too. From what I remember, RAF Marham is too small to take any more Tornado squadrons and house the hundreds of additional people who would need to move there unless there was significant investment in new infrastructure. And RAF Leuchars is not big enough either - to cope with the Tornado OCU (XV?), another Tornado front line squadron (12, 14 or 617?) and the Typhoon build-up. RAF Lossiemouth on the other hand could accommodate up to 3 Typhoon sqns alongside both the Tornado OCU and one Tornado front line sqn were the two Tornado squadrons to be disbanded to be taken from Lossiemouth - the space to park aircraft in hangars and HAS sites already exists. With the closure of RAF Kinloss one imagines that there would also be plenty of surplus accommodation available nearby for any additional Servicemen and their families. Lossiemouth also has two fully serviceable runways and access to the UK's best air-to-ground bombing ranges.

You are implying the closure of 'St Andrew's Airport'; this would lead to the outrageous situation of certain HRHs having to travel to golf tournaments by road! The thought of it!

How many aircraft did 229 operate from the waterfront at RAF Leuchars again:hmm:

Two HAS sites and a LOT of modern infrastructure waiting new owners.

LOA.:E

Implement - plan - consider

Great way of doing things.

I can't see the logic, outside of misguided treasury grabbing and snatching, for trying to squeeze all we can on one lump of real estate. There has to be some degree of flexibility. For the number of R.A.F. airfields which have closed in the last 20 years and those already announced as due to close, I'm gobsmacked that people still think the R.A.F. is top heavy with infrastructure. Finningley, Abingdon, Coltishall, St. Mawgan, Chivenor, Brawdy, Church Fenton, Binbrook, Wattisham, Bruggen, Laarbruch, Wildenrath and Gutersloh. All were active and busy R.A.F. airfields during the 1980s. They're all now either in civilian hands or handed over to one or other of the other services, not necessarily for flying purposes. You'd have thought that with that amount of run down, not to mention; Wittering, Cottesmore and Kinloss also now to go, there'd be a sense of respite from chopping and hacking before there is no airfield infrastructure left!:uhoh:

FB:)

This works the other way round as well. The RAF Leuchars Golf Club is highly thought of they are very closely affiliated with the R&A. Ironically, the list of past Captains includes some familiar names from the Nimrod and Chinook threads! Will we now see those who spoil good walks attempt to run MoD? You never know, they may make a better job of it. They organise the Open pretty well, which is a better CV than most in MoD.

1980s
 

FB,

The 'Golden Age' you're talking about involved far more people in wedgewood blue and many more aircraft than today's RAF. With the additional personnel and airframes losses on the way due to SDSR, there is going to be even more real estate surplus to requirement. It's just a pity that the income generated by turning disused stations into light industrial estates goes to consolidated revenue rather than being reinvested in Defence to help balance the books.:(

If between 750,000 and 2,000,000 (depending on which 'rag' you read) march in opposition to Gulf War 2 with no effect I'm not sure 7,000 people marching in Moray will do any different. I wonder if this is more to do with the thought of the Army moving in instead .....

Anyway, I thought the SNP wanted full devolution from Westminster ..... surely they could pay to keep Lossie open (if it closes) themselves!:E

FB,
"or handed over to one or other of the other services"

Not us in the FAA, we don't have enough aircraft to fill our two stations. (yes two).
(Laugh)

Cheers

O G what a good idea, and we can call it Hms Fulmar;) http://usera.imagecave.com/scouse/Lo...ardroom(1).jpg

OG Don't you have HMS Gannet at Prestwick still?!:ok:

FB

Yet there is still some slack. Airfields like Leeming, Topcliffe and Waddington are hardly vying for the title of "most movements per day" or "most aircraft based here" awards, are they?

I'm not saying for a moment that these locations don't play an important role, nor do I want to see more airfields close, but the way things are going, the "chopping and hacking" is likely to continue...

It's not fair what'll happen to the airshows, it's bad enough as it is!:{

FB

Airshows? They will hold them somewhere exciting like Kinross or Abingdon the week after the annual Abington air show.

Has a decision been made yet on where JCA is going to be based? Lossiemouth or Marham, or somewhere else? Prestwick or Leuchars?

FB,

Prestwick is a civvy airfield/airport with a few navy squatters, hardly a FAA air station I'm sure you'll agree.

Cheers

PanMan, :Lossie obviously. It will be closest to the carriers in a Scottish constituency.:}

Cameron has invited the campaign group to Downing Street to discuss their concerns.:suspect:

FB

Best he stocks up on the jock pies then

What a load of rubbish in the Inverness Courier
 

Please read, what planet does this woman live on?
We are better off without places like RAF Lossiemouth - The Inverness Courier

In absolute terms she is right To suggest that Is quite wrong. There is a vocal group at Tain that want to expand a caravan site on the approach path to Tain but equally there are others who owe their jobs to Tain, not just on the range buy tourists who gain pleasure from watching the activity.

Yes, it would be a better world if we had no military forces anywhere, if everyone got on with their neighbours, if there was no poverty of any sort to cause jealousy, and as Neil said, this ain't on Planet Earth.

Send this little beauts up to Tain Range all with 8 x 1000lbs bombs underslung should wake the caravaners up;) http://usera.ImageCave.com/scouse/Lo...Line_up(2).jpg

"That it's quite alright to viciously oppress innocent people living in other parts of the world." MMMM! That'll be Al Quaeeda and the Taliban then?

The military do not exist to provide a living for the inhabitants of any area of UK, least of all one with some degree of autonomy in its own affairs. If Moray want it let them keep it open.

Met the woman a few times years ago,
left of Trotsky - no point arguing with her frankly. I do wonder how any vaguely responsible paper would publish such complete drivel against the flow like this - there's a difference between being seen to open up the discussion and merely shouting gibberish from the sidelines.

I would claim that the Courier had gone down in my estimation, but it was never that high to begin with....

We are bound to be have more of such situations as our Armed Forces reduce in size.

Twenty years after the end of the Cold War, we still have much of the Army in Germany, due to the fact that is has been cheaper to base them there than in the UK. However, it now looks that surplus RAF Bases in Moray and Cottesmore/Wittering will end up as the new home for these troops by 2015.

Can't help but think that Devonport can't last for much longer either. Two Naval Bases for a couple of dozen surface ships is unjustifiable. The bulk of ships being paid off by 2015 are Devonport based so after the next Defence Review that could be it for Plymouth.

On a brighter note I was pleased to see that post SDR the Army will still have 3000 horses:ugh:

Surely this is a bun-fight of the lost?

Even if a 'commitment' is found (by which I mean 'Knee-jerk') to move someone to anywhere - by the time the dust of that move settles, in 5 years time, both Marham and Lossie Stations will be up for closure fights again.

...anyway, my bet's on Marham.

The military do not exist to provide a living for the inhabitants of any area of UK





If only that were true..... If only

Not sure how keen the Army would be about having another camp just up the road from Fort George. Moray is also a fair distance away from the Army's traditional training grounds. I am sure that they would prefer something closer to Catterick, Stanford, or Salisbury Plain.....

A Moray base would be for the Scottish squaddies some of whom are at present in Germany. There is a rumour that MOD is thinking of closing Fort George, the current Army base in the Scottish Highlands.

This whole process is a bit of a shambles. They should know what they want to do and get on with it. All they achieve by delaying any decision is to unsettle evryone that might be affected.

Well exactly, I think the trouble is, that a firm proposal is put together, but as much as I hate to think of it, various people with vested interests then start to get involved. The a plan, which may have originally involved say moving aircraft from one base and closing another, gets thrown into the melting pot again because perhaps the local MP is able to have his or his constituents plight looked at more closely and successfully. Then a rehash is on the cards and before we know where we are, compromise and further hitherto unseen considerations are brought to light and on it goes. On top of which is the old you grease my palm and....

FB

Lossie
 

Well, if that nice Mr Salmond thinks that Scotland can "go it alone" it's only right that Westminster gives him a nice, clean airport to service the north of his nation..... isn't it?

....oh, you mean Aberdeen! :)

Doh.............:ugh:

FB, Schwarzkopf, in his biography, said that as an LTC ticket punching in the Pentagon, he had to decide which Army gases were to close.

He had to make his pitch to the different senators of States that were to lose a base.

After one presentation the senator said "Maa boy, that was the best god-damn dog and pony show that ah ever have received from the military, but let me tell you that as long as I draw breath you shall n e v e r close a base in maa state."

So, what is different?

Doesn't the currently in use Inverness count too?

If Lossie (or for that matter Leuchars) closes we will be left with but 1 military runway north of Leeming:eek:

Which one would that be then :) ?

If Lossie closes - Leuchars; if Leuchars - Lossie








Oh FFS I don't beleive I just bit. Brain is going. Nice one PN

GF, I thought we were actually talking of Lossie as closed anyway, therefore both.

Let's withdraw south of the Humber.