Army cuts - AAC going?
 

Just heard on BBC2 lunchtime news that part of the Army cuts include the AAC. Is this confirmed?:ugh:

Are you sure it wasn't the ACC that's going?:E




Yes, I know that the cooks are now in the AGC, RLC or something or other, but you get the drift.

BBC News - Army to lose 17 units amid job cuts

"The Army Air Corps will reduce from five to four units as 1 Regiment AAC merges with 9 Regiment AAC"

A golden opportunity wasted:ugh:

Do you mean 1 ACC or the Catering Corps?

I wouldn't be surprised if the merger of 1 & 9 Regts wasn't tied up with the introduction of Wildcat, which will be coming in in smaller numbers than the current Lx fleet.

Oh, the US model? Where all battlefield helicopters are operated by the end user and flown by NCO pilots?

Well, I am sure that most folks on here would think that that was a top idea, but that does seem to upset the applecart somewhat.

You'll be suggesting that Royal Marines Commandos can fly FW next. :ok:

:E:E

US, as in wont work?;)

Yes of course. You need to be a crab officer to drive an SH bus.... Stick to Chinooks, Pumas and Merli....ah, ignore that last one. ;)

I'll bet CrabAir almost rubbed their hands with glee at the thought of the end of the AAC believing they'd poach Apache.

As has been alluded to, the AAC wont be losing too much in real terms and with the introduction of fewer Wildcat, we'll at least have enough people to fill the seats (as opposed to just keeping people employed to boost the numbers even though there is nothing for them to fly....)

I'll bet it still pisses a few crabs off that mere NCOs can operate Apache very effectively.

I was talking to an ex tank bloke today, and he told me the Army had no tanks left at all. He said the only thing they had were scimitar to lay down fire.

And you believed him?

1 Regt AAC are (or certainly were) performing what was essentially a Combat Service Support role for 1 Armd Div in Germany. As German based units are repatriated to the UK, there is less requirement for that role. Merging with 9 Regt in Dishforth consolidates the Lynx experience ready for Wildcat introduction, and keeps 3 and 4 Regt AAC firmly focused on providing direct fire support with Apache.

So to answer the original poster's question (however tongue in cheek), the only place the AAC is going is from strength to strength as a critical and relevant combat arm, this "cut" actually consolidates the AAC and will give them a head start on figuring out how to do more with less, a lesson other parts of the Army may want to learn rapidly.

Two's In ... how dare you bring logic and reason to PPrune. We got rid of all that sort of nonsense a while back and now you have to bring it back again ;)

Sorry Melchett, I've been demobbed a few years now, so occasionally forget the rules of Mess badger-baiting...

Crabair wont be able to operate AH WG13, there's no hotels anywhere near otterburn or bastion...

I'll bite. Who do you think operates all those Chinooks and Merlins at Bastion, the Women's Auxiliary Balloon Corps?

Do pay attention 007!

Any idiot can be uncomfortable. The skill comes in making life as bearable as possible in the given circumstances.

(Yawn) :hmm:

wg30 Dummy

My, my, that was a proper rant. Hope you feel better and that the hankie was big enough for all that bile you managed to spit out!

Or a Navy one!

What amazes ‘a few crabs’ is that the ‘mere NCO’s’ (your words not mine) sell themselves so cheaply. This constant harping about the nobility of doing the job so cheaply is a tad odd quite frankly. It has always seemed that the only people who don’t take the AAC seriously are, in fact, the British Army.

Within in the Army, even in this modern age, there are still elements that simply hate the idea of a soldier with any kind of wings on their uniform, we were regarded as 'elitist' and a bad influence, needed to be kept in our place, that sort of thing. In our small helicopter unit my boss was one of Stirling's originals from North Africa who went right through the war at the very sharp end and his opinion was these types, who thought we were 'elitist', had probably done rather badly at staff college!

The sole purpose of the RAF is to fly aeroplanes and the sole reason for an aircraft carrier is to enable aeroplanes to fly, but to this weird bunch I mention above, the idea of a soldier with wings was simply 'not on'.

The Otterburn Towers Hotel and the pub across the road from it would have closed years ago were in not for the military regardless of uniform colour. ...and the bait used is a bit yesterday even if it got a nibble.

Preferred Marys B&B myself and the pitstops at Rothbury or Thropton.