How the Military and RAF are perceived by the general public
 

See

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload..._top_lines.pdf


Makes some interesting reading. Especially pay and equipment.

I posted this link somewhere else and a mate said it destroyed his computer.

It didn't do anything to mine.

Anybody had any problems?

Computer still OK, but confidence in public perception has taken a battering.

After I left the Service I spent a couple of years in recruitment and career change counselling for service personnel (at the time of Options for Change). I tried to explain that most employers had little knowledge of service personnel, and probably neither they nor their parent had direct experience of the forces, other than from "Ain't 'alf hot Mum", "Get Fell In" and "The Navy Lark". I suspect Afghanistan and Iraq have changed that for the better.

Ahhhh Get Fell In :)

GET SOME IN Robert Lindsay...:)

Relieved to see that the RAF are deemed separate from the military in the OP's headline, wouldn't want the two to be mixed up.......

Absolutely, one didn't want to mix them up with the rest of the rabble.

19% of people questioned had never heard of the Foreign and commonwealth office ? Really ?

None of those stats means anything without knowing what was expected or what was recorded before.
This snapshot is as useful as a 1/1500th second photo of a Formula 1 race. Extremely detailed, but shows nothing of value.
It simply does not show the starting or end positions or the trending of opinions.

'Absolutely, one didn't want to mix them up with the rest of the rabble.'

You have got to be kidding??

Where does this unqualified arrogance come from?

Are you French?

G:)

Obviously humour is a alien word to you :)

Possibly part of the problem is that unlike a number of other countries, the Great British Public have little or no exposure to military personnel. Apart from television, they wouldn't normally see people of any rank in uniform.
Contrast this with a visit I made yesterday to an air display in SW France. Lots of Growbags as expected but also numbers of uniformed ranks and officers (including a General) mingling and talking with the crowds. It was an excellent opportunity to see them in their environment, displaying military courtesy to one another as they went about their business.
Much the same in the USA. If you live in Washington or near a military base, your commute will be with uniformed personnel.

PS Hope nobody minds a slight drift ref the airshow, most impressive with various Mirage, Alpha variants but the highlight had to be Rafale. I like this video taken at sunset. I think it shows form and function at its best

Strake - thanks - impressive display by an impressive aeroplane - and yes, the atmosphere with the French military at their shows is subtly different from UK

Sad but true. In the good old days we always had at least one aircrew and one groundcrew by the static display to chat with passers by. In a quiet period we could also do them a cuppa and sandwich from the galley;)

Stunning video, Strake. Thanks. :ok:

Fantastic Video Strake.. thanks for that.

I agree with Rigga. These are meaningless numbers without context.

Statistics is a scientific discipline, in the same way that physics, chemistry, astronomy and so forth are.

When I read, listen to, or watch something in the popular media about, say, high energy particle physics, I am interested and I get a feeling of being informed. Actually, all I am getting is the author/producer's take on some more or less relevant, public domain information.

It doesn't mean I have any idea about that particular scientific discipline.

In the same way, when I encounter so called statistics in the media, all I am getting is someone else's take on a bunch of numbers.

Like the majority of the public I know nothing of the science of statistics and so how could those numbers tell me anything?

Rgds SOS

strake makes a very good point - we are still, in this country, suffering from a hangover from the days of the "troubles" when wearing uniform in public was actively discouraged for security reasons. Uniformed servicemen are still an uncommon site on our streets, this is a shame, as you only have to see how many people will turn out for a homecoming parade when troops return from service in Afganistan - they can't all be wives and kids.

Do something about it and wear your uniform with pride off base as often as possible, but please make sure whatever form it takes that it's clean, well pressed, and not half-heartedly covered up by a civvy coat or anorak, as I've seen all too often.

When I go home on leave I find after driving more than a few miles away from a unit. There is no sight or no mention of the armed forces. It is like we live in a parallel universe where the RAF doesn't exist back home. A work colleague once said "I bet they don't even realise we are at war (in Afghanistan)".

LooseNuts wrote;

'Obviously humour is aN alien word to you'

...and obviously proper England isn't your first language...

Anyway, good vid.

Uniform on the Streets?

Agreed but pride isn't going to stop madmen holding machetes and talking to videophones about how their brothers are being hurt every day - I fear there will be more.

G:*