WEBF,
Aside from the fitness have you learnt to iron shirts and bull shoes yet? (Still can't believe you went to basic training having never done either.)

Easy way to learn with the shoes:
Go to Oxfam, buy an old pair of leather shoes for a pound.
Polish and bull left shoe until its shinier than right shoe.
Polish and bull right shoe until its shinier than left shoe.
Polish and bull left shoe until its shinier than right shoe.
Polish and bull right shoe until its shinier than left shoe.
etc etc until you learn the art of polishing shoes.

Actually I could iron before I went, though I had little experience of putting sharp creases in. Anyway, it was folding it down neatly to A4 size that was more of an issue. As for footwear, I was used to polishing shoes, but not bulling the, I admit I should have practiced before. The shoes were easy enough, the DMS boots even easier, but the combat boots were right f******!
Didn't help that I was using a yellow duster instead of a proper polishing cloth.

As for fitness I am working on that. But as for commitment, my ability to reapply is uncertain at the moment. I do realise the RN does not OWE me a careers, however, most of my actions for the last eleven years have resulted from what they Navy asked/told me to do.

One last thing (I only came on the net to start looking for a job) I have spent nearly twelve years trying to get into the service. During this time I have spent some time in the defence industry - working on naval equipment. I have a number of friends in various parts of the Armed Forces. Before certain folks criticise me for being neither military (which I still would be if it wasn't for unexpected f*** ups) or aircrew (can't be for medical reasons) you might like to consider that one of the main problems for defence is voter apathy, which makes the defence budget an easy target. At least I care!!

wANteD -

nEW Ke2Yb0Rd.

i APpear tO haVE eXceEded tHe dESiG# StREsS L#IIMItS Of thiS 0nE

:mad:

Get back on trackand if you want to attack each other start another thread, this one is about getting carriers into Pompey. Personally if its just a case of dredging the harbour then so be it. They did this back in to fit in the USS Iowa and thats a Battleship of 45,000 tons! Seriously big ship and it obliterated the skyline as it came in the harbour.
Does it make sense to have the CVF in the South West, probably not as the JSF will be based in East Anglia.
Lets give the RN some dignity back as shes been pulled from pillar to post.

Is there any more room left on that new dry dock just off the coast of Australia.

Haven't they moved some of the fleet there already :D :D :D :D

Right, now I've finished my shoes, they're all nice and shiny now, I'm going to offer my opinions.

Where carrier based aircraft are based (when they are ashore) is not strictly relevent to the decision on the basing of the carriers. Remember that the the RN used to have carrier based aircraft based in Scotland, with carriers based on the South coast. Normally aircraft embark/disembark in the channel.

A journalist type friend told me that even before the Sea Harrier decision consideration was being given to keep the Sea Harrier force at Yeovilton due to issues relating to the retention of personnel, not just pilots. Look in the "The FAA is bankrupt...." thread for more on this, including a story from the Telegraph.

Who will fly the Navy's fighters if the government persists in getting rid of the Sea Harrier in a few years? How will the fleet in general retain experience of working with carrierborne fighters? More reasons to keep it in my opinion. This poses a far more serious problem for the CVF programme and the idea of expeditionary warfare that problems with the dockyard.