Exactly, and the way we are going will end up with a horribly divisive situation for Defence. Perceived ‘non-core’ roles will be cut from uniform and either made Reserve or contractor posts. The associated duties - Guard, deployments, weekend and extended hours requirements etc will however remain. Therefore you will end up with a smaller and smaller pool of military warfighters getting stitched constantly and a larger pool of limited commitment Reservists and contractors doing the ‘easy’ stuff. Doesn’t sound much like all of one force to me, but I guarantee this is the trajectory because we’ve already started down this route.

We started doing that 25+ years ago.

You can imagine how much further we are down that route then!

Indeed. The greatest indicator that things had gone too far was the forming of the MPGS.

"Which does miss the point that they do deploy on ops"

Yes but better to have 100 fully trained infantrymen than 100 bandsmen who spend half their time on music - I'm sure they do their damnedest but the armed forces are about fighting strength not music

Vendee,

If you’re talking F3, then it was 18 aircraft, not 12, but not the entire manning from both sqns.

Agreed, appears it is to feed the machine.

Strange given how often you hear of shortages of experience and supervision, both on a engineering and aircrew point.

If memory serves, they deploy in ancillary support roles - stretcher barers, drivers etc. I’d rather we kept the 100 fully trained infantrymen closing with and killing the enemy than driving ambulances around. They do have their uses beyond a good bit of pipes and drums, they just aren’t always immediately apparent until they aren’t there to perform them.

Lots of Squadrons is actually forward thinking from someone at MOD.

When the time comes for the next round of cuts, they can easily disband a squadron, whilst sneakily moving the aircraft to those remaining.

The headlines will show that the number of squadrons have been reduced...


(Not that I really believe someone at MOD is capable of forward thinking)

Isn't that fewer sqns?

Do we have 617 personnel?

So things will have got better?

Well that confirms the timeframe for training and deployment to Qatar.

Qatar-U.K. operational squadron to secure skies during World Cup 2022

A joint Qatar-UK operational squadron will play a vital role in securing the skies during the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah has said. The establishment of the joint operational squadron was agreed between the two countries in December last year.

Delivering a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), he said the squadron will ensure "mutual combat readiness, further our joint actions in combating terrorism and advance our strategic efforts towards the stability of our region and beyond". The minister said: "This squadron will also play a vital role in securing our skies during the 2022 World Cup, which despite people's fruitless efforts, will be hosted by Qatar".

He said his current visit to London was aimed at further advancing and solidifying Qatar-UK strategic military-to-military relationship. "We have recently signed a landmark defense cooperation agreement with the UK concerning the purchase of (24) Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. This agreement builds on the historic friendship that joins both nations and further advances the strategic defence partnership that aims to serve our common security objectives."

He said RUSI has been a trusted partner in providing training courses to Qatari diplomats since 2014, and fondly recalled his days in the UK as a trainee fighter pilot. "It was here in the skies above RAF valley in Wales that I flew as a young fighter pilot in training.".......

PN - Depends whether you shop in Tesco or Waitrose. Some time ago Waitrose changed the signs over the small basket tills to "Fewer than x items" from "Less than...."

Waitrose aside, if you can count it, it's fewer. Otherwise less. :sad: