An excellent example of the TEAM effort needed to get the sharp end to do the necessary when required. Respect to them all!

And a great Thread with impressive imagery of those days.

PS: Can’t identify a Met Man (sorry, Langley Bastion) and the ATC/BCU Landrovers are clearly well camouflaged!

The Met Man will be attempting to look very civilian, even in NBC gear [incidentally, although Gutersloh did not have a 4-squadron wing as such, we could probably put more up, as the Lightnings were very big squadrons ...... 15 each including a trainer as I recall.]

About 4 years after the OP’s picture was taken, I was at Bruggen as an Air Cadet on a weeks camp. I asked, instead of a days visit to a water theme park type place, could I spend the day with a squadron. My camp commandant asked the question to the right people and I was able to spend the whole day with 9 Squadron (if memory serves me right, the one with the star on the tail?).

Was able to meet so many ground and aircrew, all of whom I was in awe with all through the day, cementing in my mind that I wanted to join the RAF.

Even got to marshall a Tornado in, and the pilot followed EXACTLY my signals, resulting in a very wavy line taken. We all joked about it after though.

My respect to all who have, are and will serve.

It was probably 31 Squadron the "Bruggen Stars" cough cough. as they liked to call themselves :)

In the 80s I worked for a major supplier of test equipment, biggest customers were the defence contractors and air forces for production testing and in-service support test rigs. Tornado was the last platform that needed a reasonable amount of precision analogue measurements, it was on the cusp of the digital processing revolution with most testing moving towards being built-in (BITE) and Line Replaceable Units. We had supplied stacks of precision test equipment for planes and missiles such as Lightning, Buccaneer, Phantom, Jaguar and Harrier plus Sky Flash, Sea Wolf, Sea Dart, Rapier, Sea Eagle etc. mainly on accurately testing analogue computers and guidance control systems.

Happy days - I guess everything with Typhoon, F35, A330 is all LRU replaceable now and simply return to manufacturer for service / repair with nothing done at hangar or depot level?

Yes, that seems right. My memory failed me!

I was wearing NBC3 when I took that picture . Wearing the S10 on the 10pm duty supper "it is dark, we can fire a Scud" inter meal, interupt working life! Put a mask on because one didn't know what was in the bang coming your way. I was out in Telic during 2008. January to May. We had a Major from the Army that was famous for breaking his back in an IDF attack. He shouts his name. I remember the wife of the RAF ATC officer that tried to adminster the morphine to him with the medic that screwed up. Her husband got the dose. I was guard commander with the IDF recovery, a suspect IED form an unlabeled bag left in a place and found by a search party and a female Flt Lt in distress. Please tell me you have ever had to face that situation. I know the answer and that is never. You never have. I heard a man die on a radio net two weeks later when I was trying to see if my men were safe. You have never been in that situation. Maybe that is why I see your words and pay little respect to them.. I sworn on the coin. Wore the uniform.Lived the consequence.

And Chill......... for what it’s worth we are all in this together, every one of us were a cog in the big wheel and as a civilian met working in the RAF LB took exactly the same risks as we all did as to where and what we could end up doing, in fact more so, you didn’t have a choice in the matter, he did.

You seem to forget that, life throws sh*t at you in many ways, and With some people trying to lighten the mood in a thread which is celebrating and degrading an aircraft type I cannot understand your attitude.
If it’s letting out pent up feelings, good, let em out mate and I will read them and understand and applaud you in doing so, but don’t have a go at people that are or have served alongside each other and are simply undertaking some friendly banter. That is wrong, different times different threats...


...

Nutty. guess what, some of us have seen some ****e. I have. Guess what, I am a civvy now. I am pissed off seeing my world ripped to ****. Batison lives in his world. It is not ruined by the **** of now. Yet he rants with the evil retorts of someone that has never faced evil. because he actually has not. Never has. You faced a redundancy in your life? I fuc***g bet you never have. Number 3 in 3 years.

Been made redundant... yes, once, luckily different times and was lucky, redundant Friday when the company folded and had new job sorted Monday and managed to arrange the same for a mate, everyone’s positions are not safe in these times sadly... PM me your details, licences types etc and if I hear anything I’ll let you know, best I can sadly do :(

Just don’t take it out on people in here, it doesn’t do you justice and they do not deserve it.. you have seen far worse than I did, just as others on here will have seen far worse in their careers than you did.. remember that bud and stay strong.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8224dce9a0.jpg
Langley? Done this rubbish? Not you never have . FACT! Nutlosse,done it for real?

Langley would have yes, it was a requirement of his job they were required to do exactly as we did. And he has done absolutely nothing to deserve your wrath.

Have I done it for real, define real, no different wearing that sh*te for 12 hours mask and all on an exercise which I have than in real situations, same goes for sitting in a trench in the pissing rain in the middle of nowhere wearing it. In fact they weren’t dropping anything on you, just as they didn’t on us.

I would say, why go on the offensive when I am offering to help you if I can, I’ve been in the Civi world a while and you get to know people etc.

You really do not know. I have been on Ops with people I have worked with that have died. I have heard them die on the radio net. I have had to comfort their friends the next morning as they are in shock. Not a mid air or a CFIT of our pilot berethen (that I know many names of and friends of). I did the cold war and seen aircrew die. They are heros. They died in aircraft not fit for their skills. Every BOI said no ADR fittied. we all have done 12 hours on a NBC black as a practice. You sat under a 23 IDF rocket in coming with CRAM taking motors out to make that rocket flying over your head fall short? Not you f*cking have not. You do not know and never will . Get you coat..

Now breathe!. Calm down now Cat T; you really are my hero - you've told us all! (including those who tend to keep quiet about it).
:rolleyes:

I get the feeling someone might be waking up with a sore head today...

Hopefully.

Do please calm down CT: please let me educate you a little.
We had Met Men in the Gulf War, as part of the MMU. One was never well again after the jabs. Also Falklands, Balkans, the sand box ....... A colleague died in Cyprus when a crashing aircraft hit the office.
The only reason I joined MoD Met was because the RAF would not have me: medical. I was proud to spend 41 years almost continuously with the services, and ended up paying group captain Mess Bills.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, on a 1BR Corps deployment [we were twinned with Int,, 2 box bodies, 2 Met, 2 Int Corps, each slightly able to do limited duties of the other: [we practised often enough].
I achieved fame for sleeping 8 hours in full NBC which included two tear gas insertions in the box. I had, fair to say, been awake 36 hours and worked 24. Very very near the Warsaw Pact. **** either happens, or not. I got lucky.

And well done you, and thank you.

I promise you not another word on this thread.

Excellent, "that" pic allows me draw your attention (yet again!) to the exceptionally handsome, young GDT Cpl standing front rank, far right with a Shiny II pitot probe in his left earhole.

That photo drags up embarrassing memories of being instructed to "form up" the parade. As you can see by the size of the neat block of people to my right I was completely unsuccessful. The individual who had this mad idea was already unpopular across the station and this act cemented the attitude of all concerned.

RAFG, so much better than anywhere else ;)

I found another for all you Tornado chaps and chapese's, it's from the Fire service https://www.rafanddfsa.co.uk


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....294d191c0d.jpg

Tell us some of your VC10 ‘war stories’ Nutloose, that’ll convince cat techie you have shared his pain.

If anyone has done something, you will have done it with knobs on!