Military delivering fuel
 

Interestingly

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58713770

So a quick trip to Saint Athan and a drive across the parade square to get a HGV3 and qualify you on the Green Goddess has moved on... :E

Strange how the Army can do in 5 days when you can do it on a 4 days civilian course, so is the problem testing and issuing, not the course itself? Do the military still do in house testing?

https://www.easyashgv.co.uk/hgv-training-courses/ce/

Don't worry, this government is still dithering about. By the time they make up their minds, it will all have passed.

So why not the RAF Drivers used to drive and refuel from Bowsers?
Or the Spare Aircraft Refuelers from the Civi Airports?
Both used to handling volatile fuel and their vehicles easily cleaned out for Diesel or Unleaded...

Do the RAF have any bowser drivers these days? Hasn't it all been contractorised long since?

There was an interesting interview with a retired army VSO on Sky this morning addressing the issue of support to the civil powers.

He noted that the previous government up to 2010 (e.g. Labour) had moved to such support being provided from within the civil community under contract - doubtless exactly as you suggest - but since the Conservatives got back int9 office they prefer to use the armed forces.

The problem with that is they seem to fail to understand how small the forces now re and how small a pool of people not required for their primary duties on a day to da6 basis there is - due in no small part of course to having identified all such posts as non-critical and privatised or contracted them out years ago anyway.

Putr gesture politics of course - how far do they think 75 drivers will go spread out across 24 hours and the length and the breadth of the country - 2 in London, 1 each in Manchester, Birmingham, Bath, Bristol etc?

It does not much matter how many drivers the Services can muster and train if there are not spare tankers for them to drive.

N

You'd get more drivers back than that if you just told existing drivers that, in an emergency, those who had contact with someone with Covid didn’t have to isolate unless they had symptoms. It’s not as if they mix with anyone in the cab anyway.

You do not need an HGV to drive on an airport, you get a dispensation on your airport driving licence for them if I remember correctly, remember they are private roads not public.

But it's been like that since the rule changes on 16 Aug :confused:

Stuff - only if you are fully vaccinated.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/corona...nd-what-to-do/

Really? Let's hope that knee jerk reactions like that are not made.

OB

I take it he has not been involved in changing a tanker over from Jet to Avgas, filters done etc and its the mother of all filters, then fill and flush etc

The government will have to be careful they do not have a repeat of the firefighter's strike. Many of the airmen sent to man the Green Goddess fire tenders came back wanting to leave the RAF and become firemen. They had seen what a good job it was and how well paid it was. No doubt many military tanker drivers will discover the same. Plus they will not have to guard the 'camp' on their day off !

I don't think this is possible, it may have changed but additive blending was always done at the point of delivery. A civvy bowser had the main fuel tank and smaller tanks containing the additives. That is why you would see the same tanker at a supermarket and then , soon after, at a regular station. He would pump basic fuel at the supermarket and then blend the additives, detergents etc. when he got to the big name station.

" Call in the Army" is the stock in trade of politicians feeling heat and pressure to do something to avoid seeming powerless / clueless. The efficacy of deploying military resources to address civilian problems is usually questionable, and rarely the most effective or efficient solution to a problem, but is a lever which is available for politicians to pull. No criticism of the military intended or warranted, it is simply a case of horses for courses.
We have world class logistics capability in this country, most of it in the hands of our supermarkets.....

I think it’s true to say that the firemen’s strike got the military a pay rise. The military personnel sent in to replace the firemen over the Christmas period (and obviously not allowed to strike) were on considerably less pay. One of the good things that the Thatcher government did.

I don't seem to recall that pay rise at all! The biggest rise I remember was in 76/77 when we got 17% (and here I shall quote the writing on the Hangar Fire Doors at Tern Hill - 17% of f@ck all is still f@ck all!)

And as a young LAC i think my pay probably went down because of it Rigga

Especially when the food and accommodation charges were adjusted to compensate.

I don’t think Maggie ever "presided" over a fireman's strike???