RAF cuts

[eFestivals]

It's been all over the news today that the RAF are going to cut 25% of their trainee pilots.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12445321

But don't worry, Dave Moron has a 'Big Society' plan to replace them. He's asking for volunteers to put their arms out-stretched and run around going "rrrrrrrrrrrrr".

[TalkShow Bob]

I guess we dont need the pilots if we dont have the plains/choppers...

[TalkShow Bob]

To be fair, we don't really need an airforce.

[eFestivals]

To be fair, we don't really need an airforce.

Spot on. Or a navy or an army.

[Uncle Liam]

The UK and its attachment to it armed forces remind me of Newcastle United fans.

Look at us, we're a MASSIVE country, one of the biggest in the world. We need an army because everyone is going to attack us.

We had an empire, you know? They dont call us GREAT Britain for nothing.

Its pathetic.

An interesting fact. The UK's army is so big we dont have enough space to keep them all here, we have to send them off to Germany!

Edited February 14, 2011 by Uncle Liam

[Uncle Liam]

Oh, and James Edwards (the guy interviewed on the article) is a c**t as well. "I dont see how there can be an airforce in ten years."

f**k away off you ignorant f**ker.

"I was attracted to the RAF because I want to serve the country and have a purpose. I also thought the job would offer security."

Yup, because flying plane whose main purpose is to destroy things is the ONLY way you can serve your country.

[Uncle Liam]

Oh, and James Edwards (the guy interviewed on the article) is a c**t as well. "I dont see how there can be an airforce in ten years."

f**k away off you ignorant f**ker.

[eFestivals]

An interesting fact. The UK's army is so big we dont have enough space to keep them all here, we have to send them off to Germany!

a long out of date fact. They could fit 3 times the current army into (my home town) Aldershot alone, and used to only about 30 years ago.

[Pogues Mcgogues]

Watched Jim Murphy do a speech at the Labour Youth and Student Conference. He had quite a bit to say on defence in general. He was quite funny too. I've seen him twice now.

Hope he plays Glasto.

[eFestivals]

I don't think this is correct ... Remember, the MoD have sold off tons of quarters and land over the years! As I understand it, and I have no real figures to back this up unfortunately, but the closure of Germany would be impossible now with the current infrastructure in the Uk and the current numbers of personnel.

yeah, it's true in that sense - a lot of what was there to house troops has been knocked down. I don't get to Aldershot very often, but as far as I'm aware they've no sold off much of the land as yet, and on some of those sites they're building new stuff.

[RABun]

Unfortunately we have an ageing population who still remember WWII.

One of my favouriter arguments with my granddad is about defence and the fact that we dont need nuclear deterrents or massive armed forces anymore because we no longer have an empire to defend or are really under any threat that the forces can deal with.

My grandfather always responds by saying if we had no armed forces we'd all be speaking german! we don't know whats coming we could be invaded at any time and where would we be without armed forces then. we need trident so russia doesnt decide to bomb us.

Why would anyone want to hit the uk with a nuclear bomb? we have nothing of any use and without any "defence" we are no threat.

Sit down gently. Read Monday's list of "threats" facing modern Britain, and then read yesterday's list of how the coalition proposes to meet them. Next you should walk to the nearest wall and bang your head against it, hard, until you have counted to £45 billion.

[Jason447]

An interesting fact. The UK's army is so big we dont have enough space to keep them all here, we have to send them off to Germany!

[eFestivals]

That may have been the original reason troops were stationed in Germany ... but the cold war is long gone and it simply was good economy to keep them there.

I don't think that's the case.

I'm pretty sure it costs the army more in all directions to have troops in Germany rather than the UK, and with the massive down-sizing of the army that there's been in the last 20-ish years there'd have been the facilities within the UK to easily re-house them (but not necessarily all at one time).

Alongside that there would have been other costs associated with moving them to the UK - but probably nothing more than similar or greater costs overseas. Of the main UK bases I only know Aldershot, and within the last 20 years a massive number of quarters and barracks there have been demolished because they've reached the end of their practical life; so they'd have needed rebuilding (which has happened or is happening with some of them anyway). But of course the same situation occurs wherever they are stationed, so these sorts of costs even out.

While a lot of what was army in Aldershot has now gone, as far as I'm aware little if any of the land they were occupying has been sold off (tho some has been returned to common land/council). The most major part I can think of that's been sold used to have a horrid 'L' shaped tower block on it (that the squaddies detested as quarters) which is now the site of a Tescos; all the area for the Catering Corp is currently being rebuilt by the Army (I'm guessing as replacement Catering Corp stuff); the base next door (which name I forget, as well as what is there) has expanded quite a bit, the paras barracks over the road from that has been demolished (they've gone to Colchester) but the land was still Army a few months back; across another road (more para barracks, or was 15 years back anyway) is demolished by still army; where the airbourne museum was was still being cleared a few months back but still army, etc, etc etc. In most cases, where stuff is demolished, new - more luxurious - quarters are built, which houses fewer people in a greater amount of space (more in keeping with modern expectations).

But none of this is anything that's a new phenomenon ... Aldershot is littered with various bits of buildings and walls which used to be army but has been sold off or demolished over the years, with those years stretching back at least to the war if not far earlier - much of it was Victorian built, from when the Army moved into Aldershot, amusingly because it was cheap and useless land (it's crap for farming) - nowadays it's close enough to London to be prime land.

Anyway ... there's still enough army there to make it horrible town. I had the tory MP (Howarth, is it?) knock on my door canvassing on Army Day about 15 years back, when he asked me to tell him what I thought could be improved in the town. I said "move the army out", and he said "that's a bit unfair, it's an army town". I pointed at the pub down the road which had squaddies outside on the street pissed & fighting - amusingly just as the pub window smashed - and pointed out that if it had been me and my mates doing the same it would be on the national news and classed as a riot. He mumbled something under his breath and swiftly moved on next door.

The best thing the army has brought to the town is the recent HUGE influx of Ghurkas (thanks Ms Lumley ) - about 7,000 of them ... for the first time in over 20 years a town with around 50,000 inhabitants actually has a green grocers. But the locals are kicking off about them, saying they're gobbling all the local resources.

Anyway, after that history lesson, what the f**k do we need them for? It's all a hang-over from empire, still being used to bully the world into submission of our will (if we can get the yanks to go along with it of course ). I will welcome the day when it goes, along with the huge drop in living standards it will bring to us Brits but to the benefit of others in the world.

[Kowalski]

To be fair, we don't really need an airforce.

[eFestivals]

I'd be interested to hear how we'd go about rescuing British civilians from foreign countries on the brink of civil war?

Well, they could have hired a commercial ferry just as the yanks did, and they could have flown commercial jets without soldiers to pick up oil workers from the desert just as the Chinese did.

And both those countries managed to do those thing quicker than we managed by using our armed forces.

It's not really very difficult, as those two real-life examples show.

[diddly-dee]

Well, they could have hired a commercial ferry just as the yanks did, and they could have flown commercial jets without soldiers to pick up oil workers from the desert just as the Chinese did.

And both those countries managed to do those thing quicker than we managed by using our armed forces.

It's not really very difficult, as those two real-life examples show.

[worm]

I really don't know how much this is going to affect the process of dealing with areas of conflict around the world. They're becoming less proximal, so it would appear that it's a good idea to move away from the sort of military strategy that uses traditional conflict technology. This would naturally include the use of heavily armoured aircraft and such like.

Maybe we could make divisions out of some kind of Terminator or Robocop device.

Edited February 28, 2011 by worm