UK Armed forces cuts.
By Memnon
@Memnon (2170)
July 12, 2010 10:43pm CST
This is a topic very close to my heart. It seems that our forces seem to have more commitments than they have had for a long time. Yet they are facing cuts on a near yearly basis.
Last year the government effectively scrapped an RAF squadron to pay for Army helicopters.
We also have 2 new aircraft carriers under construction.
When these two developments are considered, I am wondering about the long term future of the Royal Air Force. Specifically whether we will see it being scrapped altogether, being absorbed in part by the Fleet Air Arm, and the remainder into the Army Air Corps.
I realise that for many of you this topic will be academic, since you do not live in the UK, but I would still like to hear your thoughts.
1 person likes this
3 responses
@ellie333 (21016)
•
13 Jul 10
Hi Memnon, This one is close to my heart too having lost 11 of 40 Commando recently I am well upset right now. It takes years to train disposal officers but they stopped recruiting them back in 2000 and with the losses of some and injuries of others and close pals leaving so short on trained guys to do this job too so it isnot just the RAF it is allthe forces that are suffering. If the government actually stopped spending money on free interprators and sending out paperwork in every language they would save heaps, my mum lives in Spain and if she doesn't speak Spainish has to pay for someone to onher behalf, here everything is available free, free these funds andkeep our forces topped up with the vital equipment and bases they need not close them down. Huggles. Ellie :D
@Memnon (2170)
•
13 Jul 10
Couldn't agree with you more. If you consider what the cost of temporary asylum for illegal immigrants (those that we find), and the court cost of processing them must be, we could buy the right gear first time, instead of penny pinch, get it wrong, and have to replace the cheap stuff.
I'm also not happy about the increased use of civilians for training/ base security (although I was at Tidworth a while)etc, as all these organisations exist to make a profit- when forces personnel could be recruited to do the same at two thirds the cost.
1 person likes this
@boboypete (209)
• Manila, Philippines
13 Jul 10
Though I'm not living in UK but it seems that all of the current events in your country clearly pulled my ears to listen to. I think it will just a normal procedure as part of modernization of the Royal Air Force to put their attention on repairing the damaged one. I am really do not exactly know the right footage of the news, but for me, it seems that it is being repaired as simply as the small damage are handled well. It is possible also to scrapped altogether if the problem generally on the aircraft system would maybe not possible anymore to be fixed. So we would then realize that they do not really care for these stuffs, and the basic thing there is the cost of repairs would be more expensive than the real cost as it was originally purchased... a lot of probable causes to reconsider in this case here. The manpower also, is an additive in the total cost since those expert technicians of air-crafts are really high paid type of jobs so then it affects the whole thing to process until we would see the these are being scrapped altogether... This time, most government should anticipate the money is really hampering the growth of one institution/department/ministry since most of the budget have been restructured due to long running recession period. Who knows one day or the next day, we would ease our burden and the continuous development of the armed forces move on in the UK.
@Memnon (2170)
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13 Jul 10
What concerns me is that the UK is continuously reducing it's armed forces whilst we still keep a disproportionate number of politicians in office.
Based on US representation, we have around 70% more representatives than we need, That alone would have paid for the helicopters that our then chancellor axed, but did not, in favour of keeping MPs expenses high, until our media exposed them.
I would like to see our Parliament reduced by 80%. They have been on the gravy train for too long. Some of them deserve a firing squad. That might seem a harsh comment, but I am earning a little more than 10% of what most of them are, and yet they are moaning at their perks being cut.
I'm aware that in the scheme of things I am not poor, but it galls me to see other people reap so much from a system that was once supposed to be fair.
Thanks for listening to my thoughts, because I know that many countries regard the UK as a military aggressor.
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
13 Jul 10
I know how you feel. We here in the States feel helpless when our Gov. starts making decisions that we know are wrong and we have no voice. You are right, in that I do not know exactly what you are talking about, but I do know that we have had cuts in areas of our military that are just insane. They cut safety gear out and then spend money to bribe the Taliban. This just makes no sense when our sons and daughters are in the line of fire.
It does seem weird to build aircraft carriers and scrap an RAR squadron. Unless these are the wrong planes for a carrier. I was in the US Navy and they did something similar when I was serving. They built a new carrier and didn't have planes to put on it. When it did its first cruise they had to borrow some planes from another carrier so that they could show off the new ship.
Shalom~Adoniah
