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British Military Current Events

IIRC, an RAF pilot hasn’t had a combat air-to-air kill since 1945 unless seated in an RN Sea Fury or Sea Harrier. So yeah, maybe a bit over confident.
Well, there was that RAF Phantom pilot that shot down a RAF Jaguar on exercise in Germany in 1982 because they brought live Sidewinders on a training event. The Jaguar pilot successfully ejected.
 
IIRC, an RAF pilot hasn’t had a combat air-to-air kill since 1945 unless seated in an RN Sea Fury or Sea Harrier. So yeah, maybe a bit over confident.
Now , now we try not to talk about these things you know how depressed and moody the RAF get.
They'd much rather talk about how they were the ONLY thing that prevented the Nazis fro invading Britain in 1940. Or how they won the War by Bombing Germany.
 
Aren't a bunch of them flying for the Chinese now?

Sorry Not Sorry Omg GIF by Dash Home Loans
 
Well it looks like the Brits are also having some problems with defence procurement. A UK House Committee looking into the issue just released its report. Haven't had a chance to read the full report, but here is an extract from the Executive Summary:

We have discovered a UK procurement system which is highly bureaucratic, overly stratified, far too ponderous, with an inconsistent approach to safety, very poor accountability and a culture which appears institutionally averse to individual responsibility. We agree with the previous conclusions of the Public Accounts Committee from November 2021 that our procurement system is indeed “broken”. We believe the system is now in need of major, comprehensive reform.

Full report can be downloaded here.
 
Well it looks like the Brits are also having some problems with defence procurement. A UK House Committee looking into the issue just released its report. Haven't had a chance to read the full report, but here is an extract from the Executive Summary:



Full report can be downloaded here.

Not the only points of commonality

 
A mix of other countries' crewmembers aboard this RAF aircraft.




A Royal Air Force Voyager has been Tested in Multiple Roles During Pacific Air Exercise​

A Royal Air Force Brize Norton based Voyager aircraft has lived up to its designation as a Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft during Exercise Mobility Guardian 23 in the western Pacific.

The Voyager aircraft, operated by three crews from Nos 10 and 101 Squadron, initially deployed to Eielson Airbase in Alaska with a passenger compliment of 72. On arrival at Eielson, the passengers disembarked, to allow more fuel to be taken on board, therefore maximising Voyager’s capabilities as a tanker.

The Voyager, now with as much fuel as possible, taking it to its maximum take-off weight, then rendezvoused with an RAF Brize Norton based A400M Atlas over northern Alaska, which was flying non-stop to Guam to also take part in the exercise. After fuel transfer the Voyager then climbed to allow a flight at maximum fuel efficiency, before again rendezvousing with the Atlas over the Aleutian Islands in the Pacific, to transfer more fuel to allow the Atlas to complete its flight from the UK to Guam.

RAF air mobility exercise 1.jpg

A Royal Air Force Brize Norton based Voyager aircraft has lived up to its designation as a Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft during Exercise Mobility Guardian 23 in the western Pacific.

The Voyager then returned to Eielson to collect the passengers again before carrying on to Guam to join the exercise. The Voyager had therefore carried out two of its principal roles, namely strategic long-range Air to Air Refuelling and passenger transportation.

On arrival at Anderson Air Force Base, the Voyager was quickly deployed on its first exercise sortie, a tactical Air to Air Refuelling task, where the RAF aircraft fuelled US Navy F/A-18’s, EA-18’s, US Marine Corps F-35B’s and French Air and Space Force Rafales as part of a concurrent exercise that is also running alongside the US Air Mobility Command run Ex Mobility Guardian.

A Royal Air Force Brize Norton based Voyager aircraft has lived up to its designation as a Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft during Exercise Mobility Guardian 23 in the western Pacific.

Squadron Leader Mike Willers, the RAF Voyager detachment commander on the exercise said: “This is an extremely important exercise for the Voyager Force as it is rare for us to be able to exercise the many roles the aircraft can carry out due to the high operational tempo of the Force. The training benefit to the Voyager Force personnel deployed on the exercise is therefore vital.”

During the first week of the exercise the Voyager has been integrated into a fleet of tanking aircraft from the USAF, French Air and Space Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force to conduct fast jet Air to Air Refuelling over the western Pacific. These sorties support various exercises that test all participants in scenarios that are designed to overcome the ‘The Tyranny of Distance’. For the RAF Voyager crews, this means extended flights at significant distances from land masses in a remote location to conduct tanking operations and the opportunity to work with aircraft from partner nations.

RAF air mobility exercise 2.jpg

A Royal Air Force Brize Norton based Voyager aircraft has lived up to its designation as a Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft during Exercise Mobility Guardian 23 in the western Pacific.In addition to passenger carrying and conducting Air to Air Refuelling, the Voyager has been fitted to carry out Medical Evacuation sorties, another of the roles the aircraft is designed to do. Prior to departure, from RAF Brize Norton, part of the passenger compartment was outfitted to carry out this role on the exercise. This included the first fit of two high dependency units.

For the second week of the exercise the Voyager has deployed to Japan to conduct simulated Strategic Aero Medical Evacuation drills in a Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Response scenario. For these exercise serials, RAF personnel from the Tactical Medical Wing are being joined by medical personnel from Canada, New Zealand, Japan and the United States Air Force to carry out medical drills on board the aircraft.

RAF air mobility exercise 3.jpg

A Royal Air Force Brize Norton based Voyager aircraft has lived up to its designation as a Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft during Exercise Mobility Guardian 23 in the western Pacific.

During these serials Tactical Medical Wing personnel have been exercised in maintaining the simulated casualties’ condition, some of which, occupied stretchers and two patients being maintained at the high dependence stations the aircraft had been equipped with.

The two week exercise concludes on the 21 July and the RAF detachment will return to the UK via Alaska.
 
Saw someone do that with gun tape...they were in need of light duties for several days after as several layers of skin came off with the tape :rolleyes:

I was a moleskin/2nd skin guy myself. And also of the Friar's Balsam generation.

The most unusual application of gun tape that I saw was a senior NCM who taped the crack of his ass because his wife had harangued (threatened?) him about skid marks on his underpants. This soldier (PPCLI), who had a reputation as a stern disciplinarian, was terrified by his wife. I only became aware of it when he asked for "some cream" to apply to his "diaper rash". It was not a pretty sight. We had been on ex a few weeks and he had reapplied the tape several times by then with the expected result. I've seen long term decubitus ulcers that looked better.
 
I was a moleskin/2nd skin guy myself. And also of the Friar's Balsam generation.

The most unusual application of gun tape that I saw was a senior NCM who taped the crack of his ass because his wife had harangued (threatened?) him about skid marks on his underpants. This soldier (PPCLI), who had a reputation as a stern disciplinarian, was terrified by his wife. I only became aware of it when he asked for "some cream" to apply to his "diaper rash". It was not a pretty sight. We had been on ex a few weeks and he had reapplied the tape several times by then with the expected result. I've seen long term decubitus ulcers that looked better.

Wives complaining of skid marks is a common thing. At the BBQ that I was hosting, while we were living in the PMQs in Petawawa, the wives got together and started going off about skid marks while doing the laundry. Meanwhile us, men gathered around the BBQ, looked rather puffed and proud and we begun boasting who had the biggest skid mark. Of course this promptly brought about a rather stern scolding from the wives which made us feel rather chasten.

By the way, I'm a moleskin and 2nd skin user too and natural fibre socks.
 
I was a moleskin/2nd skin guy myself. And also of the Friar's Balsam generation.

The most unusual application of gun tape that I saw was a senior NCM who taped the crack of his ass because his wife had harangued (threatened?) him about skid marks on his underpants. This soldier (PPCLI), who had a reputation as a stern disciplinarian, was terrified by his wife. I only became aware of it when he asked for "some cream" to apply to his "diaper rash". It was not a pretty sight. We had been on ex a few weeks and he had reapplied the tape several times by then with the expected result. I've seen long term decubitus ulcers that looked better.
Like/liked moleskin if used properly, with a good bit of Hypafix over to keep in place. Friar's was falling out of favour in my young days, though have used it on me once - neighbours in my Calgary apartment must have thought my wife was flaying me. I did find it quite useful as an aromatic for steaming my sinuses prior to irrigators coming on the market, as well as an adhesive.

As for your Patricia, I wasn't sure if I should laugh or gawp in horror, or both TBH.
 
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