Top Guns - Inside the RAF

[Chainedtomato]

Tonight channel 4 9pm. First episode focus’ on RAF Lossiemouth and the QRF

Hopefully it’s much the same as the Warship Life at Sea series

[normalbloke]

I’ll watch it, Channel 4 makes me feel it’ll be pants…

[Super Sonic]

Thanks for the reminder, looking forward to this!

[spikep]

It will be trying to make out Lossie is a great place! As none of the RAF staff want to go there and they keep leaving when posted there.

[s2kjock]

spikep said:

As none of the RAF staff want to go there and they keep leaving when posted there.

Why so?

[MrAndyW]

I spent 3 years there in the early eighties. Bloody loved it. A lot of English people hated it and went back to England every weekend. Don’t know why.
I had a MK10 Jag at the time and did lots of shows and went al over Scotland.
I guess some people just don’t want to make the most of their surroundings.
Don’t remember anyone actually leaving the RAF though because of it.

[TheFungle]

s2kjock said:

spikep said:

As none of the RAF staff want to go there and they keep leaving when posted there.

Why so?

Great if you're part of the McMafia, less so if you've moved from Lincolnshire due to 'service need' and your family are still down south.

[Simpo Two]

TheFungle said:

Great if you're part of the McMafia, less so if you've moved from Lincolnshire due to 'service need' and your family are still down south.

Isn't that part of the deal you sign up to when you join?

[rallye101]

TheFungle said:

Great if you're part of the McMafia, less so if you've moved from Lincolnshire due to 'service need' and your family are still down south.

Boom! And here we have the answer.....so its a forces recruitment drive video....

[Tony1963]

Simpo Two said:

Isn't that part of the deal you sign up to when you join?

Two things.

We change as we get older.

The U.K. forces tend to not look after their people very well.

So you’ll have to excuse people for not liking where they’re posted. Probably ok if you’re an officer. Below sergeant… maybe not.


Saying that, I was in the RAF 1981 to 1990, and EVERYONE I knew who went to Lossie had a great time. Make of that what you will, but ‘fun’ was a feature back then, almost wherever you went.

[MrAndyW]

Simpo Two said:

TheFungle said:

Great if you're part of the McMafia, less so if you've moved from Lincolnshire due to 'service need' and your family are still down south.

Isn't that part of the deal you sign up to when you join?

Exactly. Can’t understand people who join the forces and then moan about moving.
My home was Ilfracombe N.Devon. 680 miles each way.

[Slowboathome]

This started well with the pilots then seems to have rapidly deteriorated into yet another reality show about the various 'Characters'. In this episode a member of the catering staff.

[TheFungle]

Simpo Two said:

TheFungle said:

Great if you're part of the McMafia, less so if you've moved from Lincolnshire due to 'service need' and your family are still down south.

Isn't that part of the deal you sign up to when you join?

The crucial part of my sentence is "and your family".

[MrAndyW]

TheFungle said:

Simpo Two said:

TheFungle said:

Great if you're part of the McMafia, less so if you've moved from Lincolnshire due to 'service need' and your family are still down south.

Isn't that part of the deal you sign up to when you join?

The crucial part of my sentence is "and your family".

Fair enough. Was it an unaccompanied tour

[Simpo Two]

TheFungle said:

Simpo Two said:

TheFungle said:

Great if you're part of the McMafia, less so if you've moved from Lincolnshire due to 'service need' and your family are still down south.

Isn't that part of the deal you sign up to when you join?

The crucial part of my sentence is "and your family".

Ah, so the families all need to be posted as well. Not always practical or possible I expect.

[andy97]

“Inside the RAF”, except that one of the pilots featured is actually Royal Navy!

[Slowboathome]

Wow. That got a lot more serious in the final 15 minutes.

I was struck by how alone the pilot was when he was up against the 3 Russian jets. I know there was another NATO plane up there, but it seemed like a huge amount of responsibility weighing on his shoulders.

[TheFungle]

Simpo Two said:

TheFungle said:

Simpo Two said:

TheFungle said:

Great if you're part of the McMafia, less so if you've moved from Lincolnshire due to 'service need' and your family are still down south.

Isn't that part of the deal you sign up to when you join?

The crucial part of my sentence is "and your family".

Ah, so the families all need to be posted as well. Not always practical or possible I expect.

Effectively yes, or you can choose to be a weekend warrior.

Consider this scenario.

Corporal Smith is an aircraft engineer and has completed 2 x four year tours in Lincolnshire working on Typhoon. Upon promotion to Sergeant he is offered Typhoon at Lossiemouth due to there being a shortfall of engineers.

His wife works as a nurse in Lincoln and their 4yr old is shortly to start school, they've also just enjoyed their first Xmas in their new house.

Unsurprisingly, Mrs Smith isn't keen on moving to northern Scotland despite the husband trying to convince her that "everybody loves it once they get there".

What's Corporal Smith to do?

Turn down his hard-earned promotion?

Commute every weekend against the backdrop of an increasingly high op-tempo?

Move the family out of their new home into (likely) poorer quality service family accommodation?

This isn't my scenario but it's far from uncommon. There is no doubt that those who can easily move every 3-4 yrs offer great flexibility but they are becoming increasingly rare these days.

[LotusOmega375D]

Surprised to see a Tornado still in the hangar (about 4 minutes in). They were retired 4 years ago.

[Pyrolysis]

On the flip side I know countless people who have been posted to Lossie from South of the border and fell in love with the place and settled in the area with their families. And likewise, others who hated the place and couldn't wait to leave, almost always unaccompanied though.