I hope that you all turned out waving your little flags and gave that nice Mr Cameron a nice friendly reception........as he put the world right in front of the telly on the Hoe........you lucky people........isn't it his government that are slashing the armed forces to pieces and stretching them to breaking point......how dare he even turn up in front of them.......they need leadership and support not their arms tied behind their backs and be expected to still do the same job. I hope that you gave him the respect that he deserved........a rotting egg or two would have been a srart.
Ummm isn't it successive governments that have slashed the Armed Forces Plymborn? I read somewhere that when the Queen was crowned there were 300 ships in the Navy. Now there are ....... 79 in all, of which only 19 are destroyers & frigates. It wasn't this Government that committed us to 2 aircraft carriers of the wrong type and consequently the wrong type of aircraft, which will hamper both land and sea based aviation for a generation. It wasn't this Government that ordered the Nimrod MR4 in 1997 and spent £3.6 billion on a completely botched project. The cost of buying equivalent aircraft from the Americans is £1 billion at today's prices. It wasn't this Government that produced Chinook HC3's which could only fly in daylight and good weather when they were originally intended for Special Forces use..... It wasn't this Government whose Chief Secretary to the Treasury who left a note on his desk saying ''I'm afraid to tell you there's no money left'". People who live in glass houses......
It sounds so simple notDistant.....but isn't it so called experts that advise Governments the way forward.
Ministers are ultimately responsible. I am interested in aviation so probably I know more than most [i.e. I'm a geek] but I'm by no means an expert. I won't bore you to tears with the detail it [unless you persist], but believe, me the 3 decisions I mentioned were clearly foolish from the minute they were taken to anyone who knows even a little about the subject.
Better that than just spotty greenarmy. All Governments since Maggie disappeared have given the forces a kicking. I'm not an expert on anything except pasties by the way. I can't understand what was wrong with the Harrier. I saw one of those close up at Dartmouth being shown off to the Officers Under Training and put through it's paces. WOW!!!!! Land on a sixpence and take off from a plate. Wouldn't matter what kind of Carrier we had with those.
amazing how we can afford all those squaddies at the jubilee celebrations, trooping the colour, ceremonial bands etc etc yet are stretched to breaking point in conflict situations
They all go at some point milton and it's the ones in between who do the ceremonial bits. They can't be on tour in Afganistan and places like that permanently. Armed forces day on the Hoe in Plymouth was a great spectacle and well worth the effort.
