RAF Cuts

**tankie** · 06 Apr 11,, 10:58

Now is it just me or do the govt know something we dont , its not just the RAF but all services yet there are still adds on TV asking for recruitment ??? are we going to see robot wars for real in the future .

Cameron Under Pressure Over Cuts As RAF Chief Says It Is At Breaking Point

By David Maddox

April 06, 2011

Prime Minister David Cameron found himself under pressure from past and present military chiefs over cuts to the RAF, as he made a surprise visit to the base in Italy where British fighter jets operating against Gaddafi’s forces are based.

Mr Cameron went to announce four more Tornados would be deployed but left Britain to headlines about Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton calling for “more investment” in the RAF if it was to continue running the range of operations ministers demand.

Sir Stephen also warned the RAF was “stretched to breaking point”.In parliament yesterday, former military chiefs added their voices to criticisms of the cuts. Lord Stirrup, who stood down as head of the armed forces last year, said spending would have to increase above the rate of inflation after 2015 in order to meet the objectives set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), which was produced on his watch.

**dave lukins** · 06 Apr 11,, 12:19

It's like any other industry. There are always people coming and going hence there will always be recruiting. Sooner or later people leave and move on. In the forces we join as a Squad.. so if 50 people join at the same time, and do our full time, then in a perfect world 50 people will be leaving at the 22 yr stage. Multiply that by all the Squads to all the services in any particular year there will be lots leaving. It's not as simplistic as that but you get the idea.

**tankie** · 06 Apr 11,, 12:43

Very true nuts , but people arent joining because of all the conflicts we r into , yet they r still cutting ?

**Chogy** · 06 Apr 11,, 16:02

Could they be thinking forward to the hopeful delivery of the F-35? Having trained personnel on hand will obviously benefit. The RAF cannot afford to wait until the actual delivery date... that would further delay IOC.

I must say I am a bit surprised at the drawdown, diminishment, of the RAF. I can't think of a People who are more in love with military aviation than U.K. citizens. Plane spotting seems more popular than bird watching.

All a result, of course, of the Battle of Britain.

GB has always emphasized her Navy - justifiably, I think. With a fixed defense budget pie, is the Navy getting a larger slice than she deserves, at the expense of the RAF or Army?

**Jimmy** · 07 Apr 11,, 02:06

Originally Posted by tankie

Very true nuts , but people arent joining because of all the conflicts we r into , yet they r still cutting ?

This is always a hot-button issue in the USAF...once again, we're cutting personnel due to budget constraints.

On the surface, it seems ridiculous that you'd keep recruiting while you force out the experienced folks that you've already invested time and money in. Seems like you just cut recruiting by 75% for a couple of years, right? That'll actually leave a rank gap in the lower ranking officer and enlisted corps. You have to keep your Lts as Lts and your Pvts as Pvts, because otherwise you have none left and you have too many Capts and Sgts. Then you restart recruiting at normal levels. Fast forward a couple of years, and now your rank gap has crept up. Now you have field grade officers (Maj-Col) and SNCOs, but no Capts or Sgts, then you've got a bunch of Pvts with no direct supervision. This is simplified, but the concept is there...and it gets exponentially worse the more you let it go.

It's not just pure numbers, it's the right BALANCE. What really starts to blow my mind is how they try to predict this stuff 10-15 years in advance, so they have enough high ranking officers and SNCOs but not too many for the number of lower ranking folks they expect. Witchcraft, I say!