discussion A sad day. End of an era

[AlanG]

Just found out through a friend of mine in the RAF that my old squadron is going to be disbanded from the 1st June. Spent a very happy time on her whilst based in Germany at RAF Bruggen.

So so long 14 ' Crusader' sqn my old friend and thanks for the memories.

I spread my wings and keep my promise

 

[Guest]

Having never served, I cannot truly know how this feels but I do appreciate the importance in which service men and women, serving or ex, hold their units with respect, regard and fondness. Sad days indeed for all the military.

 

[Guest]

Sorry to hear it Allyne. I am currently seriously worried about that rate at which our military services are being cut, be it Army units and equipment, RAF Squadrons or Aircraft carriers.

An extreemly unpopular opinion I know but for me I would rather see taxes go up than disband the military, hack down the already undermanned Police Force, take money away from the next generations education and reduce the Health Service to an even worse state than it already is. Too many people seem to think that having money in thier pocket to spend on luxuries is more important and they resist increased taxation to support these services but where is it all going to get us? I obviously accept that taxation should be fair and those who can only afford less should pay less but I see far too many instances on a daily basis of people who have more money than they reasonably need and no sense of social responsibility.

 

[AlanG]

Just heard that 13 Sqn at RAF Marham is also being disbanded

 

[yak face]

Sad day indeed allyne, another one bites the dust. Im Totally in agreeance with richard, no matter what it costs we should maintain a strong armed forces, even if it means cutting back on a few other things, tony

 

[Ian M]

Sorry to hear that Allyne.

What about building on of their birds as a little keep sake? I am sure with the personal connection it would be a spectacular piece!

Ian M

 

[AlanG]

Ian. I am already planning a 1/32 Revell GR1 from 14 Sqn to commorate my aircraft that i used to work on (mostly) but unfortunetly crashed. I will also try and find another kit then convert it to a GR4 of 15 Sqn which was my last Tornado sqn that i worked on

 

[Dave W]

I spent 12 years in the mob as an airframe fitter on Phantoms.It was a sad day when they retired the Toom,but at least they were replaced with the (inferior!) Tornado F3.Whats happening now is very worrying.Lets hope it doesnt all end in tears as my mum would say.

 

[Guest]

I was at RAF Cottesmore for most of my time, it shut 2 months ago :emo10:

 

[AlanG]

TTTE became XV® from what i remember didn't it? I did my Tornado training course (part 1) on TTTE before i headed out to Germany

 

[Guest]

That's right, I was long gone by then though

 

[Dave W]

I remember spending two wks at TTTE as a civilian.That was in 1988 just before i went out to Middle East to work on Saudi Tornado's.I dont think they wanted us there.We spent most mornings watching telly in the line hut nursing hangovers from the night before!.

 

[simontie]

a sad day and all to commen at the moment living on the moray coast we have 2 camps under treat of closure - even more ironic or moronic is the amount of money they spent to stop production on the new nimrod and the new buildings they just errected and are still working on! this goverment needs to have a real good hard look at it self

 

[Guest]

I'm still serving, but am due to leave in the summer. It will be a sad day after 25-plus years, but having said that, it's not as sad as what I see being done to the Service I've given all my working life to. The RAF now is less than half the size of the one I joined, with over 30 bases closed since then, and a good 15 aircraft types gone. So long, RAF - I have wonderful memories and experiences to look back on and wouldn't have changed anything. But I fear for your future.

 

[AlanG]

simontie... where abouts in Moray are you?

 

[Guest]

Sorry to go back to TTTE but I recently completed this little tribute to my service days, I'm not very good at aircraft but I just had to have a go when I spotted the decals were available. There's a couple more photo's of it in the gallery