my lad is 17 and still training in the raf, but, it has brought home to all around us what a fantastic job you guys n gals are doing and that your not being properly cared for when you are willing to lay down your lives for the government that sent you all out there.  its disgusting.  The money they are wasting by dishing it to other sectors in this country and for unaccountable reasons makes me sick to the stomach when they should be concentrating on our troops welfare and safety. 

It's quite interesting to see people complaining about the lack of equipment etc and when my son went to afghan he bought a lot of his own kit as it was far better quality than army issue. On the flip side he was bored between tours and joined every club he could. In the end he was soldiering for 1 day per week and spent the other 4 days playing army golf, skiing, boxing, swimming and potholing. All at the Army's expense of course including flying all over the world. 

Maybe if they sent an independent auditor in they'd realise how many billions  the army throws down the toilet every year and they'd be able to afford better kit!!

                                                                                                                                                                             

Maybe with a correctly equipped forces we would not have lost so many and it would be over sooner?                                                                                                                                                                              

Dunno how your young un managed to get all that in mate I have had two adventure training weeks in 22 years...one was supposed to be a dream diving expedition...of the east coast of Africa....we ended up diving of exmouth near sewage out lets.....   second was a parachuting course...we payed for most of it our selfs....ended up getting ground trainined the one static line jump...the rest we had to pay for ourselfs.....   Adventure training is to promote physical and mental fitness and group cohesion away from a military environment it is good and brings out the skills of of future leaders(Nco's)....the army and airforce have a big budget for it and good for them, we do a very stressful job in appalling conditions these trips break up the monotony of these deployments so for once we get somewhere nice without someone trying to kill you.....   remember you go do your 8- 4 or 9 - 5 jobs go home and enjoy your weekends....no one is getting you up at O crack sparrow fart and speed marching you in full kit or yomping over mountains until the you are so tired and exhuasted the average person would have given up in the first few miles, if he even made it that far.....we deploy for 6 months thats 24 hours a day...with shit food ...few comforts and and in some enviroments an enemy twiching to kill us.... there is no time of, even before we go for 2 months we are training non stop...so thats 8 months 24hrs a day as many hours as it takes no 9 -5...I'd say if we can get a few trips or games to build team skills or enhance knowledge or leadership...its worth it......   now go think about the 14 billion over spend on the Euro fighter BY CIVILAINS WORKING FOR MOD...who get bonuses just for being in that job not for being any good...   RANT Complete...                                                                                                                                                                             

Johnny it wasn't adventure training it was official 'Army Teams' fully funded by guess who  

I forgot to mention he was also on the 'official' fishing team and travelled all over Europe fishing various matches. He had no real interest in any of these activities but he knew he could get away with it!

I've got loads of pics of him skiing in Switzerland, Italy and Austria as well as a safari in Kenya for two weeks that was called 'desert training' ready for Afghanistan. The pics of him and his mates on the lash every night defy belief!

I must add before he decided to leave he was a dedicated soldier and mechanic in the REME and had some tough times too and saw things that would make anybody with an ounce of decency cringe!

As far as the Euro fighter over spend goes I think you hit the nail on the head when you said 'working for the MOD'. It wouldn't happen in the private sector as companies are accountable for their spending!!

I used to run a cherry picker hire company and Catterick Garrison was our gold mine! Double the hire rates and never questioned!!!

Not a RANT, but complete... 

                                                                                                                                                                             

I went skiing a while back but had to pay most of the trip ourselves we had a civilianised transit van our own kit and drove from arbroath.....we got food allowance not a lot and we did get the fuel and tolls paid for....... we got there the army had a team there latest goretex skiing kit and ski's all paid for and they didn't have to contribute a penny...but about wastage   Well mate you go buy a draper hammer down town.....say £5.... pusser (Naval term) MOD will pay £40 for it.....any company who has contracts with MOD kicks the arse out of it, around Jan all departments spend money on complete shit to use up and over spend on budget incase they get cut in the next financial year   .....but at the same time RK if your saying its wrong for your lad to be funded to do his jollies   (and believe me I have never had that oppertunity and know not of anyone in the marines who has had that much jollies around the world)   do you not think it is wrong to charge double rates knowing the 'funded by guess who'. Double standard there. Not a criticism mate I would if it was my firm...... we are all creatures of habbit if we can get it, its ok....and I wish I had all that trips I would have enjoyed my last 5 -6 years a little more...its just human nature to take what we can get and if its government funded we think well why not .....   ........as we type this there is a boiler alarm been doing my nut in all afternoon, it goes of regularly...WHY hasn't it been fixed.??????..well the civilian company that does all the work finish at lunch time on a Friday...everytime one of their enginners is called out they get extra pay for it especially in un social hours...wanna bet it gets fixed tonight in the massive extra money time.....you'd think after months and months of this call outs it would be cheaper to fix it?....yeah but it pays the company not to put the effort in to ensure it never goes off...   Watch despatches on line CH4 mate and then you'll see all that is pitance compared to the squandering of money in the big picture                                                                                                                                                                                 

I totally agree johnny and yes it's deffo double standards on my part but like you say that's business and it would be foolish to turn opportunity away.

I do think it was ridiculous that the army could be used for a 12 month holiday but better that than my son being miserable waiting to get out and as a father that would also be foolish to see him suffer.

Pat on the bike for him though for quickly learning how to play the system! 

As I said if the government were to introduce a team of private accountancy auditors & buyers, then involve people like you that's in the know, I'd bet you could find a spare billion in the first twelve months and if the money was redistributed within the forces it could be used to buy better gear and up the pay for new recruits to make it more attractive.

That way budgets stay the same but capability improves, only my opinion though mate.                                                                                                                                                                             

I totally agree, they do have a bunch of auditors ....they call the LEAN TEAM... a standing joke ...a bunch of (surprise surprise) WO1's(Warrant Officers) who should have been career over but kept on for an extra 5 or 10 year extensions (jobs for the 'old boys network') who have been so far removed from the front line duty of being on the bottom rung that there reality of what really needs cutting is agin generated on the old boys network.....   these jobs like the similair ones in government, instead of some old fart appointed by the government in some 2- 3 million quango review board as the term became shoul instead be staffed by a young switched on team selected from the coal face the actual front line staff.....the same should be for procurment as well instead some asshole officer who is gonna do for his particular branch instead of what is really needed......if this were the norm we wouldn't have these massive over runs on cost and we would have the correct equipment were and when its nedded and not be getting it rammed in the ass from these over priced defence contractors...but hey thats just my opinion I'm at the coal face and hate seeing the way the MOD wastes good money time after time ...... not on the little things bu the large contracts etc...its time to say enough is enough ...this is your estimate a 10% overrun because of unforseen circumstances ok we accept .....but as for that 50% 60% 150% no mate sorry...your fault your cost sort it out, you wouldn't accept it as a private employer so why should we accept it as a public employer.......end it now                                                                                                                                                                             

That's exactly what I was saying johnny. A team of independant private auditors working with front line 'soldiers'. Sack the 'hanger onners' and use the money to solve the problem

I'm sure it won't be that simple but at least it would be a start in the right direction!

By the way I did mean a pat on the back for my son. A pat on his bike would just be wrong!!                                                                                                                                                                              

pmsl