RAF memories

canberra;67994 wrote:

Some of you may remember exercise LIONHEART in 1984. I was at Gutersloh and we were heavily involved. SROs had an entry a couple of weeks before hand saying that for the fortnight of the exercise the Sergeants mess bar, NAAFI and Maolcolm club woulld only be open 1900-2200. But that the Officers mess bar would be open 1700-2200. And furthermore during the four day minival there would be no delivery of mail to sections. As you can imagine that caused a bit of an uproar! Luckily the CO got involved andthe Officers mess bar hours were changed to the same as the Sergeants mess and NAAFI, and mail was still delivered during the minival.

I was at Swinderby when Lionheart kicked off..the was another big exercise around 86 when I was at Kinloss & loads of recruits doing their trade training were sent up to various camps to 'supplement the guardforce (see cannonfodder)
Sorted,it was Ex Brave Defender in late 85.
You might like this vid from Lionheart;

My old Squadron!!!!!!!!!!!! I was posted from them to the tower at Gutersloh a few months before LIONHEART. The other exercise your on about was called BRAVE DEFENDER, and IMHO it was a completely stupid exercise from the RAFs point of view. Especially when a station has been declared NBC black and intruders are running around in normal clothing!

canberra;69104 wrote:

My old Squadron!!!!!!!!!!!! I was posted from them to the tower at Gutersloh a few months before LIONHEART. The other exercise your on about was called BRAVE DEFENDER, and IMHO it was a completely stupid exercise from the RAFs point of view. Especially when a station has been declared NBC black and intruders are running around in normal clothing!

We had the US Marines & Navy fly into Kinloss & take over the security & running of the SSA where the 'Nuke's would be kept.Driving around the area by the bomb dumps was bloody scary as half the yanks had live ammo!
I remember one night we were sitting in the bomb dump office,all in the goon gear while the Torpy techs were in the dump on prep work & the was a knock at the door,Our Chiefy goes to the hatch & looks out,no one there.knock again..looking down he sees a shortarse standing there with an umpire.
So Chiefy lets them in,only for us to be told we were all dead.Apparently the shortarse was SAS or something & for the past while,they'd been in the main ESA & painted 'X' on all the igloo's,bunkers & prep sheds unseen by anybody working in there.
We were 'dead' for six hours...

I was killed on a Harrier force field exercise for 8 hours, brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!! NBC suit off, good wash and six hours kip. I was upset when I was re-born!

And I should have said that the son of the officer being interviewed was a creamy QFI at Cranwell when I was there.

canberra;58589 wrote:

I reguarly worked a 15 hour shift, and Ive worked this morning!

Just picked this up, trawling through. You know what they say, mate, don't join up if you can't take a joke.

guzzi;69199 wrote:

Just picked this up, trawling through. You know what they say, mate, don't join up if you can't take a joke.

Just remember, mate, some of us were National Service and didn't have an option, we were conscripted.

Robin.

Robin;69209 wrote:

Just remember, mate, some of us were National Service and didn't have an option, we were conscripted.

Robin.

I need stronger glasses,I read that as "we were constipated"....

Robin;69209 wrote:

Just remember, mate, some of us were National Service and didn't have an option, we were conscripted.

Robin.

Can you say, hand on heart, that you didn't enjoy every minute?

Hi Guzzi.

To let you know the score. This was October 1960, I was 21, had just finished a 6 year apprenticeship, and had no reason to sign on as a Regular, my pay was 27 shillings and sixpence a week, I was 200 miles from home, so the only way of getting home regularly was to thumb up the M1. So what do you think. I had to make the best of it because I couldn't get out, so I 'enjoyed' myself for 2 years. I did meet some great blokes, got to fly in a Canberra, and have got some good times to look back on. So what do you think.

Robin.