Tweet
I have had an interest in the Irish Air Corps for as long as I can remember, blame the uncle who put me in the cockpit of 162 [now the Grace Spitfire] when I was barely able to walk, I would love to say I have watched it grow and develop but, I have sadly to admit that that has not been the case.
Now, don't get me wrong, despite some stories I have heard , which are appalling in their stupidity ,not being repeated here for various reasons [admin, not flying], there are many dedicated people in Bal', who are doing their best, despite clueless management within Bal', the DoD, the government and the bean counters.
The current reality of the Air Corps is that in my opinion, it is little more then a waste of time and money. And now the discovery of oil on the south coast has heightened the problem.
So, what should be done?
Stressing that this is my own opinion, but based on ideas shamelessly plagiarized from other people, from inside and outside this site, indeed inside and outside this state, I believe that we face one of two choices:
[A] Either disband the entire organization, and let the NS and the Army operate the assets they need from it.
[B]Fix the damn thing. This would be difficult, and complicated, this is some of the things that might be done [This is by no means an exhaustive list]:
[1] Subject the service to a new and separate independent audit, done by people that know what they are talking about, i.e. not bean counters, not civil servants with questionable agendas.
[2] Ensure that whatever conclusions /recommendations that are made are carried out, no cherry picking as happened with price-waterhouse and the white paper.
[3] Find a reasonable budget to run proper Military Air Service using military equipment, not half baked civil equipment that looks well in a coat of green paint.
[4] Engage a PR consultant, preffably an exer, not necessarily ours, to make sure the people of this country know what their money is being spent on and why it's being spent. P.R. is vital in this day and age. When I was a brat our heroes were the likes of Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, nowadays it's 2 talentless tossers from Lucan with stupid haircuts.
[5]Redesign Bal' to meet the demands of a 21 century Air Service, Demolish everything apart from the dining hall, Church, the tower, hanger 5 and the best 1917 hanger [which if possible should be restored to original condition for the museum, the whole hanger, not half, as they have now, the money for this should come from the LOTTO fund, not from DoD]. One large hanger facing directly onto the ramp should be enough, using Hanger 5 as a service/repair area. While we are at a rebuild, extend the accommodation to take all the units from McKee and CBB and any other personal as necessary.
[6] Other considerations which might be implemented, and would help are a better road entrance, a bigger aircraft arming berm, Fuel hydrants on the ramp, and a proper staff and public car park.
NOW THE REALLY DIFFICULT AND IMPORTANT POINTS.
[7] Identify and establish a role[s] for the Air Corps, the foundation is already there, The DF is customer driven, the customer is the Government, on behalf of the Taxpayer but the Air Corps is slightly different, it's ''customers'' are the 2 other services. These are the people who should set the role[s].
There are only 3 roles for the Air Corps, in no particular order; Combat support, troop transport and ISTAR. They should have no other fixed roles apart from emergencies, by emergencies I mean natural or man-made disasters, not some TD wanting to go to a wine and cheese reception in downtown Paris. Goodbye Garda, goodbye air ambulance/HEMS. [Conditional; HEMS, now established should be retained until a properly funded public/private service is deployed to replace it.]
[8] But in order to carry out these roles, something else is needed, something which is missing from many aspects of Irish society and Irish public service. The Air Corps needs to establish a backbone, in common modern Irish yuck speak, THE IRISH AIR CORPS NEEDS TO GROW A PAIR OR BECOME PART OF THE HISTORY OF THIS STATE.
In order to do this, an esprit de corps must be made, an ethos has to be established, the Air Corps must become the best Military Air Support unit in the world. Using this as a reference:
http://people.exeter.ac.uk/acking/Papers/RMethos4.doc, supplied to me by a fellow member of IMO who is remaining anoymous, this is where I would start:
The new White paper must send them overseas as The Air Corps.
Flying officers must be allowed to concentrate on flying duties.
No admin duties while assigned to fly.
A formal process must be put in place to enable any OR who is capable and wishes to, to be able to pursue flying qualifications even as air-crew.
All Officers and OR’s must be trained as infantry to a useable standard.
All staff must face a compulsory deployment during the summer months: Glen , Curragh, Cork, Shannon, European air show circuit, the reason is simple: So that every beach, every reserve camp, every significant summer event sees them, clocking up the hours, and becoming as familiar to the public as [spew] jedward.
Apart from that learning to live rough is easier to learn in the summer[well what passes for a summer in this rain soaked rock].
If someone in HQ wants a trio of troop transports parked halfway up Errigal for a weekend then the Air Corps should have no trouble doing it.
They should have comfortable tents and reasonable food but should be out in what one would class as Disaster relief/combat conditions, they would have to survive on what one aircraft can carry for them.I am not expecting infantry conditions for them but some common sense is needed.
The new motto must be the 3 ‘’A’’s Anytime, Anything, Anywhere.
Three new levels of aspiration;
[1] NCO’s can become Pilots.
[2] Pilots can win themselves a season on the display team.*
[3]The best of the pests get a deployment to America to learn to operate F-18’s+
* Display team, the one I would get Bord Failta/National Lottery to pay for
+ suggested practical/useful example only, this is speculation; nothing is etched in rock ....yet!
Ok, my fireproof suit is on, fire away......
Now, don't get me wrong, despite some stories I have heard , which are appalling in their stupidity ,not being repeated here for various reasons [admin, not flying], there are many dedicated people in Bal', who are doing their best, despite clueless management within Bal', the DoD, the government and the bean counters.
The current reality of the Air Corps is that in my opinion, it is little more then a waste of time and money. And now the discovery of oil on the south coast has heightened the problem.
So, what should be done?
Stressing that this is my own opinion, but based on ideas shamelessly plagiarized from other people, from inside and outside this site, indeed inside and outside this state, I believe that we face one of two choices:
[A] Either disband the entire organization, and let the NS and the Army operate the assets they need from it.
[B]Fix the damn thing. This would be difficult, and complicated, this is some of the things that might be done [This is by no means an exhaustive list]:
[1] Subject the service to a new and separate independent audit, done by people that know what they are talking about, i.e. not bean counters, not civil servants with questionable agendas.
[2] Ensure that whatever conclusions /recommendations that are made are carried out, no cherry picking as happened with price-waterhouse and the white paper.
[3] Find a reasonable budget to run proper Military Air Service using military equipment, not half baked civil equipment that looks well in a coat of green paint.
[4] Engage a PR consultant, preffably an exer, not necessarily ours, to make sure the people of this country know what their money is being spent on and why it's being spent. P.R. is vital in this day and age. When I was a brat our heroes were the likes of Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, nowadays it's 2 talentless tossers from Lucan with stupid haircuts.
[5]Redesign Bal' to meet the demands of a 21 century Air Service, Demolish everything apart from the dining hall, Church, the tower, hanger 5 and the best 1917 hanger [which if possible should be restored to original condition for the museum, the whole hanger, not half, as they have now, the money for this should come from the LOTTO fund, not from DoD]. One large hanger facing directly onto the ramp should be enough, using Hanger 5 as a service/repair area. While we are at a rebuild, extend the accommodation to take all the units from McKee and CBB and any other personal as necessary.
[6] Other considerations which might be implemented, and would help are a better road entrance, a bigger aircraft arming berm, Fuel hydrants on the ramp, and a proper staff and public car park.
NOW THE REALLY DIFFICULT AND IMPORTANT POINTS.
[7] Identify and establish a role[s] for the Air Corps, the foundation is already there, The DF is customer driven, the customer is the Government, on behalf of the Taxpayer but the Air Corps is slightly different, it's ''customers'' are the 2 other services. These are the people who should set the role[s].
There are only 3 roles for the Air Corps, in no particular order; Combat support, troop transport and ISTAR. They should have no other fixed roles apart from emergencies, by emergencies I mean natural or man-made disasters, not some TD wanting to go to a wine and cheese reception in downtown Paris. Goodbye Garda, goodbye air ambulance/HEMS. [Conditional; HEMS, now established should be retained until a properly funded public/private service is deployed to replace it.]
[8] But in order to carry out these roles, something else is needed, something which is missing from many aspects of Irish society and Irish public service. The Air Corps needs to establish a backbone, in common modern Irish yuck speak, THE IRISH AIR CORPS NEEDS TO GROW A PAIR OR BECOME PART OF THE HISTORY OF THIS STATE.
In order to do this, an esprit de corps must be made, an ethos has to be established, the Air Corps must become the best Military Air Support unit in the world. Using this as a reference:
http://people.exeter.ac.uk/acking/Papers/RMethos4.doc, supplied to me by a fellow member of IMO who is remaining anoymous, this is where I would start:
The new White paper must send them overseas as The Air Corps.
Flying officers must be allowed to concentrate on flying duties.
No admin duties while assigned to fly.
A formal process must be put in place to enable any OR who is capable and wishes to, to be able to pursue flying qualifications even as air-crew.
All Officers and OR’s must be trained as infantry to a useable standard.
All staff must face a compulsory deployment during the summer months: Glen , Curragh, Cork, Shannon, European air show circuit, the reason is simple: So that every beach, every reserve camp, every significant summer event sees them, clocking up the hours, and becoming as familiar to the public as [spew] jedward.
Apart from that learning to live rough is easier to learn in the summer[well what passes for a summer in this rain soaked rock].
If someone in HQ wants a trio of troop transports parked halfway up Errigal for a weekend then the Air Corps should have no trouble doing it.
They should have comfortable tents and reasonable food but should be out in what one would class as Disaster relief/combat conditions, they would have to survive on what one aircraft can carry for them.I am not expecting infantry conditions for them but some common sense is needed.
The new motto must be the 3 ‘’A’’s Anytime, Anything, Anywhere.
Three new levels of aspiration;
[1] NCO’s can become Pilots.
[2] Pilots can win themselves a season on the display team.*
[3]The best of the pests get a deployment to America to learn to operate F-18’s+
* Display team, the one I would get Bord Failta/National Lottery to pay for
+ suggested practical/useful example only, this is speculation; nothing is etched in rock ....yet!
Ok, my fireproof suit is on, fire away......
Comment