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No Role for the Air Corps says Minister for Defence in SAR
For all the talk, the AC are showing themselves - yet again - to be absolutely desperate to do anything other than dealing with dirty wet soldiers in fields and having their dirty wet equipment in the AC's nice clean helicopters.
SAR, HEMS, Bog measuring - anything but any role they could be construed as a military role...
For all the talk, the AC are showing themselves - yet again - to be absolutely desperate to do anything other than dealing with dirty wet soldiers in fields and having their dirty wet equipment in the AC's nice clean helicopters.
SAR, HEMS, Bog measuring - anything but any role they could be construed as a military role...
Who said that AC looked for EAS?
A Minister wanted EAS to stop him losing his Dail seat due to A&E closures!
Government tasked DoD to provide (at DoD’s cost for a fair period of time, not HSE’s)
Who says it is AC looking for SAR?
It appears to be some politicians who (quite rightly) say if that kind of money was given to the AC they could do the job cheaper... while ignoring facts like they don’t have enough people to do current taskings.
A Minister wanted EAS to stop him losing his Dail seat due to A&E closures!
Government tasked DoD to provide (at DoD’s cost for a fair period of time, not HSE’s)
Who says it is AC looking for SAR?
It appears to be some politicians who (quite rightly) say if that kind of money was given to the AC they could do the job cheaper... while ignoring facts like they don’t have enough people to do current taskings.
The politicians (on twitter at least) are being actively campaigned to by ex Air Corps, and are reporting that they have been approached by officers in the Air Corps to this effect (if true a huge breach of regulations).
For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.
A Minister wanted EAS to stop him losing his Dail seat due to A&E closures!
Government tasked DoD to provide (at DoD’s cost for a fair period of time, not HSE’s)
Who says it is AC looking for SAR?
It appears to be some politicians who (quite rightly) say if that kind of money was given to the AC they could do the job cheaper... while ignoring facts like they don’t have enough people to do current taskings.
I could go out and recruit RDF 139 pilots and probably crewmen as well ( enough to run the EAS tasking ) but that would not suit the narrative I fear
For all the talk, the AC are showing themselves - yet again - to be absolutely desperate to do anything other than dealing with dirty wet soldiers in fields and having their dirty wet equipment in the AC's nice clean helicopters.
SAR, HEMS, Bog measuring - anything but any role they could be construed as a military role...
Maybe we should have bought a dozen 212's[uh-1's, no wait they were used in Vietnam for air ambulance...
"We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey"
Radio transmission, siege of Jadotville DR Congo. September 1961.
Illegitimi non carborundum
Completely crazy, not only should the Air Corp be fully integrated but the Naval Service also. The UK has fitted the Batch 2 Rivers with a large heli deck which means they can refuel SAR helicopters extending their range or time on station searching.
We've been down that road before and it just won't work when the AC is pulled in different directions by different masters with limited assets, it will always be.. and should always be a non runner until the Naval Service has defined air assets
The Air Corps shouldn't be considered for that which they have neither suitable numbers or types of machines.
This is a minister with his head in his arse who has forgotten the lessons of the past.
Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe
I could go out and recruit RDF 139 pilots and probably crewmen as well ( enough to run the EAS tasking ) but that would not suit the narrative I fear
If the AC wants SAR, the 139 doesn’t suit IRCG’s requirements
RDF could cover a bit of leave etc but that would be it as it is a full time rostered job. You’d be talking probably 2 x 24hr duties per week per base (not even FLR could do that) and rostered strict rest
We've been down that road before and it just won't work when the AC is pulled in different directions by different masters with limited assets, it will always be.. and should always be a non runner until the Naval Service has defined air assets
The Air Corps shouldn't be considered for that which they have neither suitable numbers or types of machines.
This is a minister with his head in his arse who has forgotten the lessons of the past.
In fairness to the Minister he is getting things done problem is it’s after the horse has bolted and not with enough urgency
There would be no issues with a dedicated flight/Sqn for naval co-op (or any other tasking) if they were given sufficient aircraft, personnel and resources. The issue is that they aren’t.
RDF could cover a bit of leave etc but that would be it as it is a full time rostered job. You’d be talking probably 2 x 24hr duties per week per base (not even FLR could do that) and rostered strict rest
Ah no but if we are shite talking then why not throw the reserve in as well, sure it can go in the box with the rest of the windup toys
When you see some of the squandering of money that has gone on in the DF, by the DF, you wouldn't trust some of them with skipping ropes. CHC, like it or not, has cut the fat out of the SAR project and made it work and they have the resources, skilled workforce, tools, kit and worldwide experience. How could the Air Corps compete with that, when it's struggling to meet normal daily requirements? It's just taken on four new aircraft so THAT learning curve has to be dealt with; it has a manpower crisis, a financial crisis like the rest of the DF and it simply does not have the physical and technical room to take on SAR.
Although I would like to be able to compare us to some other nation it seems that New Zealand always manages to come up and so it is here again. One of the major reasons why neither the AC nor the NS has the level of resources they need is the focus in Ireland on the Army. Both New Zealand and ourselves are roughly the same in terms of population and wealth, plus we are island nations. But if one looks at the division of the forces they are very different:
New Zealand
Ireland (est)
Ireland (act)
Army
4539
7520
6878
Navy
2050
1094
899
Air Force
2516
886
752
Total
9105
9500
8529
So although the total armed forces are roughly the same how they are proportioned is not and this affects what each service can do. So what does this have to do with the ability of the Air Corps to provide SAR? It is because the number of tasks allocated to the two Air Forces is very similar as neither have fast jets fighters. Admittedly the area that both the New Zealand Navy and Air Force have to patrol is greater but the tasks in their most basic definition are very similar. And not too be overlooked is that their fleet of 8x NH-90's and 5x AW-109's are providing air lift for an army 2/3 of ours!
The Air Corps (along with the Naval Service) is chronically under-funded and under-resourced. To take on any further tasking would require a major uplift in resourcing and funding.
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