B
Bluntend
Guest
In recent weeks the BBC has aired two well produced 'fly on the wall' documentaries following HMS Chatham (‘Shipmates’) and the Queen’s Cavalry (imaginatively named ‘The Queen’s Cavalry). Both series show the Navy and the Army to be both professional and able and are, generally speaking, non-sensationalist. Both documentaries have received good press with most of the individuals involved coming off in a positive light. The documentaries also highlighted the problems and issues faced by servicemen and women at all levels. If these two documentaries prove to be a success, the Army and RN will gain not only good PR but also improved public awareness and support for the men and women at the ‘front line’. Therefore, is it about time the RAF invites the media to look at the way we do business?
I think it is fare to say that many of the public do not understand how a RAF Station works. For example, the interaction of a Station and the numerous organisations and agencies that support it and its operations or the issues and challenges faced by the men and women who are stationed there. There certainly seems to be a feeling amongst many people that when the RAF go to war its still a case of 5* hotels thousands of miles from ‘the enemy’. What the public don’t see is an increasing commitment, the roles that airmen and women carry out in theatre, the training burden, manpower cuts, the number of non-combat operations (FBU cover, foot and mouth outbreaks, rescues from floods, blizzards etc) and the personal effect on the individuals involved – friends, family etc. This thread on PPRUNE covers public ignorance to defence related issues in quite a lot of depth:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=111156&perpage=20&pagenumber=1
There is evidence that some members of the Great British Public’ still believe that our food and accommodation are not only of an exceptionally high standard but also free, that we don’t pay tax, we all knock off at 12 on a Friday and get Wednesday afternoons off for sport, all our kit is modern and reliable and our pay is fantastic. Perhaps it is time for a documentary maker and the RAF to work together to set the record straight.
Now, I’m not suggesting that the BBC assign a camera crew to follow a bunch of aircrew from Cranwell to the front line. I think we’ve all grown tired of that view of the RAF. Instead why not look at every other aspect of service life – the airman arriving at Cosford, the WO retiring after 38 years service, an EngO or a CRO and his role in the local community to name a few. Why not look at all the ‘behind the scenes’ work we all do – the charity work, the additional and secondary duties, or even the impact that the loss of an aircraft and its crews has on the whole Station community. What about Remembrance Sunday for example? The potential is there to really demonstrate exactly how professional we are but also the enormity of the challenge we face. As long as its not made by the same team of muppets who have produced the RAF’s recruiting adverts over the last 3 to 4 years, it could really raise the profile of the Service and gain us the public support we rightly deserve.
I think it is fare to say that many of the public do not understand how a RAF Station works. For example, the interaction of a Station and the numerous organisations and agencies that support it and its operations or the issues and challenges faced by the men and women who are stationed there. There certainly seems to be a feeling amongst many people that when the RAF go to war its still a case of 5* hotels thousands of miles from ‘the enemy’. What the public don’t see is an increasing commitment, the roles that airmen and women carry out in theatre, the training burden, manpower cuts, the number of non-combat operations (FBU cover, foot and mouth outbreaks, rescues from floods, blizzards etc) and the personal effect on the individuals involved – friends, family etc. This thread on PPRUNE covers public ignorance to defence related issues in quite a lot of depth:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=111156&perpage=20&pagenumber=1
There is evidence that some members of the Great British Public’ still believe that our food and accommodation are not only of an exceptionally high standard but also free, that we don’t pay tax, we all knock off at 12 on a Friday and get Wednesday afternoons off for sport, all our kit is modern and reliable and our pay is fantastic. Perhaps it is time for a documentary maker and the RAF to work together to set the record straight.
Now, I’m not suggesting that the BBC assign a camera crew to follow a bunch of aircrew from Cranwell to the front line. I think we’ve all grown tired of that view of the RAF. Instead why not look at every other aspect of service life – the airman arriving at Cosford, the WO retiring after 38 years service, an EngO or a CRO and his role in the local community to name a few. Why not look at all the ‘behind the scenes’ work we all do – the charity work, the additional and secondary duties, or even the impact that the loss of an aircraft and its crews has on the whole Station community. What about Remembrance Sunday for example? The potential is there to really demonstrate exactly how professional we are but also the enormity of the challenge we face. As long as its not made by the same team of muppets who have produced the RAF’s recruiting adverts over the last 3 to 4 years, it could really raise the profile of the Service and gain us the public support we rightly deserve.
