Hi all
Just to remind some people that this enthusiasm for doing things the Army way, with helicopters, is quite new.For a long time, there was a policy (unofficial or not) of non-co-operation with the soldiery.In some cases, there was even a point-blank refusal to allow helicopter assets to be made available to the Army, on sometimes spurious grounds of inability to carry out maintenance in the field,etc. At unit level, many individuals, either pilots or techs were quite personally hostile to the idea of any Army role for "their" helicopters ("We only do SAR").I remember one officer refusing to allow any ARMY lettering or designations of any kind to be,even temporarily,attached to "his" aircraft.Anyone with some pictures of the Alouettes in the 70s will remember the letters "ARMY" on the side..they weren't allowed to last long.I also remember a definitely negative attitude to wearing any kind of green combat-style of aircrew clothing.Where do you think the blue uniforms came from? It took a long campaign to even get the CoS to agree to the AC having a distinct uniform.The anti-Army mindset has persisted for a longtime and still runs within the Don.This new-found love of all things green is just that...new.As for the present GoC, I'm no fan of his, but he is a tough, no-nonsense individual, who is quite used to getting things his way.He is not afraid of challenging old mindsets and upsetting established practise if he thinks it'll get things moving.If the Donners are working with the Army more readily than ever, it's because he made it happen, not opposed it.Anything that generates more flight time for his pilots.He'll tell you that himself, if you ask.
I think he also has a point to prove with the 139s.If they turn out to be as useless-ish as the Dauphins, he'll be a dead duck and the AC's name will be mud.These new toys will have to be seen to work, so if that means co-operating with the "pongos" (as AC pilots are wont to call their Army colleagues), then so be it.
regards
GttC
