Royal Navy now has enough crew for both carriers and their escorts
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/royal-n ... r-escorts/
https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/defen ... -1-8849850
1: A great and positive news
2: But, what number is the 1st Sea Load looking at, in the
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk article?
"The total combined strength of the navy and Royal Marines currently stands at 38,550 compared to 38,140 in 2016."
Let's see "UK Armed Forces Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics 1 January 2019"
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 1-_SPS.pdf
Yes, it was 32,540 on 1 Oct 2018, we all remember it as a good news then. But, now its again the same, RN/RM regular forces
- was 32,400 on 1 Jan 2016,
- and now 32,380 on 1 Jan 2019.
As clearly seen, it is
reduction of 20 persons, and no indication of ~400 increase?
number.jpg
But I think 1st Sea Load is saying something. A commentator on UKDJ article suggests
Daniele Mandelli .... I read somewhere that converting 42 Commando to Maritime Ops released many posts which could be filled by Seamen, and a number of officer posts were also reduced and replaced by extra other ranks.
Is this the main "resource" for the crews?
3: What is more, I think 1st Sea Load is carefully saying
- "2 CVF active is not going to cut more escorts"
- "increase in man power will re-activate
.. a couple of our frigates and destroyers as harbour training ships and adaptive force ships, running with a smaller ship’s companies.
as a separate issue? I might be wrong...
4: By the way, I think it is the first time (?), officially agreed that "man-power shortage caused a couple of escorts to be "harbour training ships and adaptive force ships". This fact is pretty well known issue, but I remember that MOD answer was simply "it is of routine/normal cycle of ship maintenance". All such argument came from congress men, but never from official. So, this is the first "honest" confirmation ? (correct me if I'm wrong).
/ TO BE REPOSTED TO QE CVS thread./
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