Operation joyrides

to think that More helicopters will save lives is rediculous, to fight a war you need troops on the ground not more helicopters. Helicopters do not stop people being killed by roadside bombs. Our Country needs to support our troops not insult them as you are doing. They are doing a job that those whinging people are too scared to do so stop complaining and start supporting

By not impressed. Posted August 7 2009 at 10:17 PM.

My partner works at RAF Odiham and i fully support families day. It's a fantastic opportunity for children and loved ones to see what their parents, son's daughter's and friends do. It gives a greater understanding for the local community and gives the pilots a good training day. If they didn't have days like these our men and women in the forces would quit.

By ANON. Posted August 6 2009 at 1:14 PM.

On the basis of their argument, every soldier/Airmen/sea man That is currently in the UK should be out in Afghanistan too???

By anon. Posted August 4 2009 at 9:53 PM.

It would seem that the public have spoken (the same public that get to vote).

By Anon. Posted August 4 2009 at 2:40 PM.

As an ex-RAF helicopter pilot who hardly saw his kids grow up because of time away from home, I fully support families day flying. Your paper got this wrong wrong wrong. If you send all the chinooks away, who will fly and maintain them? The personnel would quit the forces!! Air and Groundcrews cannot be away 24/7 for 365 days of the year. Army units get op time then down time. Helicopter squadrons are deployed all the time and rotate crews. Families are the unsung heros, give them a break. Shame on you NOTW!!

By John. Posted August 4 2009 at 12:26 AM.

Hate this kind of crap, do they realize that for some of these kids their families dad/mum are connected to 27 and the other sqns based out there. When my husband was based at Odiham he was on 27sqn but they were in Kosovo and my eldest daughter got a flight on a chinook, she was the only one old enough to go at the time and she throughtly enjoyed it, my youngest daughter got a ride when we were based in Aldergrove on a Puma oddly enough when her dad was out in Iraq, funnily enough whilst on a screened post which is supposed to mean that they don't get posted into Theatre but such is the way of military life, you do as your told you get your orders and you go, these kids were having a fun day they are the ones deprived of a parent as well, you have to give something back to the families I know things are bad ,equipment is short but the guys need to know that when they are gone there is some support/general meeting and normality going on for their families ( if you can call it that) something to look forward to for their families .

By liz halkett. Posted August 4 2009 at 12:09 AM.

NOTW

you need to get a grip, figure out what the hell you are talking about and make a sincere apology to the men and women of RAF Odiham. We work constantly at a high standard to provide chinooks whenever and wherever they are needed, yet you think for 3 hours of one day a year we can't show our family's what it is we do for our country (yep the one you live so freely in, and enjoy your freedom of speech in).


You should be ashamed this even made it into your paper!!!!


Y

By anon. Posted August 3 2009 at 11:55 PM.

I cannot believe that NOTW, a newspaper that I have regarded as one of the prime supporters of British forces could dare publish such tosh!!!

I have been serving in the RAF for many years now and have been fortunate to take family along to my workplace for the annual families day on the many squadrons I have worked on (the years i'm not in the sandpit)...

Families day has always been intended as a way of saying "thank-you!" to the families/wives/husbands/children/parents of all those whom are deployed into theatre in support of operations.

It doesnt stop there however, no matter how many aircraft we can get to Afganistan we do not have the rescources to operate and maintain all of them outside of the UK, limited numbers of pilots/techie's and other support trades make this difficult at the best of times even in the UK... It is a "thankyou!" to families of all people involved (even those that work primarily in the UK carrying out major servicings of the aircraft)...

Contrary to popular belief aircraft do not fix/fly themselves, the Chinooks in question are retained in the UK in a training capacity.... so what is wrong with filling a few empty seats on a training sortie?

I personally think that a public appology for innacurate reporting is in order!

Just my 2p's worth......

By Andy. Posted August 3 2009 at 11:33 PM.

What an appalling article.

On the one hand the newspaper blasts the Government (rightly) for forcing our boys families to live in poor or even poverty conditions, but then blasts the Service when it takes a chance to use flying hours that would have been executed anyway for training but with empty machines to give the kids of serving Heros a small treat to take their minds of Dad/Mum/Brother/Sister being in harms way for months. The stress on these kids must be horrendous, so a moment of fun and excitement, is that so wrong really? As for the ratio of aircraft, maybe the reporter should learn a bit about maintenance schedules, material lead times and other such important issues, and then realise that the fact that we have that 10 out there is due to heroic enigneering efforts by dedicated groundcrew in the UK. Not all the battles are fought overseas, there are real and difficult sacrifices being made daily in the UK as stretched resources are asked to do more and more with and for less and less in support of the Ops. And no-one minds as it is in support of the warfighting end of the thing, but stressful it is nevertheless.

It's intersting that the last line, a much much more important issue is given no column space at all! I would have thought a lack of security would be a much more serious issue than a few pleasure flights for kids?

Shame on you NOTW!

By Tim Canning. Posted August 3 2009 at 11:25 PM.

As a current serving member of the RAF I am appalled to see that the NOTW would publish such a shocking article. I myself was fortunate enough to take my father on one of these so called ‘joy-rides’ on this year’s Families Day. This enabled my father and countless others that day to have an insight into the capabilities of one part of the RAF. The Families Day was also an opportunity for RAF Odiham to help raise funds for Help For Heroes.

Yes, more helicopters would assist with operations, but this costs money, not only to maintain the helicopters but also to fund the wages of the crews, engineers and many of the trades in the RAF that support these aircraft. You have to ask yourself, who makes the decisions about funding? It is not down to the servicemen and women of all three services to decide where government money is spent.

I personally believe Mr Drake could have written a more positive article to support our troops no matter where they are in the world and also to praise the families of service personnel who continue to show outstanding support for their loved ones.

By ANON. Posted August 3 2009 at 10:34 PM.

I have served at RAF Odiham for 10 and a half years. During this period I have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan more times than i care to remember. These aircraft were taken from their very busy training and maintenance commitments for half a day, in order for the families of the very busy and always committed personnel to enjoy a very small amount of down time. These aircraft cannot be deployed as they are required for the training of personnel so that the highest level of expertise can be utilised on deployments. If this essential training and maintenance was not carried out alot more of our forces would not be coming home. Before you write anymore nonsense I suggest you get your facts right. We're doing the best we can!!!!!!!!

By RAF Odiham Engineer. Posted August 3 2009 at 8:26 PM.

I agree with alot of the comments here after reading the article. It made me think and remember the family days spent on one of my fathers many ships. It was because of this and events like the royal tournament and military airshows that I owe a great admiration and understanding for the work that the tri-services do on our and others behalf. Unfortunately due being blind in one eye I could not follow in my fathers foot steps as I would have liked to.

The men and women of the armed forces are
Heroes giving thier lives for the rights of others.

I have the greatest sympathy for the families that have lost loved ones
but I feel that if at least one of those children has been inspired to do something purposeful with their life then that one day has not been to avail

By matthew bennett. Posted August 3 2009 at 7:13 PM.

So what if a few service family kids get a treat out of some of the rare spare capacity that will inevitably arise in the training and logistic supply chain? Our wonderfully loyal and steadfast service families and civilian defence workers and their families deserve fairer from the NOTW.

Of course, at face value, these flights might be viewed poorly by relatives served up a loaded question or 2. My heart goes out to the families of our lost servicemen whose feelings have been stirred up by this latest unnecessary sensationalism.

By Nick. Posted August 3 2009 at 7:28 PM.

Isn't it about time that someone acknowledged the work that the RAF do on operations such as Afghanistan? As a civilian, working with the RAF, and as a taxpayer, I am appalled that you think that one minute of happiness should be taken away from the families of serving personnel, when a lifetime could be taken away in an instant!!!!!

By ali. Posted August 3 2009 at 5:14 PM.

I think that the story that you posted yesterday was written in the wrong context. My husband is a serving engineer in the R.A.F, although not at Odiham, he is due to go out to Afghanistan at the end of the year. The children that are pictured taken this flight in the Chinook have to go without their mums and dads for months on end while doing their duty, missing out on Birthdays and Christmas's, although none of us under estimate the scarifice service personel families have made over the past few years, saying Thank you to the the silent heores for one day, should not have been portrayed in this way. Although News of the World does a lot to promote our service personel, have you ever took a good look behind the scene's of the people left at home, who do their bit without asking for praise or recognition, but without our scarifices service personal wouldn't have the support and love they need to do the job that is expected of them.

By alison. Posted August 3 2009 at 3:06 PM.

after reading his stupid new article, it annoys me how everyone says more helicopters this etc if everyone is so bothered why not tell america (whose war it is) to send their equitment since they have double the aircraft we do.
Families day gives children and adults the chance to relax or show young ones life in the RAF.

So stop complaining!

By Sarah. Posted August 3 2009 at 3:06 PM.

We need to prompote the Armed forces for the future service men/women as a viable career. The majority of forces personel come form a military background, ie children of serving or ex military, and what better way to promote the future of our country than a families day, allowing fathers mothers to show to their children their daily life. Would we make such a big issue if it was a father showing his children around his workplace in the NHS or postal services? Both careers are struggling as is the military. We should be supporting families left here whilst their spouses and CHILDREN are at home alone..........

By ANON. Posted August 3 2009 at 12:44 PM.

I am currently serving in the RAF and based at RAF Odiham. I had the pleasure to take a flight in one of these so called "fun-rides" and can say for absolute certainty that this was very clever use of our resources. What better way to train our pilots than letting them practice lifting precious cargo (in this case, service families). If it wasn't for "real-life" scenarios like these, then our pilots would be completely inexperienced when it came to airlifting our troops out there on the gound.

Ask yourself what you would prefer... more chinooks but with substandard crews, or slightly few chinooks that are able to be more efficient and effective due to their extensive training.

These flights were not considered "fun" for the crews, they were very professional and were taking the oppurtunity to lift "real" people and not just "pretend" loads.

By Mr B. Posted August 3 2009 at 10:21 AM.

tinky winky you are an ****. These brats as you put it are children of serving RAF personnel who are either in Afganistan or soon will be. This is a way to for them to see what their mum/dad does for the months they are away. To say a child has a sad life because they want to fly in a helicopter means you must live in a very dark place.

By del. Posted August 3 2009 at 1:51 AM.

Is there a better way to enspire the prospective young men and women in this good country of ours ,than to go go up and see for 5 what mummy and daddy sees out of the window for five minutes! our families are fighting out there for our future for a better world people! giving a few kids a flights for 5 mins in a big helicopter may enspire the new generation! the generation that will be protecting you in not too many years! I for one one will putting a pound or 2 in a collection box!

By anita fossey. Posted August 3 2009 at 12:01 AM.

My husband is currently serving at RAF odiham. We have been back here at odiham for the past 2 & half years and during this time he has been away 4 times and this Christmas will be his second in two years. Where would you get your engineers if all the fleet were in afghan. The RAF certainly aren't taking on engineers at the moment even those who are even qualified. Odiham are short of man power as it is. How would pilots train? More losses because of inexperienced pilots, chinooks grounded or seriously dangerous due to lack of parts and experienced engineers who are already leaving the force due to amount of time away. A families day once a year, partners who if home can show their families what they do wether it flying or fixing. Lets put it in perspective, how much does it cost to send red arrows around the world to show off. Nice hotel here and their. And you begrudge a families day, a couple of hours family flying, time spent with family once a year for a RAF station which is probably the busiest and most stressfull. More frontline than most. Think there are more important stories to tell don't you.

By Tracy. Posted August 2 2009 at 10:37 PM.

Im based at RAF Odiham and the Families day is an important part of the calender it lets the partners and children of serving soldiers the chance to see the hard work of all involved many of whom are currently based overseas, so many families are without their partners at this time, sure as a serving member of the Armed Forces myself they should be out on operations but the chinooks based here are not battlefield ready and are used for pilot training, if not for this the RAF chinook pilots would not be as professionally trained as they are for operations and doing the extremely hard work their doing at the moment. People shouldnt believe that they are being used inapropriatly, its only for one day every year.

By Lee. Posted August 2 2009 at 10:13 PM.

I think the journalist in this matter completely missed the point of "families day". It is a day for service personnel of the unit that are fortunate to be at home to show the family what they do and spend quality time with their loved ones while they are in the UK. Some serving personnel will spend 6 months in 18 months in Afganistan in danger away from their families. The chinnook aircarft based at Odiham is used for continuous training including the three hours on families day. I agree a cheap shot from the News of the World.

By chelle. Posted August 2 2009 at 10:02 PM.

I served on 18 Sqn Odiham for six years of my fifteen years service. During my time the goverment continued to cut back the amount of personnel but expected those remaining to keep up the same level of work and commitments. That puts a lot of pressure on the family and if a ride in a chinook to say thank is what it takes to keep the crews and engineers from leaving the service then you should support them. The truth is there are not enough engineers or crews to deploy all the helicopters.

By Paul . Posted August 2 2009 at 9:03 PM.

lets face it whos to blame here! its not the children or families trying to cope with their loved ones being away! its the bloody government! i cant be the only one that thinks either give our service men and women the correct equipment and enough of it or bring them home now! personally ive had enough now bring our troops home!!

By sarah kennedy. Posted August 2 2009 at 8:24 PM.

Perhaps those saying that all of the Chinooks should be in Afghanistan should read the article from The Sun from 28 Jun 2007 about the flooding. To paraphrase:

"In Bentley, Doncaster, an RAF Chinook helicopter was brought in to provide support for the banks of the River Don.

The chopper lifted 150 one-ton bags of aggregate in, to reinforce the bank. Soldiers in trucks and boats also helped. Flood water across much of Yorkshire was receding yesterday ? by up to 3ft, But many homes were still under water and hundreds of people remained in evacuation centres."

Although we are embroiled in Afghanistan we also have to provide assistance to the civil community.

How many people would complain about the lack of help from the RAF if their home was being flooded?

By anon. Posted August 2 2009 at 7:29 PM.

I have great sympathy for all those who have known and loved personel lost whist serving in our forces but this story is ridiculous. Do you really think we have the reasources and personel availiable to deploy our "forty" chinooks permenantly. The writer of this story needs to look at the bigger picture here, and how we are doing our hardest to maintain the assests that we currently have deployed.

By annoyed. Posted August 2 2009 at 7:26 PM.

There is a direct correlation between peoples' willingness to deploy again and again, putting themselves in harms way and waving goodbye to kids/loved ones, with the support and will of their families. I'm sure this Families' Day was a small part of maintaining the will of the families by helping them understand what their mum/dad/spouse does when they're away from base.

If the families don't want them to go, then the personnel will leave...

By Anon. Posted August 2 2009 at 6:35 PM.

I deeply sympathise with the loved ones of service personnel who are lost in Afghanistan, Iraq or any detachment, however it appears that this story has become a little out of hand and perhaps a little misunderstood.
Until you are a wife of one of the chinook fleet who spend a large percentage of the time in afghanistan it is very hard for people to make rash statements about what is right and what is wrong. As with all families in our situation, saying goodbye to your loved ones when you leave them at the air base for their next Afgshanistan tour is one of the hardest things, especially as you don't know if or when you are likely to see them again. Every time you hear the news that someone else has been hurt or killed your blood runs cold and your knees go weak, then there is the sudden relief it isn't your husband. Almost immediately however this is followed by immense guilt that it is a son, father, or husband of someone else.
Military family's days are annual events where we get to see what our loved ones do and to commend them for all their efforts both in the UK and fighting overseas. It brings a sense of pride to what people are doing and quite rightly so.
I think that this story merely masks the true underlying problem of a lack of service personnel and for those who are "sticking it out" being left with substandard terms of employment, hence giving way to the current staffing issues within the military.

By Sophie. Posted August 2 2009 at 5:48 PM.

I understand the families of those fallen will be bitter over what they initially see as misuse of assets, but in time they will come to realise that helicopter crews are not born or bought, they're trained. And to do so you need the equipment to make sure that the crews who are being sent to this extreme hostile enviroment, are the best in the world. If the Station Commander sees fit to give a little something back to those who wave goodbye to their parents, with the distinct possibility they may not return, then I applaude him.
Rather than the media ranting over helicopters (which is not what is needed, boots on the ground is the immediate requirement) they should be reporting on how this officer has seen fit to divert the worried attention of his dependants to a happy experience, for just one day in the year!

By Mark Lloyd. Posted August 2 2009 at 5:28 PM.

ok so lets send every chinook we've got out to afghanistan!! that means we send every set of aircrew and every engineer out there too.what a fabulous idea! oh but one small thing i forgot...........when will they ever come home ANSWER: NEVER

By bla bla. Posted August 2 2009 at 5:23 PM.

News of the world have got it completely wrong. Families days are a good thing, and they will carry on. Think

By Phil. Posted August 2 2009 at 5:20 PM.

Famlies Day - Yep, done that, seen that even got the photographs as well.

Has the journalist never heard of maximising resources ?

The flight was classed as training, the passengers get some idea of what their parents do and it just might spark an interest in becoming an Engineer etc.

By all means rant about lack of helicopters but have you asked the obvious comment of when you have got the helicopters, have you the Engineers, Pilots etc to keep them flying ?

By Nick Phillips. Posted August 2 2009 at 5:07 PM.

My deepest sympathies to those who have lost loved ones in Iraq & Afghanistan I really feel for them. My son & son-in-law have both served in both locations. I myself served over 43 years in the RAF. Our helicopter forces are one of the busiest elements in the RAF with many crews including engineers & support staff away for months on end. By having open days and letting serving familes & kids fly in the big ' Wokka wokka' it says thanks to them for their continued support whilst their spouses, partners & friends are away on Op. Long may this support continue including the 'jollies' in the Wokka wokka's. I salute them all, not impressed by your cheap storyline.

By Mick. Posted August 2 2009 at 5:06 PM.

I am a naval wife who has been on a couple of families days. I agree we need more chinooks in war zones but also agree that we need plenty here to protect the British Public. All of you moaners would moan far more if there was nothing here to protect us! Let the families have an insight into what their service personnel family members do, we have a hard enough time worrying about what they are up to when they are away as it is without people who know nothing slagging off a goodwill event for serving members families!

By Kellie. Posted August 2 2009 at 4:59 PM.

Look at the children, there service children who's Mum's and Dad's go to war. So why should they not have a ride its not as though it's a weekly thing, It happens once a year it called familes day. that mean's you bunch of wingers that its a day for families of serving members of the Royal Air Force not just any tom dick or harry!!!

Get a life.

By Steve Hodkinson. Posted August 2 2009 at 4:35 PM.

I am sure that the crew had flying training (valuable time). This I am sure was a gesture of thanks for the Service families. This also helps in the recruitment of crews for the future.
It may be a case that Afghanistan require more Helicopters but it is also vital that Chinooks stay in the UK for other vital tasks, remember the disaster in Boscastle. In the current climate of terrorism, you never know when you need useful resources such as a Chinook.

I think people need to look at reality rather than to use this, as an issue to attack the government.

By mark. Posted August 2 2009 at 4:27 PM.

The families’ day is an annual event that has been running for many years. It’s a light hearted day to cheer up families while their loved ones are serving overseas. Taking the children flying shows what their parents are doing when away. It’s a day to involve all the station personnel, new and old to meet and greet. The Navy have their days onboard, the Marines give boat rides around Poole harbour for their families and the Army have their open days, be it driving tanks, driving land rovers etc. 3 hours of flying over Hampshire isn’t going to make a blind bit of difference to the troops on the ground overseas but a bit of fun for the families at home missing or about to miss their loved ones as they prep to go away can help reduce the worry they may be feeling. There is a lot more to worry about around the world and this should be treated as it was designed, a bit of fun for one day and not a major reason for our brilliant troops not to be supported fighting overseas.

By ANON. Posted August 2 2009 at 4:18 PM.

As a Family man in the Raf I find it a great pleasure to show my family what i do, they take great pride in seeing what I do.
The flights are a big thank you from the pilots and it is very much appreciated from the families.
Are the papers really as daft as to ask for all chinooks to be sent away, if so when will we the servicemen get chance to spend time with their families.
Remember you need trained pilots and engineers to support every aircraft.

By Tom. Posted August 2 2009 at 3:33 PM.

Goldie, I would say you don't actually know what you are talking about, it seems a few here actually have husbands/fathers/friends on the front line or in the RAF and have seen the article for what it is.

By Anon. Posted August 2 2009 at 3:13 PM.

Listen if the kids want a nice day out let the servicemen in the Uk take them to Altern towers - not ten minutes in a chinook. What would the kids rather have a flight in a helicopter and a dead father or the other way round. All you plonkers saying its ok sitting in your living room should have a ten minutes under fire and walking amongst IEDs and see which you prefer. And our boys are being totaly let down by a government that has no clue about warefare and has left us to fight with the equivalent of catapults in todays warfare. We were even more ready at Aginecourt.

By goldie206 . Posted August 2 2009 at 2:56 PM.

I have no money to put in a pot for the armed forces. But, my husband is service personnel and does put his life on the line in afghanistan. I totally agree with families days and the use of military equipment for the purposes of allowing dependants a good time.

By babe. Posted August 2 2009 at 2:01 PM.

Pathetic! it lets the children understand what exactly their parents do at work and war. It trains pilots and keeps skills up and not all aircraft is fit to go to war. we pay for them to go and if they arent we might aswell use them to educate and inform young ones. it was a great day i loved the ride in the aircraft.

By Annie. Posted August 2 2009 at 2:09 PM.

Has Mr Drake ever served in the armed forces???
No i thought not instead of writing on an artical he has no comprehension of what a service family goes though when a member of that family is away.
These days are for the families of said service men and woman who are away, its a way for the RAF to say thanks for the surport of these,s families and friends. Of the guys who have been away who are away and who will be going away for the 6th 7th 8th time.
So instead of slating the fact that these Chinooks are here in the uk as part of the traing fleet!!!!
Why not be more surpotive instead of trying to tell the british public that this is a wast of time.
i think this would sell more papers for you and and give the guys out there a better feeling as they do get to read WHAT you print.

By marc. Posted August 2 2009 at 2:06 PM.

For gods sake stop winging about no money/helicopters
for the troops in iraq.
Wake up your granny and ask her how most villages/towns/counties had a whip round to buy a aeroplane in the last war.
If you care that much put your drinking money in a fund for the troops and have a heroes day where each persons in the uk's pay is donated to the services.

By Sid. Posted August 2 2009 at 1:31 PM.

I know it is a contensious issue about the Chinooks but let us think - on families day does the Army not take kids for a ride in the tanks and do people not get rides or a visit on ships!!!!!!!!!
the Chinooks are at Odiham for a reason. Its the government not paying to equip the ones sitting on the ground useless that is the sin. If they were sorted as they should have been years ago our lads would have the desperate help they need. Yet again this government has its head in the sand not prepared to listen and the lads pay the penalty.

By wondering. Posted August 2 2009 at 1:34 PM.

There are so many issues we could focus on and it all boils down to money and politics.
Our boys and girls of the armed forces need to be payed more, they need more equipment, they need more helicopters. There has only just been a change over from Harriers to Tornados, no one is talking about the fact they are two tornados down because these aircraft can't cope out there.
Instead of throwing accusations at specific RAF stations lets lay the blame with the government where it belongs and let the families have their fun - They deserve it!!!

By bobby. Posted August 2 2009 at 1:13 PM.

Tony who has served, you should also know some of these chinooks are not fit to fly out there, and also they don't have the crews.
Are air crews not allowed down time then, or allowed to use that said down time, to support others in the same situation.
The news article seems to forget all these families are those of service personel who are too risking their lives and know the score.
Do you seriously think if they thought they could be used else where they would be supporting this.
They know the score, it's not physically possible to have every chinook out in theatre, they don't have the man power for starters.
It's an important day of support for families, get over it.

By Anon. Posted August 2 2009 at 12:59 PM.

If we need to keep any here in the UK it should be the ones "Being made ready for the last 8 years" for being sent overseas..? as they were Not ready for Afganistan or Iraq Are you telling US that they could Not even Fly in the UK?? as joyrides and Training craft??

By darren. Posted August 2 2009 at 12:09 PM.

I have served in Afghanistan three times & while the helicopter issue is clouded in party politics the truth is this. We are desperately short of medium lift helicopters in theatre, ie Chinooks. Having more helicopters allows us many more options. For re-supply to remote locations, for re-enforcement during contact, for surprise & quick movement of troops on the ground. Not to mention constant cover in case of a casualty evacuation being required. At the moment we dont have the flexibiltiy to use them in case one crashes, is damaged, if there is a casualty in one location we have to stop movement all over Helmand as we dont have a spare Casualty fitted Chinook. It is fine to argue why Chinooks are ok in Odiham, its fine to say you think the kids deserve something back, they do. But our troops need need, need more Chinooks, our commanders are telling you and begging for them. Politics aside we need them. Are desperate for them to give us flexibilty and options. If you are'nt out there you dont know. So leave it to the subject matter experts and not Gordon Brown!

By Tony. Posted August 2 2009 at 11:50 AM.

These helicopters are for training, they need to be here in the UK to train the guys up ready for combat situations, these copters are on down days and as a way of showing the community, the local children whose parents are in the forces a chance to see how and what they do on a daily basis.
I agree we need more equipment for the men and women serving in the current situation, and this needs to be addressed, but it all comes down to money, do they buy more helicopters and then retire/make redundant the staff needed to fly, fix these machines? Are the tax payers willing to lose that extra few pounds each payslip to ensure this??

The families of serving personelle also need these kind of events, not many people bother to think of how this affects so many people, my husband has done 9 tours of Iraq and Afganistan in the last 6 years working on a front line squadron all of a minimum of 4 month stints I am imesley proud of his commitment to his job, queen and country, it is very stressful for those left behind and these days out can be a total break from the worry, stress and sadness that comes with these tours, and those who wish to moan about families days for forces, I ask you to walk in our shoes for a year and maybe you would understand just what it takes to be a family who has a serving member of the armed forces, failing that I suggest you show the moral fibre and courage that our serving men and women do every day and SIGN UP!

By Sarah Williams. Posted August 2 2009 at 11:57 AM.

The Joy rides as you put it are a major way of thanking the families for supporting their partners while they spend months away. The families days are a major event in the calendar and all those involved get a chance to let their hair down. There seems to be too much negative spin on these stories, The forces are stretched to breaking point but it is not their doing the fault lies else where. The forces get on with their jobs with out question. I'm sure there won't be a story about the Army allowing children to climb over Challenger II tanks when they have their families day. People need to lighten up and stop with knee jerk reations to mis reporting.

By Steve. Posted August 2 2009 at 11:36 AM.

I understand the grieving families but sending out more Chinooks? If the MOD could supply the engineers with enough spares to service the helicopters we have both in this country and in Afganistan then the problems would be reduced.

Thats where the problems lie.

By Worker. Posted August 2 2009 at 11:27 AM.

To support our troops to the fullest we must also support the families they leave behind whilst on deployment in Afghanistan. It can be a terribly pressured time for families, not knowing where their loved ones are or if they're going to come home.
Families days are common practise, as are pleasure flights and they're important. Not only is good training for pilots, it's an important and welcome morale boost for families and therefore a morale boost for their loved ones who get to hear that their children had fun. Well done Odiham!

By kermit. Posted August 2 2009 at 10:38 AM.

If every helicopter was sent on operations what hell are you going to do next theres a major , flood, fire, or some sort of accident that requires the support of the forces helicopter assets, get a grip stop turning stories into something thay not and have a bit of support for the troops instead of slandering camps looking after families while they're troops are away cause looking after families is just as important as the troops that are away.

By paddy. Posted August 2 2009 at 9:44 AM.

I don't see an issue here - these are families of service men - maybe some of these children have parents abroad serving their country. YEs - more helicopters need to go abroad but they do say this one is being used for training and we cannot train new people without it!

Completely daft story! IT could have been re written as forces children given opportunity to fly on a chinook so they have more understanding of parent's lives in afghanistan and so less worries

By bunny. Posted August 2 2009 at 9:12 AM.

Its a terrible deception played on british citizens by the media in order to facilitate a conservative election win,the usa has ten times as many helicopters in afganistan as us yet over fourty usa soldiers have died in july! 25 of them by improvised explosive devices ,supprisingly enough humves and helicopters didnt save them ,so why are the british media trying to make out that british squadies are dying because of a lack of helicopters and the use of snatch landrovers,the answer "because they want a conservative government and the unfetted capatalisum that it stands for .

By martin doyle. Posted August 2 2009 at 9:11 AM.

My husband was in the RAF and the families flights have been going from Odiham ever since 1999 over 10 years!
It is all safe as you have a briefing prior to each flight as I flew in one in 1999 on families day!
There is nothing wrong with keeping a couple of Chinooks at Odiham.

By Gayle . Posted August 2 2009 at 8:53 AM.

Why doesn't the MOD lease Alouette 3's from the French which is ideal for "Fireforce deployments" in the operational areas of Afghanistan. Each chopper can carry a section and leap-frog them to where they are required thereby cutting down on IED's substantially and the need for movement by road using outdated equipment. Small quick reaction forces are needed to keep the enemy "on the hop".

By Bugs Moran. Posted August 2 2009 at 8:43 AM.

NOTW, labour bashing strikes again, why dont we also send every gun and bullet out of the country, BECAUSE we always need a basic homeland security with 1 chinook not being to damaging to the forces abroad

By frank. Posted August 2 2009 at 8:33 AM.

how did gordon brown go from tresurer to pm without a vote cos i did not vote for him he needs to be booted into touch or get him on the ground with the guys in afghanistan to tell them in person what his next big idea is going to be down with brown down with brown

By andy. Posted August 2 2009 at 8:12 AM.

Stuff and nonsense.

Surely we need to keep a Chinook or two here in the UK for any UK emergencies. What better way to keep pilots skills up to date than use them for this purpose.

I hope all concerned had an enjoyable day - just training and practice for the air crew.

By Philip. Posted August 2 2009 at 7:58 AM.

I argee Alan, kids would love that stuff - maybe make them soldiers of the future

By john. Posted August 2 2009 at 12:47 AM.

What a fuss over nothing. Surely the RAF can spare a chopper to entertain kids of personnel who are serving in Afghanistan. Training flights still need to be done and what better way than to take our brave servicemen's kids for a jolly while their dads are serving Queen and Country. Lighten up.

Put the blame where it belongs at the feet of Comrade Broon.

By Alan. Posted August 2 2009 at 12:27 AM.