No jumps for Paras as MoD cuts £1bn

[jcclimber]

I'm absolutely gutted by the news. Although I dislike jumping I never would've travelled all this way and gone through all of it to join if I was told that parachute training was cancelled. F*%king idiots!

[BigStevie]

Maybe like the Apache pilots, making up their hours on pc simulator games, parachute training will become 'virtual'.....it's so ludicrous as to be a strong possibility.

Some hat bean-counter somewhere in the MOD House of Fun has realised the 'Health and Safety' angle on parachute training, and has slashed insurance expenditure and liability at a stroke, saving soldiers from potential injury and increasing their cost-effectiveness, i.e. more toms available for war-fighting aka 'cost-effective soldiering'.

Perhaps someone should send the MOD a copy of Martin Middlebrook's 'Arhem: the Airborne Battle', to remind them - assuming they knew in the first place - the whole ethos behind the Parachute Regiment and its training methods.

Not wishing to re-state the obvious to an 'insider' audience, but it is about the preparation and shared struggle to succeed as a group, to attain the standard of achievement (and acceptance), that is the key to becoming a paratrooper; to remove this is the action of uneducated morons.

This just a 'hat's' point of view, of course.

[Tab]

Now it is often argued that in this day and age they don't need paratroopers as such, but if this is the case why do we still have the Cavalry and horse drawn artillery, lets face it we still have a ship of line on the books and surely that costs a bob or two to keep going these days. Surely these items would be best if they were run by the lottery fund than coming out of a military budget

[xcj]

whilst jumping out a plane wouldn't be my first choice of getting somewhere, i feel gutted for the people that this will affect. The idea of it alone is an absolute insult to the people that train so hard to earn their wings.

A few good points have been made. I can't help but think that if jumping is taken off the list of "things to do" then it'll mean:

a) its gone for a long time to come (if not forever). Can you really see them re-introducing it in 4 years time after a few pennies have been saved? They'll want to keep saving.

b) jump pay will be cancelled. It'll save yet more money for the government who'll simply say, youre not parachuting anymore, so you dont get paid for what you're not doing.

c) eventually the regiment will be re-named or amalgamated into becoming a normal unit. Look whats happened with the Scottish regiments.

Its sad but its true, if they take this away then theres a good chance they'll eventually take everything away.

I hope to god im wrong, but if they're prepared to do this then...

[billoddy]

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doc ... 6204330530

We should post this fil, to all MPs and let them know what will be lost in one of this countrys great assets

[Paratrooper01]

Airborne

[Rogue Chef]

Further to XCJ's points, which are spot on, I believe that it's not just about money.

Successive governments, and this one in particular, have all played a part in the erosion of all and anything that is good and great about being British and British traditions/heritage.

The Grammar Schools, the NHS, Law Enforcement, the Judicial System, the Royal Family etc. You may not agree that any of the above are of any value but beware that we are now living in 1984, and it is 'their' perception of what old Britain's values are/were.

Blair, Prescott, Brown and the rest of the traitorous scum are achieving their dream by stealth. Erode values, keep the real working classes on the back foot, drum up support from the non-working classes (social security, compensation etc) award human rights to those who can't or won't respect others and deny human rights to those who pay into the system.

Next on the agenda? Her Majesty's Armed Forces, bastions of standards, tradition, heritage, regimental pride, human endeavour, individual and team achievement, loyalty, honour, integrity etc.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist and I know the Armed Froces aren't perfect and staffed by paragons of virtue. I also have firm socialist beliefs (never voted socialist in my life mind, shower of hypocritical filth).

My point is simply that the Para Reg issue is the thin end of the wedge to dismantle HM Armed Forces.

I have, on another thread pointed out that Captain Pip passing the Commando Course was nothing to do with expediency or demonstrating the value of opening the doors to females - it was about showing everyone that the Commando Course is nothing special, that anyone can do it, even a seven stone bird! Being Commando trained brings nothing extra to the table so why support a seperate training establishment at huge cost and, more importantly an institution that is famously loyal to old British values.

I've rambled on enough.

RIP Para Reg, it was great knowing you chaps.

I expect that you will be joined by others fairly soon.

[Artist]

I imagine this is going to cause a fair bit of "Them and Us" given time within the Parachute Regiment. Half the units will be Winged whilst the other half will be Wingless come time which will result in loads of hassle.

Lets face it why bother to join the Paras if you can't do what they were formed to do? "Be the first into the frey to knacker the enemies IA to the assault and also capture key points needed by both the enemy and the assaulting force" Just look a Pegasus Bridge in Normandy!

I dare say the recruitment will fall to an all time low because of this stupid idea. This useless Government just don't seem to realise or care just how much this daft idea is going to affect the morale of the best Regiment within the Army.

I've worked with the Paras in various places and to me they were guys I was quite happy to work alongside as I knew that their attitude was the same as mine (they considered themselves to be elite). Unlike certain Regiments within the Army. No names but one Regiment were known as the Falling Plates to the Royal Marines due to the amount of blokes who died or were wounded during their tours of Northern Ireland. We Prayed that we would not have to take over from them but did once or twice.

I'm now waiting for this Shite Government to bin Commado Training within the Royal Marines. It would not surprise me one little bit if they did mores the pity.

Artist

[UtrinqueParatus]

arent the RGJ nicknamed the falling plates?

[Paratrooper01]

I'm now waiting for this Shite Government to bin Commado Training within the Royal Marines. It would not surprise me one little bit if they did mores the pity.

Artist

29 Commando Royal Artillery will lose their commando status next year i have been told....perhaps this is the beginning of the end?

Also, the All Arms Commando Course is now run on a quota system.

[81mm]

fxxxing joke, remember the old saying " what manner of men are these " its obvious there are no high ranking ex para reg blokes in the halls of whitehall, bring back jacko and tell them how it is. the job starts on the ground but it is the ethos behind that that bonds the blokes together.

[Boxingmad]

I'd put money on Jacko not giving a toss either.

[Foley]

if the labour party were voted out would it change these plans?

[UtrinqueParatus]

Maybe they will give us some of that air blast parachute training equipment like the US army have at Fort Bragg.

[Tab]

Do you think that they would give the forces any thing that they did not have to, just look how tight they are about the ammunition