Well, who would want to be in the Red Arrows at the moment, eh? The RAF elite display outfit’s reputation has been trashed all across the media with reports of a “toxic culture” and multiple sackings and resignations by its members.
Apparently, the team’s displays this summer have been reduced from nine aircraft to seven as it tries to sort itself out, and it has been called the “Poisoned Arrows” by that very bastion of the Establishment, the Times.
Some of the alleged misbehaviour seems a little far-fetched, to be honest. I’d be astonished if “met roulette”, the game it is claimed team members played involving continued drinking into the wee small hours in the hope that the predicted weather the following day would cancel any planned display, involved the pilots themselves. When I earned my private pilot’s licence, the rule was that there had to be at least eight hours “between bottle and throttle”, and I suspect the Red Arrow rules are much stricter than this.
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And as for self-marking their own performances in the skies on a scale ranging from Meghan Markle for a good one, via Sienna Miller for an average one, down to Susan Boyle for a poor one, well, boys will be boys, and it’s pretty harmless in the scale of things. Personally, I’d have put Sienna at the top of the scale instead of the Duchess, but there’s no accounting for taste.
We’re told that some of the pilots have had affairs, which may not be ideal as it can affect team spirit and esprit de corps, but sadly this is hardly unusual in today’s society. There have also been relationships between male and female members of the group, but this is commonplace in workplaces all over the world. About half the population seems to have met their future spouse or partner at work, so there’s no big deal here.
What would be quite unacceptable, of course, is if any of the allegations of bullying or sexual harassment prove to be true. There is no place for that in any organisation, never mind an elite military one. However, much of this must remain pure speculation until a report, ordered by the head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, into the team’s reputed misdemeanours is published later this year. Even then, there is some doubt about whether it will be made public.
All of this seems to be along the same lines of the recent SAS “out of control” story that I wrote about here previously. So-called elite units tend to become a law unto themselves as more senior officers are reluctant to police them for fear of being ridiculed or ignored. There appear to be few sanctions ever imposed against such organisations, and that lack of discipline may be part of the reason that they occasionally come off the rails. “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” as Jacob Rees-Mogg might say.
But the main reason for such lapses is usually bad leadership. “There are no bad regiments, just bad commanding officers” is the old army adage, and there’s a strong thread of truth in it.
As for the possibility of the Red Arrows being disbanded as some have claimed, I would think this most unlikely. It would be a crushing blow to the RAF’s image and morale. Best to wait first for the conclusions of the investigation before calling for blood.
Sorry but that review didn’t say anything at all other than some things are only to be expected and it’s probably down to poor leadership.
The recent decision to reduce the display team size from nine to seven aircraft is unprecedented. Something isn’t right and I don’t believe it’s just down to leadership issues.
It would also be good if the outcome was made public but I doubt that will happen in full, unless of course there is a feeling that the team has ran its course and should be disbanded; perhaps for a period until a new aircraft type is considered as the Hawk T1 is beginning to look relatively old now.
People don’t have affairs because of poor leadership – its just human nature.
I wonder why they don’t have 2 or 3 reserve pilots?
The cost to train 1 is massive why would they train a reserve if they won’t get used bar a few displays when the reds are at there full 9. Especially when a fast jet pilot at that level of expertise would be valuable somewhere else
Each position in the squadron has a unique set of roles and actions. Very few pilots learn more than two positions in their time in the Reds. In order to cover for the absence of any pilot, you would need four or five spare pilots available at short notice – the cost and logistics of such an arrangement are not feasible. Most manoeuvres are designed so that they can be done with two aircraft missing.
The Red Arrows is an elite organisation. It is the face of the RAF and one of its’ most important marketing and presentation tools. Strict military discipline and professionalism are essential to its’ effective operation. The notion that all members of the squadron should observe the highest standard of personal and professional behaviour is entirely reasonable, as is the notion that they should put aside their “human nature” for three years.
In the 2011 season the red arrows flew with 7 aircraft also.
I think it’s probably been blown out of all proportion to what is actually happening.
There are probably a few drinking sessions that have gone to far and a small group within the team that have acted outside what is considered by the public to be acceptable.
Most people have got too drunk at a work event or done or said something they wished they hadn’t.
What would normally happen is people see ther error of there ways and adjust future behaviour to fit in better.
If things are really bad then get through he season, reduce shows etc and get some new team members to replace the trouble makers if there are any.
Smaller RAF means less pilots so needing to have 10 just for a display team is maybe to much now. For the future it could be looked at using a different airframe perhaps with 5 aircraft of running the team and getting team members is an issue.
Folks talk about typhoon being to expensive but if they ripped out the radar, combat systems and basically just left what was needed to fly the thing would that make it any cheaper? Replace with concrete for weight management etc. Blue circle radar mark 2
That’s not strictly true – it was 2012 and largely due to previous accidents and staff considerations:
“Following the accidents during the 2011 season, the Red Arrows retained Red 8 and moved the original Red 10 to the Red 5 position to enable them to continue displaying with nine aircraft. In March 2012, the MOD announced that the Red Arrows would fly aerobatic displays with seven aircraft during the 2012 display season as Flt Lt Kirsty Stewart had moved into a ground-based role with the team. It is believed this was due to the emotional stress she had been suffering over the loss of her two Red Arrows colleagues the previous year. As a consequence of this, Red 8 also dropped out of the display team to enable an odd number of aircraft to perform and thus maintain formation symmetry. However, the team carried out official flypasts with nine aircraft by utilising Red 8 as well as ex-Red Arrow display pilot and then Red 10 Mike Ling. The Red Arrows returned to a full aerobatic formation of nine aircraft in 2013.”
The current situation is different.
For most of her time in the Red Arrows, Kirsty Stewart was engaged in an extra-marital affair with the squadron leader Ben Murphy. Recollections vary, but some sources say that Mrs Stewart was removed from the squadron to protect both its moral integrity and the quality of its’ displays. I know for a fact that she broke a vintage Spitfire at Biggleswade carrying out a manoeuvre that the chief pilot (ex-RAF) had explicitly instructed her not to perform.
The Reds are not noted for their humility. It is likely that some of the complaints are genuine, but the possibility also exists that some of them are a) overstated for effect b) put forward as a way of cutting people down to size. At present, there is in many places in society an atmosphere of self-loathing and a willingness to allow attacks on valued and important parts of the establishment.
Nothing changes in the services at all. But todays toxic views are eating away to the fabric of sensible living. The RAF has lost a lot of face in recent times with its WOKE views as has the others to a lessor degree. All falling inline with those poor confused folks wanting to dictate to our way of living. It needs to stop and STOP NOW. The Services are not an industry and they have a duty to perform that is away from the way society is. If they cant sort it and get back to the being at the top of their game then rubbish them all. Once served in war and peace but I wouldn’t fall in step with those running the show now as they are so pink and fluffy in their thinking. It s a disgrace they way ‘Officers’ are. Leadership? and Discipline all gone so they can fall instep with those fools dictating today. God help us if war ever came to our shores as no one would step up to stop them, only show them to where they can claim all we have.
Well said, but I also sometimes wonder if the UK needs another war closer to home to help ‘refocus’ some minds as to what is actually important and what isn’t!
Is nothing sacred in the bizarre world we now leave in? Nothing seems to work anymore, nobody is to be trusted to deliver anything. It’s very sad.
There are forces and people at work whose sole aim is to undermine the country and its established order. They have latched onto the cult of the individual (“my rights are sacred”) as their chosen delivery system and they seem to be achieving considerable success, probably because good people are standing by and doing nothing to stop them. In my day we called them Marxists, Bolshies and Trots
People have been shagging each other in the military for thousands of years, just because they wear a red fucking suit doesn’t make them robots! Human nature, it’s normal (well used to be, but not to sure a male/female combi is acceptable in the RAF now, need some acronyms LGBTQ+A/CD£?TRANSATLANTIC:/3?)……..
Either it’s accepted that people shagg in the services or it’s a total ban. Celibacy at work.
Now if it’s bad bullying then something needs to be put in place to sort it out before it goes to far.
Some year long investigation costing a fortune is probably overkill and by the time it’s ready half the current arrows will have moved on.
If it’s just shagging then okeedokee but let’s hope there’s nothing more, such as bullying etc as that leads down a rabbit hole that’s hard to extract from 👍
Sailors at sea cannot shag but it seems to be OK elsewhere in HM Forces, except if one or more are married.
None of this would have happened if the various COs of the squadron had done their job properly. It really is that simple.
Do COs stop people shagging these days? I must be out of date – I left HM Forces in 2009.
Spoken like a Para and spot on !
😇👍
Like many in here, I have seen the Red Arrows many times, over many years. Always a fantastic display, and a great crowd pleaser.
And then there were 7, and then on the 26th August at the Clacton Air Show, 7 Red Arrows were due to display, and eventually only 6 rocked up, with something about and aircraft being pulled, because of a mechanical issue or whatever.
What is going on in peoples personal lives, has nothing to do with display flying. (in my opinion) Again, a personal view, would be that allegations of alleged shenanigans with aircrew, seem a little OTT to me.
Are the Red Arrows diminishing as an aerobatics flying team, in the eyes of the public… well there were 10’s of thousands there that day. I for one, certainly did not hear anything negative about them.
Hmmm. For years the Times / Sunday Times have been voices of the anti-establishment rather than the other. In my observation they specialise in random Royal Family bashing and sometimes fictional Sunday morning scoops.
On the Red Arrows? I don’t know.
I’d say there’s likely to be some management over-political correctness, but also a real core issue.
Is part of it about breach of discipline, like the two officers from the nuclear submarines who were defenestrated earlier this year?
But I am speculating.
Agree about The Times, which reads more like the Guardian these days.
Whatever problems exist, they should have been dealt with at a local level by someone who understands the people and the situation well. Having the problem dealt with by somebody sent from London is an operational and PR disaster.
Should have took a knee before mounting their jets and painted the hawks in rainbow colours. Had they done so we probably would not know anything about this. What the woke media do not understand is we may need these guys soon and we need the best of the best. Not pilots based on gender or colour adhereing to a diversity agenda. Make no mistake the main media’s reporting will be driven by the fact that these pilots are white males. I have not seen the red arrow pilots but I know none of them are black or Asian: my God if there was we would have all heard about !
Spot on, the WOKE folks are killing everything worth being. Got to STOP and now as the majority have no time for it so lets say so. The coloured and such just do not want to join up so there. The state is still mostly WHITE so and they are happy to join up so let them. one volunteer is worth 10 pressed. War is dirty and not with 5 star hotels so get on with it OK. Those that served and saved this country from the hell’s of the past are spinning in their graves. Will the WOKE’s stand up for Freedom? not so sure. The Choice should always be ‘ THE BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB’ regardless. Get a grip RAF or your days are numbered.
For information, the Red Arrows select their own colleagues, because team spirit is so important to their work.
Nope, it’s standard practice in all big organisations. Set up an inquiry, make it large enough to a) satisfy the fiercest critics b) take a very long time, then run around removing undesirables and tightening up the documents which specify SOPs and policies. Then, as you say, announce that the problems are all historical and have already been fixed. The NHS does it as a matter of course, and I suspect that the armed forces do it as well, given how much they detest government interference.