I'm not sure whether to post this in Real Life Military or here.

Anyway, today I flew my last flight in the military after over 25 years as aircrew and over 20 years as a pilot. In that time I've accumulated nearly 8,000 hours - 6,500 of them as a pilot. It was a really touching surprise to find the whole squadron waiting for my return from that last sortie, with a bottle of champagne and a speech from my Boss. I hate having my photo taken, but I was unable to escape on this occasion.

I joined the Army nearly 33 years ago as a tank crewman, so I think it'd be fair to say I've seen one or two changes. One I find almost amusing is that when I joined, my regiment was desperately under-manned and we had to 'borrow' soldiers from another unit to complete an infantry tour in Belfast during the early part of 1978. Some things never change, do they?

Some things, however, have remained constant - the British squaddie's sense of humour, dedication and commitment. You can't beat the loyalty of 'the team', of those friends and colleagues who would lay down their life for you, and for others, selflessly. We see this quality on our TV screens almost daily from Afghanistan and I'm immensley proud to have served with this superb group of people.

The courage displayed by these young men and women is utterly inspiring and I hope the youth of today hold them in the regard which they're due, forever.

I start my new job on 7 Dec (my 50th birthday) as a civilian instructor on the sister squadron to that on which I now serve, and I hope I can continue to mould future generations of military pilots for many years to come. More, I hope that these young aviators from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, British Army and Royal Air Force will remain safe and live to serve longer than I have.

Fear naught

Must be a very hard day for you. Even though I sometimes hated the Navy I felt like falling into a hole the last active day when me and some long time colleagues were waving goodbye.

May I ask what type of a/c did you pilot in the past?

Congratulations on your retirement. It sounds like you still get to fly the same aircraft.

Congrats Cary, remember it's only the close of one chapter and the start of yet another.

sprocky wrote:Must be a very hard day for you. Even though I sometimes hated the Navy I felt like falling into a hole the last active day when me and some long time colleagues were waving goodbye.

It's bittersweet, isn't it? At least I will still have close contact to the same world, and where I teach is also the instructor school, so old friends pass through constantly.

sprocky wrote:May I ask what type of a/c did you pilot in the past?

Ah My log book is pretty full, in fact I'm on my third now. I started in training on Chipmunk fixed wing and Gazelle helicopters and went on to fly Gazelle and Lynx operationally. I've been teaching on the Squirrel (Eurocopter AS350BB) for a number of years, but in those logbooks are ;

Scout
Allouette II and III
Wasp
Sioux (Bell 47G)
Skeeter
Islander
Beaver
Auster
Hip
Hind
UH-60
AH-1
AH-64
UH-1
Kiowa
Firefly
Tutor
Hawk
Chinook
Puma
Wessex
Merlin
CH-53
oh, and the one I'll never touch again with a bargepole ...
R-22

BadPvtDan wrote:Congratulations on your retirement.

Thank you

BadPvtDan wrote:It sounds like you still get to fly the same aircraft.

Yes, I will, until it's replaced in a couple of years when they renew the training contract.

MIKE JG wrote:Congrats Cary, remember it's only the close of one chapter and the start of yet another.

Thank you Mike, that's a good thing to keep in mind

Congratulations and thanks for your service from a grateful ally. Good luck in your future endeavours.

aerogator wrote:Congratulations and thanks for your service from a grateful ally. Good luck in your future endeavours.

Thanks Jake

Congrats on completion of Phase I. My best to you as you begin Phase II.

Ron

ronniegj wrote:Congrats on completion of Phase I. My best to you as you begin Phase II.

Ron

Yep, toughest test yet!

I always look up when I see a Eurocopter turn over keadby PS and think I wonder if that is Cary

Hope you have a happy time in your new job

same suit just no hat


Gary

Cary

All the best in the new role, wish you all the best..

.... A great logbook you have there....

What was the Hind like to fly?

Barry

Garysb wrote:same suit just no hat

Precisely!

They did get baseball caps a few years ago with our callsigns on the back. Mine was A55 at the time (think about it!)

btaylo24 wrote:What was the Hind like to fly?

Heavy!

Congrats on your job change.

I think you might be quite lucky in that you are staying in a military environment. It took some time for me to adjust to civilian attitudes after I quit the RN. 5 years on and I'm just about civilianised

petebramley wrote:Congrats on your job change.

I think you might be quite lucky in that you are staying in a military environment. It took some time for me to adjust to civilian attitudes after I quit the RN. 5 years on and I'm just about civilianised

Thanks Pete. I've heard a lot of people say they've found it quite difficult adjusting to civilian work practices. I suppose that's why most ex-Forces have 2 or 3 jobs in the first year.

CelticWarrior wrote:I've heard a lot of people say they've found it quite difficult adjusting to civilian work practices. I suppose that's why most ex-Forces have 2 or 3 jobs in the first year.

Left the Navy June 2000 and currently working for the fourth company. Actually the fifth if you count a take-over after which they laid off staff.