Another Brick In The Wall...Well...No!
Promotion and The Gulf
I am just musing over a key time in Germany, 35 years ago this month, when the Berlin Wall came down. Whilst I wasn’t actually in Berlin at the time, my shift buddy and I, had the advantage point of a main motorway route out of Berlin. We had an overview of the flood of Trabants (a popular East German mode of transport), and when I say flood, I mean flood!
We often said that Trabants were made of paper mache and had elastic bands to power them. They were actually constructed of steel frame, with the roof, boot lid, bonnet, wings and doors made of duroplast, a hard plastic made from recycled cotton waste from the Soviet Union and phenol resins from the East German dye industry. It was not a sturdy vehicle by any means, but it was a product of the Cold War economy.
The Cold War and the threat of terrorism from the IRA were a constant in our lives and little did we know there were to be more World skirmishes ahead.
My posting on ATsy came to an end after I earned enough “points” to attend a course back in the UK (back to RAF Newton training base) and become a Substantive Corporal. RAF Police, on completion of initial training, get to wear Corporal stripes but are SAC acting Corporals until their FT (Further Training) if and when they are “seen” to meet the heady heights of FULL Corporal.
Now, getting a rank upgrade or completing a certain amount of time in a posting, also means a new posting was due. You all get a “Dream Sheet” (statement of preferred postings) to complete during all of your assessment periods…exciting eh?
In honesty, I varied my choices over the years but always looked for the well-favoured locations, one being Decimomannu where the RAF had a permanent detachment…hey who wouldn’t mind working in Sardinia?
And so the day came…I was called to the Flight Sergeants’ office to get my new posting.
The FS greeted me with a smile…well…more of a grin.
“Congratulations on your promotion”
“Thank you Flight”
“Now, I have considered you for an extension of service, based on your ongoing performance. That means, today, I can offer you up to 22 years of service, that is of course if you want to extend?”
This was a great opportunity, in my mind, 22 years of service in a job I loved and knowing I would be entitled to a half-decent pension in light of it…and hey, Dad would be chuffed…well, I think lol.
“Flight, I would love to accept the offer, thank you”, I eagerly responded.
“Sign here…” he passed me some paperwork, I signed and that was my future seemingly secured.
“And now I am guessing, you are excited to know your new posting?”, the grin was still there and a little disconcerting.
“Yes, Flight, I am!”
“2 Weeks from now you will be posted to P&SS Detachment Northern Germany”
This sounded grand, although I didn’t really understand what and where this was. I loved Germany so not really a problem but I was thinking about the logistics of packing up and moving out of Married Quarters.
“Thank you, Flight”.
A silence and still that broad grin across his face…was there a catch to this posting?
“Ermmm….could I ask whereabouts in Germany that is please?”
The Flight Sergeant chuckled and moved over to a map on the wall, pointing at a location as he did.
“There…” his finger dropping directly on Gutersloh…eh?
“Flight…that’s here…”
“Kind of, yes…look, here is the map of the airfield, most of which you are familiar with”…his finger drew across the access roads around the airfield and main pan and descended on a small black block tucked away at the far end of the base…” But chances are you didn’t know this place, beyond the Pigs Bar….”
“So, I am being posted within this posting?”
“Yes, technically P&SS is a permanent detachment on base. Predominantly traffic duties but airfield and married quarters security are your mains for this posting. You will be there a minimum of 3 years..” He looked to me for a reaction.
This sounded very interesting.
“Flight…well…that sounds great!”
The thoughts of packing a million boxes and settling into a new area melted away.
I had been posted down the airfield lol.
But having secured a 22-year “contract” was peace of mind in my eyes and something I knew I wanted.
Working Traffic, on P&SS (Provost & Security Services), meant we covered some 500 square miles including the base, and all outlying Married Quarters alongside the Local Police, the Bundesgrenzschutz, other German emergency services and the Army RMP’s (Royal Military Police…the “Red Caps”).
We also supplemented the ATsy team for off-base duties.
I hadn’t been with P&SS too long when we had to meet up with the ATsy crew up in Berlin as it happens.
Meeting up on the Autobahn, we discussed the “digs” we were booked into, and yes, whilst there are many jokes about the RAF commanding special treatment in respect of accommodation, we knew this was a rather grand place…not naming as it would sound as if I were boasting.
Anyway, we had booked in and knew the flight we were dealing with would not need our attendance until around midday the next day so…Berlin bars…here we come!
We had heard of an almost mythical schnapps “Ratzeputz” and a bar by the same name in Berlin…it was only 58% proof…what could go wrong?
The Ratzeputz Bar was awesome and I see it is still there…everything you want in a bar if you’re the kind of person that likes pub life…in the Services, there is a common denominator with servicemen and drink I ain’t going to lie.
So, there were 3 of us and we were hell-bent on trying the Ratzeputz Schnapps…when in Rome eh?
The 3 of us took post at the bar and called the barman over and ordered 3 shots. He promptly told us that he would only be able to serve us a maximum of 3 shots of Ratzeputz due to the nature of the alcohol level in it.
A challenge eh?
First shot down.
Second ordered.
Second shot down.
And one of our trio, “Claude” (a nickname, he was actually John…long story) said he felt a bit rough and almost instantly became VERY blotchy…it turned out he had an allergy to certain alcohols/or their high gravity…and within moments he toppled off his bar stool to the floor…
Being the caring comrades…we ordered the third shot and the two of us still “standing” took one each and shared the third…oh…and then checked on Claude lol.
We managed to grab a couple of German “big beers” en route back to the digs, but Claude was not too happy drinking anything beyond those shots, so back to the hotel room we went.
The room was a twin bed affair, so I coupled up with Claude so I could keep an eye on him and the other guy went to join the ATsy entourage.
There was a television in the room and I put it on to see what was available channel-wise and stopped at the news channel….
…something was “going on”!
The screen was alight with Skud missiles being launched, a sky racked with missiles…
We lay, I say we as Claude was still in a bad way, watching the commencement of The Gulf War - Operation Desert Shield.
The reality is that even as a Serviceman this sort of event still stops you in your tracks. We already had the Cold War in our minds, already lived a curated lifestyle avoiding the terror of the IRA but another “skirmish”…well it makes you think.
The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher Prime Minister at the time, had previously gotten us into a conflict, the Falklands War in 1982 and hey you start to wonder where this would go (she was still PM at the start of the Gulf War).
Look, you know, as a service person, you are prime for meeting conflict, it’s a given and you respect that you chose to be one to fight for the greater good but you still get that…
…oh shit!
Moment.
Until Next Time
Make sure you check out next week’s issue:
“The Gulf War as We Saw It”
“Terror Events”
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