"Gawd! Your Paired up with a Split Arse?!"
So, some 40 years ago, I started my military career as a Royal Air Force Police Officer and I hasten to add, what I still regard as the career that connected the most out of any I have had (and if you have read any of my previous editions you will know, I have pivoted a lot!).
At the start of your RAF career, at least in the RAF Police, you become part of a team doing what may be seen as “soldiering” type duties…mine was protecting the “sunshine bombs” for a period…and hey, I didnt mind it, all part of the job and protecting my country.
Anyway, eventually, postings to different bases mean different duties and different associations with colleagues.
My RAF Gutersloh posting became a mix of both a team-oriented scenario and, on promotion, more of a “double act” when I was posted down the airfield to P&SS(DET) NG, onto traffic.
Read More Here For Some Further Background:
And so, P&SS duties, just to give you an overview, involved policing over 500 sq km of Germany, external to the main base. This meant not just traffic interaction but also dealing with all the remote domestic sites associated with the military (RAF and Army), as well as local incidents, ranging from terrorist activity to military brawls in German Bars.
No day was ever the same.
I was assigned to a specific shift pattern and to “buddy up” with a.n.other Officer.
The RAF Police Officer I was paired with was a female NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer - Substantive Corporal…so same rank as me).
We soon got into the cut and thrust of our duties and started coping with the daily shifts of policing tempo.
As I have mentioned, this was the best part of forty years ago, but in a time, I thought, at least, people had become more open to gender and race differences…it turned out that not everyone had!
Clocking off after a 12-hour shift, which had actually turned into a 15-hour shift due to a mound of paperwork needed for a suspected terrorist device we had dealt with, I was shooting the breeze with the guys on the Control Room Desk…
“Bit of a tough day then?”
“Ha, aye, but we got through it…it’s the paperwork that breaks yer back lol”, I responded.
“Gawd! You got paired with a split arse! The work is all on you,” was the response.
These are the actual words btw
I was, to say the least, taken aback by this comment and couldn’t get my head around what had just been said.
“Hey, that’s a bit harsh…my partner works as hard and efficiently as I do…”
“Bollocks! Wouldnt want a split arse as my second, couldnt rely on one”.
“Look, she is trained the same way we have been, more than capable…”
“Don’t think she would have your back when the heat is on”
“Rubbish, I have seen her in action and she operates the same way we all do…”
“Your missus not worried about her jumping your bones?”
“Seriously, that is ridiculous and wrong…She has her own partner, and that side of things has nothing to do with the way we work. That’s like saying, if one of you were my second, should I be worried that you won’t want to “jump my bones”!”
I had become angry and actually, to some extent, confused, by this misogynistic attitude…again, this was 40 years ago, but in my life experiences up until that point, I had thought people had gotten beyond that mindset.
What I also found out later was that females in the RAF and/or other forces were actually paid on a lesser pay band, for what reason? They had undergone exactly the same training process and advanced through ranks in exactly the same way…but…because they were female…they didn't warrant the same pay???!!
And where are we today?
I know there has been an advancement in the disparity of wages, but, from a little research, I do not think the UK Forces Equal Wage system reflects equality.
https://www.raf.mod.uk/community-support/raf-serving-families-news/gender-pay-gap-uk-armed-forces/
The gap is still there…it may be smaller, but I still question, why?!
From experience, not just in the military, I know women are just as capable as men…what the hell modern society are we living in?!
I know this has been a short one, but it was in my head and I wanted to get it out there.
What are your thoughts?
What are your experiences (no matter what gender you are)?
Until Next Time
