An Airman in Northern Ireland
As an Airman serving in Northern Ireland I came in for more abuse from fellow servicemen than I did from locals.
It was generally thought that any Crab not flying helicopters had a cushy number and was at no risk whatsoever. This is far from the truth as me and a lot of my colleagues got sent out on jobs in civvie clothes and sometimes in uniform to bases in the south of the Province (St Angelo and Bessbrook being 2 of them).
Travelling down South was by no means a safe affair and doing it in Uniform and in a military tanker with 25,000 litres of AVTUR is not to be taken lightly. This is a story I think I will save for another time. Now being at RAF Aldergrove was a busy experience - this was home to a large number of helicopters (RAF and AAC). Also home to a contingent of Hereford boys (a large hanger compound with free roaming Dobermans) and a training facility for the RUC.
We would have a good laugh at the RUC Macralons heading past us on the way to training and later on returning past us looking somewhat singed. Being in NI had one serious perk - no accommodation or food charges! I managed to save up a fair amount of money during my 2 years there. 1986 - 1988 were also good years for VCR's and Computers - the local shop and Movements Flight did a rare old trade in German Beer and Porn.
Getting to and from the Mainland was always "fun" - even though Aldergrove was attached to Belfast International, we had to travel on the main roads to get to the terminal. Of course using Belfast International was a luxury - the MOD did not want to spend any more money than it had to so if a flight would leave from Belfast City (by Harland & Wolf) then that would be the choice. So tickets obtained from your warrant you would book transport from the MT flight and get a fast drive down to Belfast to meet your flight. There could be up to 5 of you in a car heading into Belfast and only the driver was armed. Getting out of the base was a convoluted process. You had to go to the RAF Police (all base guarding was done by them) book out, tell them where you were going, how long for, who you were seeing (the person had to vetted) and when you were expected back. Failure to report back would not only result in you getting into trouble but would result in an operation to track you down - you could easily be kidnapped or dead! Taxi's - you could book then and there was an approved list. Not a black cab on the list!!! The first one I took I bricked myself as he took us on an unscheduled tour of the Republican areas of Belfast. At one set of traffic lights a motorcyclist stopped next to us and kept revving his engine. I expected to be jumped any second. Fortunately nothing happened but I learnt a valuable lesson that day - If going off base, don't let the thickest guy in the group plan the trip.
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