Civilianisation?

Even back in my days of hammocks canteen messing, bench lockers and the tot when as Jack dusty Nuts and bolts[if you want to see a man cry shout "British Standard Whitworth"I've counted out thousands of the bastards] Even then before motorways when Lonnie Donagon was top of the pops, Civilianisation of both branches of Naval Stores was rife on shore drafts.Many C.P.O.'s simply changed into civvies and tried to throw their weight about as though nothing had changed. I'm well out of touch but I picked up on that R.N. Cooks[ no chefs in my day] and Stewards are confined to sea going drafts due to the private catering sector taking over shore establishments. True or false? If true is it the same for trades ratings? Before my retirement from H.M.Prison Service I saw the same happen with escorts an d catering. My oppos still serving tell me that they live under the threat of market testing and private take over with resulting loss of pension, some within a few weeks of retirement. Is it true in relation of the mob? If so those of you happy with a Tory win,be c areful what you wished for!

 

Whilst not fully confined to sea-going drafts, most chefs will spend the majority of their time at sea until at least senior rate level. This is actually a hot topic within the catering services world at the moment as retention has suffered extremely badly, especially at killick level.
There are many factors involved, not just the lack of shore drafts; lean manning, time-sapping secondary roles and gapped manpower have all contributed. It is particularly hard for some chefs to see their logistics brethren (Jack Dustys & Scribes mainly) benefit from shore drafts inbetween sea drafts on a regular basis and at all rates. This isn't to say there aren't some shore drafts for chefs as I know plenty of people in lympstone and culdrose, plus the mob is trying it's best to source more shore side employment opportunities in the form of old ex-royal marine billets. I've even heard rumours of a scaling back of the private jobs in naval establishments to allow RN chefs to be employed there once more but this could be false information.

 

That's not just chefs but for all branches and you're not the only one to have heard this.