Olympics

[loopydoo]

So - can someone please explain to me why on earth, when the Olympics are a couple of weeks long, does it take goodness knows how many military personnel to be in London for the entire 3 months of June, July, August? It's only a bit shorter than an op tour for goodness sakes.

I can understand why they might need a month in total but honestly.....

because the olympics do include the para olympics so you have 2 weeks olympics (which isn't actually 2 weeks but longer due to football etc) and then you have a 2 week break and then 2 weeks of para olympics so that is 6 weeks. They need a couple of weeks before hand for training and setting up, so they all know what they are doing and a couple of weeks after to help take it all to bits. Which in total makes 10 weeks so the 3 months isn't actually going to be 3 months really just 2 1/2 months. And 3 months is a LOT shorter than an op tour as in its half of an op tour !! At least they won't be getting shot at :)

Thanks Pimms - makes sense I guess. Couldn't be bothered to DH as he bores me with the detail.

When I said op tour, I was referring to the shorter 4 month tours that the guys near me are now tending to do ;)

sorry loopy was in a bad mood when I wrote the post, didn't mean to be so blunt. Dh is away this week and I have sick DCs so am a little sleep deprived. Dh is off to do a 6 month tour later in the year but has still been put on standby for the olympics. He gave me a long lecture about it the other week as he is a little pissed off annoyed that if you add it to training and then going away he could be away from us for just under 10 months in one block. Looks like our break at half term may be the only holiday we get as a family for the next year

10 months is awful!

We might try and get away at half term too.

well - the reason the army are doing the olympics and not the TA is because the TA have to be paid! So much for the Govt. feeling sorry for soldiers having to deploy so much and sayibng how much they appreciate them etc, bla, bla, bla.......they give a toss in reality.

I know, they think, the guys who aren't in Afghan this summer, we'll make them go to London during the only time they have with their families. Great idea- NOT.

I'm so annoyed - not just for DH (he hasn't actually been away for a while) but for the families of soldiers who had been on op tour and who wanted to spend some summer leave with their fmailies - what a rubbish decision to make them go to London instead.