Why did they decide to move at least 10 tanks down the M1 between the hours of 08-00 - 09-00 this morning? Peak Rushour . I came across it causing chaos at around J18. I know they have to be moved, but I’d have thought a “sensible” time would have been in order 
. They may get a letter about this enquiring what the logic was. Not a stroppy one (for a change), just curious, because I stand to be corrected, but the mind boggles 
.
steady!! you dont want to take on the british army lib!! 
WAS there no mention on the traffic news from the radio stations ,as once the convoy is moveing,any thought of the word security is a joke, the
transport office should have informened the various police who hold responsibility for the areas that the convoy passes through , AS if they had
used this information as the convoy was enroute along with the electronic signs this may have saved some of the greif inflicted on other roadusers,
not sure how their notifications work, ours usually state no movement between 07:00-09:30 and 16:00-18:30, but in THEORY anyway they should have to inform each police force 30 minutes before they arrive at it’s border, and they should in turn tell them to park up if it’s rush hour.
i’m always amazed when i hear on the traffic reports of (slow) wide loads moving wherever during rush hour, the countless hours i’ve sat around over the years - soon as i tried it there’d be blue lights everywhere i’m sure!
Could have been many reasons:
Boat to catch
Tanks Fitted with ERA (Explosive reactive armour), Top Secret and Armed Guard required, when not parked in secure area.
Vehicle Break down, Problems loading (Tracked Vehicles are notorious for not moving when you want them to).
All could contribute to the convoy still being there when it should have been somewhere else.
Have a little bit of respect please!!!, these guys are going out somewhere to either fight a war on OUR behalf or practice for one.
Most of them on a far lesser wage than the average truck driver and doing more hours than you could possibly imagine, next time they go past stick your thumbs up at them bow your head and thank them, tomorrow they might just die for the freedom we take for granted.
Give them as much space as they require and a little bit more just in case.
Would you have had the same reaction if it was a heavy or wide load being moved by a civvy outfit?..
jammymutt:
Have a little bit of respect please!!!, these guys are going out somewhere to either fight a war on OUR behalf or practice for one.Most of them on a far lesser wage than the average truck driver and doing more hours than you could possibly imagine, next time they go past stick your thumbs up at them bow your head and thank them, tomorrow they might just die for the freedom we take for granted.
Give them as much space as they require and a little bit more just in case.
Would you have had the same reaction if it was a heavy or wide load being moved by a civvy outfit?..
dont talk crap. wednesday afternoons off, half 12 finish on fridays, the other 2 days are near enough office hours now. even then a lot of them skive off.
unless things have dramatically changed since i left 3 years ago but i doubt it
jammymutt:
Have a little bit of respect please!!!, these guys are going out somewhere to either fight a war on OUR behalf or practice for one.Most of them on a far lesser wage than the average truck driver and doing more hours than you could possibly imagine, next time they go past stick your thumbs up at them bow your head and thank them, tomorrow they might just die for the freedom we take for granted.
Give them as much space as they require and a little bit more just in case.
Would you have had the same reaction if it was a heavy or wide load being moved by a civvy outfit?..
As none of them are conscripted and have therefore chosen that career it means they are only doing a job like the rest of us. However I do agree they are obviously a special case on the roads and realise this may mean causing the occasional hold ups etc.
Well said Ron & Jammy!! You’re both right in what you say; I used to find that during Falklands/Iraq/Bosnia/Kosovo/Seria Leone/Iraq 2, not to mention fire/ambulance strikes we were ‘heros’ but during the ‘quiet’ times we were just ‘squaddie barstewards’
As I said, just curious this time 
. As for having the same reaction for a civilian outfit, yes I would question the logic of moving 10+ STGO loads during peak rushour. Anyone else any ideas why?
scanny77:
dont talk crap. wednesday afternoons off, half 12 finish on fridays, the other 2 days are near enough office hours now. even then a lot of them skive off.
unless things have dramatically changed since i left 3 years ago but i doubt it
As there is a Garrison here in Paderborn where I am living and working these days, I have a lot of contact with both ex-pats and still-serving personnel. Indeed some of our work includes deliveries to quite a few of the camps so I’d say I have enough enough of a ‘finger on the pulse’ to make an accurate comment.
Those I know who are still serving are working a lot of weekends, doing many many more op tours than the ‘harmony guidelines’ state that they should and also getting stitched-up for the likes of Canada & Poland for 3 months at a time!!
I always thought i’d had it bad in the army because I worked with animals; working at least every other weekend and at the very best, half of the bank holidays & only ever either xmas or new year - never both!! Tell you what - most of them don’t have it much better nowadays so the short time they get between tours is spent exercising/training in preperation for the next ‘all too soon’ tour!!
Scanny, whatever part of the army you were in, I wish i’d have joined it!! 
i was a telecommunications operator telegraphist mate. a scaly but i was involved in other things outside my trade hence my HGV and tracked licencing. neither of them were part of my trade training but i was put forward for the courses by my unit.
the HGV course meant i was sent to leconfield for 7 weeks 
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an “chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of 'is country” when the guns to shoot.
Tommy by Rudyard Kipling
When applying for a movement order of an abnormal load, a copy of your intended route has to be faxed to, all the various Police Forces, you will be passing through. You will in return, receive a confirmation fax, if the said route is ok i.e. no low bridges, weight restrictions etc.
The only time stipulations, I have come across, are movement only during daylight hours and no movement in poor visibility.
Depending on the weight, you will also be advised on speed, load to be moved at.
With regards to 10 abnormal loads, I think, commen decency, would have been to move these loads, in at least 1hr splits, to avoid to much chaos.
John
knight:
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an “chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of 'is country” when the guns to shoot.Tommy by Rudyard Kipling
That’s what I was trying to say!! 
cornish trucker:
I think, commen decency, would have been to move these loads, in at least 1hr splits, to avoid to much chaos.
Unfortunately, common decency doesn’t usually have much chance when short notice operations and deployments are occuring.
are we assuming that this convoy was on ops? the unit i worked beside had police escorts for training too. they drove around quite frequently at Bulford but i think they had to since that was their main job. transporting tanks. therefore they would have to practice regularly to keep their skills up to speed. they never left the barracks without ■■■■■■ bikes though
I cant see a problem moving a convoy during peak times - the traffic isnt moving all that quickly anyway at that time - particularly around the Leicester Forest area, where most of the morons come down the outside lane at warp speed and decide that they need to get off at J21 when theyre about 10 yards away :open_mouth: Not picking on Leicester btw, as its the same around J25 and 26 where I live
Regards
Trev
To me the whole thing is in just the same vane as when everyone complains about driver training vehicles in the Leconfield/Beverly/Hull area.
Granted, it is a bit of a pain-in-the-arse but has to be done. Understanding of the situation (and a bit of patience) is all that is required.
marcustandy:
. Understanding of the situation is alll that is required.
Exactly what I’m trying to do if you read my post. Now, why shift them at this particular time?
jammymutt:
these guys are going out somewhere to either fight a war on OUR behalf or practice for one.
Or to line the pockets of American politicians eh mr Cheney
(not a dig at the squaddies …more at theirs ultimate bosses)