"Canuck" wrote in message
...

"Andrew Chaplin" wrote in message

(Geez, Nick, have you ever been paid to wear a uniform, or are you a
wannabe?)

No, I'm not a wannabe. I'm a Political Scientist who specializes in
strategic studies and international relations. I've trained to become a
pilot but due to health reasons am not a pilot. I still love
aircraft/aviation/aerospace and photography in genral and I know the
relevance of national symbols and having good will ambassadors such as the
Snowbirds.

Insults and half baked theories do not cut it. Clean it up or don't bother
replying.

You have just confessed that you are, at least, a "wanted-to-be." From your
remark about "the relevance of national symbols and having good will
ambassadors," I take it that you cannot quantify the benefit.

I am a retired artillery officer with 27 years service, mostly in AD units,
and a degree in history. I served as a staff wallah in NDHQ and have an
understanding of how it works. If we are using Tutors rather than Hawks, then
you can be fairly certain that someone working for the Chief of the Air Staff
has done the sums and figured out that retaining the Tutor is cheaper. They
certainly know -- to the dollar -- how much more money they would have to work
with if it were not politically ill-viewed to dump the Snowbirds. Because of
the political sensitivity surrounding the Snowbirds, they get used as a poison
pill every time someone threatens to cut CAS's budget.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)