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Leuchars becoming Army Barracks?

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Leuchars becoming Army Barracks?

Postby MelissaL on Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:33 pm

So the news is that Leuchars is shutting as an RAF base, but may be utilised as an army barracks.
However, I've hear that this would mean the military would go from having 1500-2000 members of staff living in Leuchars to 5000. This could then spill over to make St Andrews an unofficial Army garrison town as well.
With all the trouble we have with student housing as it is in St Andrews, this would likely lead to a greater demand for available housing. Then there's those who live in nearby villages as well affiliated with the University as faculty or staff (and even some students). Unless the Army has additional housing built to accommodate the extra demand on local housing facilities.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Or heard anything?
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Re: Leuchars becoming Army Barracks?

Postby Duggeh on Mon Jul 18, 2011 5:16 pm

I think its fucking retarded to hand over millions of pounds in aid to countries like India and Pakistan which have their own space program and state sanctioned, state enabled anti-western terrorism organisations respectively whilst we run down our own military.

Cue much more knee jerking.
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Re: Leuchars becoming Army Barracks?

Postby Delts on Tue Jul 19, 2011 1:48 pm

The issue I immediately thought of was the potential for trouble in the pubs in St Andrews. Whilst RAF personnel are still on duty when they're at the air base, squadies at barracks as far as I know get a lot more time off since they aren't combat ready. St Andrews being the closest town with lots of pubs I would imagine a lot would travel there for nights out. I know it's a stereotype, but boozed up squadies don't have the best reputation for being calm and peaceful.
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Re: Leuchars becoming Army Barracks?

Postby Hennessy on Wed Jul 20, 2011 7:03 pm

I don't know what they're doing to the base but it has its own bowling alley, gym and large well appointed NAAFI. If they want a proper balls-out piss up they'll probably go to Dundee, from my own experience most would consider St Andrews too boring for a night out. Same with their families - soldiers aren't very well paid so they'll probably favour Dundee's large chain shops over St Andrews smaller, limited boutique shops. Morrisons might see a bit more trade.

Other than that I kind of hope they do find St Andrews attractive and visit, in the USA the arrival of a barracks nearby wouldn't be a cause for concern - the British public have a long and shameful history of considering those who serve them as badly mannered thugs.
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Re: Leuchars becoming Army Barracks?

Postby macgamer on Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:57 pm

munchingfoo wrote:You forget the draw that an entire town of young beautiful university age clunge will have on an a base of squadies! Your average soldier will spend his last pound on booze with the hope of getting laid, or if not into a fight, if it's not taken off him on pay day by MOD or his missus.

Quite.

Where's this story come from; source?[/quote]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-14182729
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Re: Leuchars becoming Army Barracks?

Postby jollytiddlywink on Tue Jul 26, 2011 3:45 pm

If the Army is going to station 5000 troops at Leuchars, then they will build barrack accommodation for 5000 troops, and accommodation for the families of those troops. There shouldn't be any impact on housing in St Andrews... such impact as there might be is more likely to be caused by secondary effects of the number of service personnel increasing, needing more shops and things near the base, and the people to work in those shops will need to live somewhere, which might be St Andrews.

I think that Hennessey is getting needlessly grumpy. Has he forgotten the effect that an entire town of beautiful university-age clunge has on a town full of university-age undergraduate men? The average undergrad will spend their last pound of loans/overdraft on booze with the hope of getting laid or simply having a royally large piss-up on Raisin Sunday, or on 1 May, or after exams, or on Friday night, or on a day ending in 'y'...

I'm most concerned that this government seems to be dismantling the British armed forces piece by piece. It hasn't escaped my notice that the Tories seem to follow a pattern on getting into power: make military cuts and then immediately begin military action against a Colonel we don't like. A bit of retrenchment and seeking efficiencies is one thing, but making swinging cuts to the services, to equipment, capabilities, and personnel, is quite another!
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Re: Leuchars becoming Army Barracks?

Postby Anon. on Tue Jul 26, 2011 8:49 pm

Hennessy wrote:...the British public have a long and shameful history of considering those who serve them as badly mannered thugs.


Following in the grand tradition of the Duke of Wellington, who said in a letter to the Secretary of State for War on 2 July 1813 that "we have in the service the scum of the earth as common soldiers".
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Re: Leuchars becoming Army Barracks?

Postby RedCelt69 on Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:47 pm

The time when the British army was really stretched

We don't have an empire any more. Our military requirements are negligible, to put it mildly.

The problem isn't with regards to the size of the UK army/navy/airforce, it is with regards to the commitments that our government(s) keep getting us into.

As far as Leuchars is concerned, there's a lot more "clunge" in Dundee... and they have nightclubs. And you can only refer to St Andrews as "an entire town of young beautiful university age clunge" if you're bisexual and have very low standards when you're assessing "beauty".

Accommodation might well be a problem. Not all military families want to live on a base, so they will look elsewhere; e.g. a neighbour in Cupar was stationed at Leuchars.
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