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It looks as though the reporters have been doing some sniffing around:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/0 ... rted-crew/

If half of this is true then he will be in line for a painful and well deserved smacking. The investigation so far has been farcical - I don't see how he could be 're-assigned to other duties' but remain in command for example. He's either in command or he's not.

No matter how popular you are you always piss somebody off.

The Sun was the favourite for snitching. Someone around 1965 screwed up Mountbatten's jolly. It was a 'wife of'. By 2000 it was via Tom Newton Dunn.

An interesting situation (in many ways...) but IF he is still 'In command' and No1 runs the lady onto the rocks on its way to Pompey, he could be court-martialled for losing his ship!

The version I had heard as scuttlebutt emanating locally from Rosyth's Inner Basin was that he'd been systematically fiddling the vehicle's logsheet over a period of months and that senior Rates were pissed off with his hypocrisy.

The view taken was that he'd have come down like a ton of bricks on anyone else aboard if they'd been caught cooking the books, so why the hell should he be allowed to get away with it forever? That's why he was dobbed in by his own lower decks.

As for "paying for fuel with his own money", that's an indication of intent to defraud, not of innocence. An innocent man (or his wife) would not have felt a need to disguise improper use of a military vehicle as the fuel cost of proper use is properly down to Pusser.

Pencil-whipping the vehicle's jobsheet was easy for him. The one thing that he could not forge was the electronic mileometer. Comparing that data to the fuel receipts proved beyond any doubt that something was stinky. The fact that mileage was being racked up in his name when he was at sea is probably the most damning evidence of all.

If it's true that he had been warned multiple times that his fiddle was illegal, then he's a bloody fool and not simply a dishonest or greedy pig.

It does indeed sound like someone let down by greed and a sense of entitlement. He must have convinced his wife it was a perk they were entitled to - I guess it doesn't have 'RN' number plates.

I wonder what his salary is - without flying pay, as I don't know if that still exists. Year 1 commodore appears to be about 105,000 pounds but he's not shown wearing a commodore's uniform - so perhaps year 5 captain on about 95K - clearly not enough for a second car, if all this is true.

I believe his actual rank is Commodore but as he is holding the appointment of Captain of the ship, he wears 4 rings instead. There again, I'm probably talking spheroids.

White fleet vehicles have civilian number plates.

I remember a similar scandal around 1995 when I think OC one of the NAS was allocated a Ford Mondeo but I think he wanted white and not maroon and had it resprayed; At the same time my boss was allocated white and could not care for what colour and maroon would have been good.

In 1990s my predecessor had a contract car and used to disconnect the speedometer. He had a contractor fuel card and when he retired had to get the contract company to let him have a certificate of no-claims over the time he had the car.

For some, fiddling expenses is just too much of a temptation. I remember two cases back in the 1970s where commanders were slung out for exaggerating expense claims/claiming something which they weren't entitled to.

Boarding school allowance springs to mind. A colleague was court martialled for claiming HtD when he was actually overnighting in a caravan near the base. The RAF Police botched the surveillance and picked the one night in the month when he went home mid-week for a parish meeting. The vicar vouched for him. Not Guilty.

Was that the one at Honington? The case I remembered was that the cops monitored the site gate, saw him go in and not come out until the following morning. Banged to rights! Unfortunately, in his defence, the said flt lt said there was a back entrance (there was but you would have had to have advanced jungle skills to get through) and he left by that route shortly after arrival and returned there in the early morning to pick up some things for work, then left by the main entrance. Yeah right. Got away with it though!

Whenever the words "Honington" and "RAF Police" are mentioned, why do my thoughts turn to "The Kit Kat gang"?

Sisemen wrote: ↑

Fri May 24, 2019 2:39 pm

Was that the one at Honington? The case I remembered was that the cops monitored the site gate, saw him go in and not come out until the following morning. Banged to rights! Unfortunately, in his defence, the said flt lt said there was a back entrance (there was but you would have had to have advanced jungle skills to get through) and he left by that route shortly after arrival and returned there in the early morning to pick up some things for work, then left by the main entrance. Yeah right. Got away with it though!

Marham. The plods saw him go into the caravan and assumed he had settled down for the night. They departed; he had departed for home where his presence was duly recorded in the Parish Council minutes and 'twas the Vic who he called as a witness.

Right or wrong, always nice to see a mate get away with a CM.

I remember an accountant officer at Wittering was Cashiered (no idea what that meant) but kept his pension.

It occurred to me that it was a good thing the QE didn't have a catapult.

Whenever someone got into bother in RAF Lincolnshire (and beyond) the legendary Gilbert Blades was the man to call

An old man, if he survives, but I did hear of him later. At a CM in Cyprus if a friend of mine, guilty without a doubt, he got a barrister in the GB mode who totally destroyed the complainant through hanging innuendo.

Although not guilty, and job and pension intact, it was suggested to my friend that he might consider a career change. He took the advice.

It also trashed the marriage of the victim and her husband, but barristers dont have to find that.

A friend has explained the commodore/captain business to me, though it is a little confusing to say the least. Until 2001, commodore was a non-substantive rank designed to give the senior officer of a squadron or flotilla powers of punishment and authority over other captains in the squadron/flotilla (no answering back) who might well be more senior. A commodore was entitled to fly his broad pennant in a ship but after 2001, a captain selected for promotion to commodore (a carrier was considered sufficiently important to deserve someone of that rank) would be dressed as a captain but on relinquishing command at the end of an appointment be promoted to rear admiral (as long as he hadn't made a hash of it ) . As an admiral would be likely to fly his flag in a carrier once it was operational, then having two flags in the same ship might have caused complications! My brain hurt after reading it - it was so much easier before joint service equivalency made commodore a substantive RN rank in 2001.

So the Commodore boat driver would wear the rank of Captain but bore the authority of Commodore. When ashore, in the company of Commodores of either shade of blue, what would he wear?

I too find the whole thing very confusing. If he was in a shore appointment I would have thought he would wear a commodore's uniform, but I will have another nose around because I'm also puzzled by this!

CS Forester explained it all in 'The Commodore', many years ago!

The use of the title/rank in the USN is even more complicated. Look up Wiki.

FD2, I meant called to Northwood or the like. Obviously on board he is Captain, ashore perhaps in civvies Commodore?