“Scale” and “mulcts" are to be words of the past for sailors of the Royal Navy who fail to answer the call of duty on time. Although wilful absence will continue to prove expensive, the new aim is to “make the punishment fit the crime.” Until now. “sca|c" penalties have been ovcmcd by Queen's Regulations, the cxihility allowed to commanding officers being limited. If “being the same for everyone" can be claimed as a merit. the old system certainly had that. and it offered an unwavering emphasis on the naval virtue of punctuality. Taking time off and letting your messmatcs do the work produced official reaction as precise in its terms as the marks on a yard rule.
impartiality
mercy
weigh
the
same
throughout the Scr-
vicc.
To ensure this measure of consistency in the treatment of leave-brcakcrs, the Commanders-in-Chief arc what will be known as the tariff. whic relates fines to length of absence. Although this may sound like the same old beans in a new tin, the differences have an important bearing on the “few minutes late" cases. (Continued in Back Page)
promulgating
the penalties hit Unhappilythe fellow
with equal whose car impartiality steady broke down. He. too. had to suffer a not inconsidcrablc lightening of the pocket. as well as stoppage of leave. while his wife waited in a nearby married quartcr. While no one is likely to shed tears for the wilful lcavc-breaker. the new look to the Navy's traditional summary punishments accepts thc principle that every case should be decided on its merits taking into account both the circumstances and the offender. Under the new regulations. instead of "scale" and that ancient word “mu|ct", the penalty will be a fine. cxprcsscd as a sum of money rather than a number of days‘ pay. There will still. however, be forfeiture of pay (the new No. 11 punishment) for every period of 24 hours‘ abscncc. This ensures that the princi lc "no work no pay” continues. even if t c maximum fine of 28 days‘ pay is reached. Othcr punishments can accompany the fine. but there is no longer a mandatory requirement for a commanding officer to stop lcavc. A flexiblesystem can also mean "different ship diffcrcnt cap tally". but official action has been taken to ensure that justice and —
Royal Navy helped make history Ivhenlllc-Qllecnflcvrforfbellrsititnelna The
BRITISH
helicopter from H.M.S. file in Belfast Lonjhtoflelluttouarthertwo-dayvilaft
MISSILES FOR SEA
which was acting as escort to H.M.Y. Britannia during the highly-pohfldcfacd rid! to the Province. The Queen was met on board the Fife hy the Minister of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Roy Mason) and the commanding olfker of the File (Capt. G. C.
HA RRIER Guided missiles for the Royal Navy's Sea Harriers were named. and an improved version of Sea Dart announced, when it was reported in August that decisions had now been reached on tour guided weapons systems for the
to
Northern inland. Tin coleurjul helicopter ol the Queen‘: Flight
Wt.-sex
tookofflruntbegufdcdnafuiledeumyer,
Lloyd).
P-auto: LMPholl Torn Sudooo
The Navy‘: field gun trophies have gone West and landed In the aruu of tnnch-admired TV newsrendcr Angela Rippon. Detronpor1'a field gunner: triumphed on a grand scale at this year‘: Royal Tournament to take these five trophies and one more healdu. (Full story in page 11). —
Angelmwhohaaatrouglinhwlththewext Country. was happy to than Devonport’a success who.-nahepafd themavialtandwupreaentcdwith
a
plaque by Lfeut. Tony Taylor.
Photo. Lwren Ti: Brennan
Forces.
The Sea Harriers
are to
have the British
Aerospace anti-ship missile P37. reported as capable of defeating known and expected Warsaw Pact ship defences. This sea-skimming
missile was selected after consideration of the U.S. air-launched Harpoon alternative and took into account economic. industrial. and operational tactors. The Sea Harriers are also to have the U.S.—des|gned Sidewinder AIM 9LS shonit is hoped range alr-to-alr missile. acquired through a European consortium. —
——
melor improvements to Sea Dart. British Aerospace and other British firms have been invited to undertake project definition work, Improvements are now needed to keep pace with the changing threat. particularly in elecFor
tronic countermeasures.
Sea Dart. the Navy's principal area defence surface-to-air missile system. is expected to be provisionally accepted into service this year. It has been installed in HM. ships Bristol. Sheffield. and Birmingham. The Sheffield is expected to be the first ship to have the
improved equipment.
Announcement of the guided weapon programme was made by the Minister of State for Defence (Dr. John Gilbert).
GOOD LUCK, ADVENTURE