Untouchable: Inside the Red Arrows
I received messages asking for sex but to keep it quiet the pilot put his hand on the top of my thigh there was one team member who made comments about my breasts and bum in my work Hovers these women were once members of an elite Squadron inside the Royal Air Force a dream job that turned into a nightmare of sexual harassment SAS and bullying now for the first time there speaking out on camera about an ordeal that has shamed one of Britain’s most iconic symbols some Pilots were
Untouchable that’s what they thought they were and that is why it was so dangerous your camera’s ready you can see why we call this maneuver the DU the diamond 9 the red arrows are a National Treasure their trademark red white and blue smoke framing the UK’s most memorable
Moments being on the Squadron is a covered job for pilots and ground crew a career high but for some it became a desperate low trapped in a toxic culture of predatory behavior that destroyed Lives the Red Arrows were my heroes growing up I went to hers I thought that they were the best of the best and that’s what I wanted to be part of we’re calling this woman Kate her words are voiced by an actor she was a young
Officer in train when she was sent to work for the Royal Air Force aerobatic team or red arrows a few years ago it almost felt like a dream my first day I was so excited I had a brief from the warrant officer when I first joined the
Squadron and it was very much just be careful you’re a young Junior trainee you could be a notch on a crew member’s B bed post basically just be very careful with your reputation and how did that make you feel I was gobsmacked I felt really uncomfortable almost dirty actually she
Quickly found out why women received such warnings as some of Kate’s male teammates made excuses to visit her office they see it as fresh meat being on Squadron and they all kind of wanted to ugle me so it was almost being in like a fishbowl really how would you
Describe the culture that you witnessed and experienced on the Reds absolutely toxic some Pilots were Untouchable that’s how they thought they were and that was why it was so dangerous being on the Red Arrows gives them display pilots in particular a kind of Celebrity Status poster boys for the
RAF there’s only been one female pilot so far with Excellence as their motto the red arrows perform daring stunts to adoring crowds at home and abroad until 2022 the Squadron was based here at Raf scampton in Lincolnshire it became Kate’s home and workplace in between traveling away with
The team during the display season they do have special treatment you know they have sponsorship Deals they are very well looked after an unofficial yearbook C captures the environment then there was the banter Pilots rated their displays on women so if it was an incredible display it was a mean
Marle if it was a good display it was Sienna Miller and if it was an awful display it was Susan Bo and I just thought gosh I can’t believe in this day and age that they are you know using a display and putting women’s names on it in terms of
Attractiveness for Kate the banter became more predatory on a night out with the Squadron while staying at a hotel for an air show a lot of us stayed behind in the bar and when the bar closed One Pilot ordered additional drinks and a bottle of
Prco and said oh come come to my room and have drinks with the other pilot I was a trainee I assumed this would be safe we were told to kind of socialize and in looking back I would absolutely change the clock now but I went and it was
Fine we were all talking it was the same as the bar and then it kind of started to change and it felt more predatory especially when one of the pilots put his hand on the top top of my thigh in front of the other one who saw and didn’t say
Anything and that’s when I made my excuses to leave the two pilots then started messaging her privately asking her to come back to their individual rooms so I had one of them messaging me on Whatsapp one of them on Facebook and trying to call me to get me to go to their IND idual room separately and carry on drinking and this is quite late it was like 3:00 a.m. so it wasn’t the most responsible but not only that they were meant to be flying the next Day she says a barrage of unwanted texts from Pilot One kept coming over the following weeks by then the Squadron was on tour overseas living out of hotels working and socializing ing together staying out late and drinking on one night out Kate found herself targeted yet again by the same
Pilot I was ped with Alcohol and I woke up with that pilot in my room the next day not really knowing what had Happened she says she had been in no fit state to consent to any kind of intimacy and then he very much told me if I told anybody I would be kicked out of the Air Force I would lose my job and be sent home immediately I was so disappointed in
Myself and I blamed myself to this day Kate finds it very difficult to talk about exactly what happened to her that night and over the next few months when she says the pilot continued to pursue her she says he turned other Pilots against her and used emotional threats
To coers her into continuing the relationship and staying quiet she claims he even wiped her phone to remove their exchanges as he knew the passcode the only texts she has left are those she’d thought to screenshot did you confront him about that yes did he admit it no he has denied it
Throughout the behavior for me it starts with that whole kind of grooming and chatting then it goes into sexual harassment and then it goes past the point of appropriate and you have no one to turn to because there are hardly any women on Squadron let alone officers or trainee
Officers Cate didn’t know it then but she was about to embark on a fight for justice that would take her to the top of the thef and paved the way for many more women in the military to speak out her journey began when isolated and desperate she decided to tell her bosses
What was going on her concerns should have triggered an immediate investigation into the pilot not least because the RAF owed a particular duty of care to protect a junior officer in training instead he carried on flying while it was Kate’s career that faulted as her chain of command failed her at
Every turn it started with a line manager who seemed more concerned about what the Tabloid press might say he said if this gets out the red tops will love it that was he was most worried about yeah he was more worried about the reputation than if there was a cultural issue on the
Reds she went up a level to a more senior boss but in a text exchange he told her he didn’t intend to pursue the matter further formally and and instead hoped a civil environment could be achieved despite being much more Junior than him Kate didn’t give up saying she
Still had major concerns and asking for another meeting he said he could see her the following week I never had that meeting with him you know why I don’t think he wanted to address it I was a disruptor by this point Kate says her mental health was suffering her faith in
The Air Force had been shattered and she decided to leave turning to the then head of the raf’s officer training college at Cranwell Kate says she again spoke up in an interview on her way out but she accuses the college boss of failing to take meaningful action I told her that
There was a toxic pocket on the Red Arrows of behaviors that needed to be looked into and she said I’m sorry to hear about your experiences good luck in the future the virtual meeting was with the then air Commodore sah Marshall a witness who attended with Kate claimed
He too recalls her speaking about harassment on the Red Arrows but an RAF Source said now air Vice Marshal sah Marshall categorically disputes the allegations claiming she confirmed the service person mentioned a bad experience on the Red Arrows but didn’t provide any detail that would have enabled any form of Investigation to be
Initiated the head of cromwell’s actions during and after the interview when she subsequently discussed support to the individual with the relevant chain of command were correct and reasonable The Source claimed a second witness backed up this opposing account it got to the point that I’ve done everything I felt I could you know
I was raising the alarm nobody was listening to me and then I ended up in hospital very mentally unwell Kate made a serious attempt on her life she attributes her survival in part to reaching out to this former Army officer it’s not the whole military that’s the
Problem it’s the feral packs that we Diane Allen went public about her own experiences of unacceptable behaviors while serving in the military because she wanted the whole Armed Forces to have their me too moment she’s been supporting Kate and other red arrows victims ever since you see this same
Modus operandi the mo going on which had affect L an individual brings a issue a complaint to someone’s attention and in that predatory pocket that toxic pocket what you see is that then they all close ranks they close down and they make that person’s life hello SC clear take off up service
1606 clear take off as well as those accused of predatory behavior there were others on the Squadron accused of failing to call it out left down consensual relationships also happened as in the civilian worlding the bank but the Red Arrows isn’t a normal office job smoke go it’s around 120
People living and working together in close quarters and Affairs can have a negative impact on the group dynamic especially when they involve senior officers and Junior ranks this woman who were calling Lucy had already enjoyed a long career in the RAF before joining the Red Arrows as a
Member of the ground crew she too was sexually harassed her words are voiced by an actor I had my bottom slapped I received messages from one of the crew asking for sex but to keep it quiet Lucy then started to receive a different kind of attention flattering and
Reciprocated her admirer was the lead display pilot known as red one his name was Squadron leader David Montenegro when did he sort of feel like you almost couldn’t it’ be difficult to ignore his attention I thought if I sort of backtrack here is it
Will it be okay am I going to make my time uncomfortable not that that pressured me into continuing but the thoughts they they did cross my mind a few times yeah it eventually got more serious it was on a tour we were on and
One night he asked me if I wanted to go up to his room in the hotel I was a bit naive again at the time but yeah I went up went to his room and that was the start the pair was would secretly meet up when they could taking advantage of
The team’s overseas travel I was living this little I don’t think I don’t know if Fantasy Life is the right way to describe it but yeah kind of then there was the reality this was a relationship with a senior officer within a small team it impacted her time on the
Squadron long after he’ moved on he knew better he knew what he was doing yeah I’m an adult but he knew there was that line that professional line and he should have stayed the hell away from me everyone in the RAF is expected to live by a set of values
Based around respect Integrity service and Excellence we have a person who’s in a significantly higher power position and also in a position of command what effect does that have on a culture inside an organization and on order on rules the effect when the boss is doing something inappropriate is to create a
Huge problem for service discipline because youve you’ve lost that moral ability to discipline anyone else Lucy only started questioning her decision to get involved with someone on the Squadron after she’d left the Air Force she’s one of a number of people who’ve now spoken up about their time on the
Red arrows and it’s all because of what happened next with Kate the junior officer trainee after hitting her lowest point Kate tried one last time to be heard luckily you know I managed to keep my life you know I nearly didn’t that for me that was the kind of right I
Really need to do something now and that’s when we were like right let’s go big now let’s write directly to Cass through Parliament and try and get face to face this letter was sent in July 2021 on Kate’s behalf to the then chief of the air staff known as Caz at the
Time it was air Chief Marshal sir Mike wigston he was warned that Kate’s chain of command on the Red Arrows had allegedly bullied and silenced her at a time when she had also been sexually harassed and pested she asked for a private meeting with him alongside other
Females on the Squadron who have similar experiences five months later sir Mike hosted them at his home I was quite impressed he actually listened I got my points across that I wanted to say and I really felt like he was going to do something he looked me in the eye he
Shook my hand twice I was like okay this is this is good the air Chief launched a nonstatutory inquiry into allegations of unacceptable behaviors on the Red Arrows yet there was no Public Announcement Instead This internal investigation by the RAF into the RAF was carried out in
Secret even from most of of the Air Force so Mike did write to Kate in April 2022 with an update that revealed more than 40 Personnel had given over 250 hours of evidence he also said a team had drawn up recommendations including bespoke training to tackle unacceptable
Behavior in the workplace sir Mike then pledged to contact Kate hopefully within weeks with the final outcome of the inquiry but that never happened as the investigation dragged on in private its impact became impossible to hide from the public the diamond 9 shrank to a diminished seven after two pilots were taken off
The Squadron during 2022 with very few people really knowing why the lack of transparency meant a third woman who were calling Rachel says she had no idea what she was stepping into when she joined the Red Arrows towards the start of that year just as the training on countering unacceptable behaviors
Began incredibly she overheard misogynistic comments even then her words are voiced by an actor one of the discussion groups I was in was led by another female officer on the Squadron people were making really lewd comments about the fact that she was wearing skinny jeans because they were really
Tight trousers and they were really gossiping about her saying that she was a tease and she wasn’t to be trusted and why was she doing the mediation it was a bit of a shocking start to be honest Rachel was then told about the inquiry as well as some of its
Damning deliberations still hidden from the public and the victims I was told that they almost considered blocking my posst in onto the Squadron because I was a female that it wasn’t considered a safe place for females to work and one of the recommendations was that the Squadron was recommended to be
Shut down for a whole season I felt devastated and infuriated at the same time the rug had been pulled out from under my feet on day three she tried to make it work but things deteriorated there was a formal dinner night there were glass bottles on the
Table with what I thought was water but it actually turned out it was uzo a really strong Spirit people were heckled for their professional abilities myself included I’d been on the Squadron Less Than 3 weeks by this point women were cackled for being I wanted the floor to
Swallow me up I left as soon as I could the overall boss at this time was now wing Commander David Mont negro the same person who’d previously been involved in a consensual relationship with Lucy he had since been promoted to officer commanding of the whole red arrows
Overseeing the team as it was undergoing training by Specialists on how to combat unacceptable behaviors yet Rachel says her time on the Squadron was miserable she claims colleagues were unfairly critical of her work and says the hostility left her isolated a position alleges a male teammate then
Exploited they tried to follow me into my hotel room they made comments about my breasts and bum in my work coveralls in the end Rachel decided to resign but not before submitting two complaints about alleged bullying sexual harassment and unfair treatment that she’s still contesting she also accuses the RAF of
Trying to launch retaliatory action against her I was a whistleblower a troublemaker she was in good company alongside Kate the trainee officer who at that point was still waiting for an update on the inquiry promised to her by Sir Mike wigston instead a year and a half after
He launched it sir Mike stepped off into retirement General salute handing over command of the RAF and its unresolved controversy to air Chief Marshal Sir Richard [Applause] Knon the moment marked with the Red Arrows fly past I think to shake somebody’s hand twice and look them in the eye and also write physically that they will contact you and they don’t and then to have an eight ship fly past is a real kick in the
Teeth to every person that spoke up in the investigation air Chief Marshal sir Mike wixon declined to comment an RAF spokesperson said multiple investigations concluded David montenegro’s relationship had been a private life matter and no action was required a source said the wing Commander’s leadership during his time
As officer commanding of the Red Arrows had been Mended since the 1960s the Red Arrows have been the definition of precision flying stunts like these take huge skill and a lot of [Applause] Practice one wrong move can have devastating consequences this was the sixth crash in which the team has been involved during the last 3 years and the worst since its formation 6 years ago the deadliest crash was in 1971 four Pilots were killed when two Jets collided midair while attempting a
Daring high-speed maneuver called the roulette despite the danger the imperative was to keep flying with the Squadron focused on a return to their full formation back to nine aircraft for the first time since the tragedy of last year the inherent risk is why safety is Paramount the Red Arrows will still put
On one of the most dramatic air shows anywhere in the world today yet the former air crew who we spoke to all raised concerns that an allegedly toxic culture was also a threat to flight safety Rachel had a technical role on the Squadron I repeatedly called them out for cutting Corners with the
Engineering standard and processes they were playing it fast and loose with safety risks that would have had a catastrophic impact on the aircraft in the air they were playing God she claims she was viewed as a nuisance for calling out breaches given the need to keep the Aging Hawk jets
Flying it reminded me of an attitude that was talked about in my initial training in the Air Force where things were pushed to the side or brushed under the carpet for the sake of getting the aircraft in the air and it made me feel very uncomfortable Kate claims she saw risky
Behavior on the Squadron around drink and flying allegedly even with a boozy night before a display when Pilots should stay away from alcohol for a set window for safety reasons basically they play met roulette so they will look at the weather and then judge if they can drink more
Because they think they’re probably not going to fly the next day but if they had of they would have been over the limit flying 6 M apart from their colleagues over crowds even when every safety rule is followed accidents still happen 2011 was another tragic year for the Red Arrows I
Ask you all just to join me in a moment of silence as we pay our tributes to our missing colleague and friend flight lieutenant John egging or Eggman two pilots were killed in separate incidents leaving the team devastated there’s no suggestion any of these deaths were connected to the safety concerns raised by the former Squadron members but any flight safety breach should be a big red flag and that doesn’t always seem to have been the
Case a former crew member who’d been on the squadron at the time described the aftermath of the second accident we’re calling him James his words are voiced by an actor half an hour after the incident we were all herded into our downstairs crew room into the Tea Bar
And we had a little talk by a senior pilot at the end of his little spel he said well we are the red arrows and the show will go on but James had been left deeply traumatized he says he wasn’t given any meaning meaning F support and was
Instead viewed as an inconvenience for struggling with his mental health that was when he says the bullying started it’s really childlike it’s like you’re back in school if they see you in a corridor your management they’d walk in the opposite direction they’d walk into their office and close the door
James claims if someone reported a safety issue they could be viewed as a snitch he says it happened to him after he overheard a pilot revealed that they’d lost part of a zip in the cockpit following a training flight a loose item that could pose a lethal Hazard so I did
Report it to my line manager and he told me to keep my effing mouth shut because they would lose flying they would lose that sauty it wasn’t just raising safety concerns that caused trouble for James a more senior Airman allegedly made a racist joke about a colleague of
Indian descent he gave the news that this person was leaving and said well at least we’ll have another Corner Shop and did he call that out called that one out too and what did he say grow a sense of humor shut the f up that kind of
Attitude so of course more bullying more being ignored more of being ostracized you couldn’t write this stuff despite these experiences James was never asked to contribute to the rf’s inquiry in fact there doesn’t appear to have been any attempt to find out how far back the allegedly toxic culture went with investigators only
Looking into what happened between 2017 and 2021 how much do you think they’ve missed how many other victims are there out there there’s lots I dread to think this is a big problem the atmosphere at work worsened James’s mental health he considered making a complaint but says a
Boss warned him off the response was if this kind of information gets out you know that people are going to close ranks and they’re going to make you look ridiculous it’s in your best interest if you keep your mouth shut and I asked him if that was a
Threat and he said you take that as you will responding to the claims an RAF spokesperson said flying on any of our Union would cease if there were safety or airworthiness concerns no evidence exists nor detailed allegations made to suggest cutting Corners the Squadron is subject to regular audit and Assurance
Activity to assess safety and Reporting culture they said there’s no place for bullying in the RAF the Air Force has a robust and multi-layered approach to flight safety reporting this can be done via a variety of methods so there’s always an available route to report flight safety concerns the spokesperson added there
Was no evidence to support allegations of alcohol being consumed before flying a culture of coverup helped keep the Red Arrows Dark Secrets hidden until the 1st of November 2023 it was the day the victims had long been waiting for finally the RAF published this the findings of its non-statutory inquiry into alleged
Unacceptable behaviors it also revealed the existence of a second internal investigation into allegations of failure by the chain of command both reports were damning the main inquiry found widespread unacceptable behaviors this included sexual harassment the exposure of genitals and predatory activity backing up claims by Kate and
Lucy who gave evidence the inquiry teams expressed concern the Squadron was not a safe environment for females and it was highly likely women would be subject to unlawful harassment because of their sex it listed how women received unwanted texts asking for sex and how they were viewed as property by male
Colleagues the report identified an alcohol focused culture with drink often linked with bad behavior and found evidence of bullying as well as too many silent bystanders but large parts of the 72-page file were redacted apparently to protect identities the second document then set out where people in positions of
Leadership on the Red Arrows had failed again key details were omitted in total the RAF said two pilots were sacked and nine other individuals were sanctioned no one’s been officially named but the pilot who Kate accused accused of harassment was one of those to lose his job he’s not responded to a
Request for comment a source close to the second pilot who joined ahead of the 2020 display season says he rejected any claims he’d been involved in unacceptable behaviors and has lodged a complaint against the RAF over his treatment saying he feels scapegoated order for in damaged
Limitation mode the new head of the RAF addressed MPS I’m sorry and then I offer my unreserved apology to anyone who was subject from to unacceptable behaviors that were reported or or have occurred there was a culture on the red ARS at the time that was um entirely unacceptable how can you
Give reassurance to The Wider public um that the red arrows and The Wider RF is actually fit for purpose I point to the evidence that’s in the report which is clear evidence and both reports of improvements that have been made on the Red Arrows the Air Force wants the inquiry
To draw a line under a scandal that’s rocked the reputation of one of its most recognized Brands but while the report does admit serious failings the victims say it’s fundamentally flawed it just feels like they’re marking their own homework they want us quiet and they think it will go away and
It’s not going to happen because none of us are happy with how it’s been dealt With breaking cover to talk about what happened on the Red Arrows took huge courage for the victims it was only meant to be a one-off but the women felt so let down by the findings of the non-statutory inquiry or NSI they decided to speak out
Again so why have you come back we had the NSI report out a few weeks ago and none of us are happy with the outcome the utter derogatory tone the dismissive nature and the derer writing it just shows how this whole system is flawed from the start until
Now the RAF can use a non-statutory inquiry as a way to investigate serious allegations it’s confidential so people are more willing to take part but there’s very little transparency this NSI was inh house and I I don’t trust it at all the work was actually finished in
July 2022 but the victims weren’t given an update instead they were left in limbo while the second investigation into command failings was initiated it’s very much a secondary wound you can’t move on you can’t gain closure I almost think it’s worse than the actual behavior that we experienced and how
Does it make you feel angry Disrespected the AR decided how evidence in both reports would be recorded what would be redacted and what would be released it just feels like they’re marking their own homework they want us quiet and they think it will go away and it’s not going to happen because none of
Us are happy with how it’s been dealt with the victims also found the tone upsetting one section said women had been worried about lacking the moral courage to call out predatory behavior because they feared it might harm their careers essentially all of this work over the last couple of years has been
Blamed on the victims and it’s just totally Unjustified as well as addressing harassment the inquiry talked about the potential impact on the team of consensual relationships including several extramarital Affairs it found instances when this directly hit operational effectiveness Lucy says she told the inquiry in early 2022 about her past relationship with wing Commander David Montenegro but he was only suspended as boss of the Red Arrows pending an investigation months later around the time details were leaked to the Press he
Was then found not to have broken any military rules no one told Lucy I haven’t had any information to say about how any of the evidence I’ve given where it’s gone what’s happened from it nothing it’s really infuriating actually I’m still angry now I I actually want to shout because it’s so
Infuriating none of the victims were given the chance to review their evidence and they’ve not received an unredacted version of the report the RAF has also offered no explanation about who went on to be punished and for what I think it’s appalling we haven’t had any justice in any normal Corporation
You find out the outcome of an investigation like this and what happened to the perpetrator it’s very odd that they will not tell us so the non-statutory inquiry into unacceptable behavior in the red arrows found deeply embedded problematic culture and air Chiefs are even accused of misleading the public by suggesting
None of the victim’s claims met a criminal threshold the cases were referred to obvious was before the defense serus cons unit existed but were were referred to the service police and they did not pass the the test uh to be considered to be criminal Behavior so I would like them to retract that
Statement because it’s completely inaccurate Kate says she believes her case had been serious enough for a police investigation but she chose not to go down that route having already endured hours of interviews as part of the inquiry it means the service police never interviewed her to establish
Whether or not her claims met a criminal threshold it’s a very difficult and hard decision to come forward and talk about these topics and talk about what’s happened to you and it’s just just been dismissed I’m squad leader John Bond and I’m the new red one team leader for the
Royal Air Force aerobatic team the Red Arrows it is the victims point to publicity around the Red Arrows as a further snub the Squadron is focusing on a return to its Diamond 9 formation in 2024 in time for its Diamond Jubilee rather than explaining why it shrank in
The first place given everything that’s happened do you think that they are fit to fly I think they should have been grounded grounded as soon as the NSI was running because again I would question safety concerns were they fit to fly while they were being interviewed they should have been grounded there should
Have been a whole shake up of leadership fullon training that didn’t happen the chief of the air staff has come out and apologized to everyone affected how did you feel about that apology for me it wasn’t an apology because he briefed the media first so he apologized to the
Media and said his unreserved apologies to the victims unreserved okay if it was unreserved then we should have been apologized to before the media and a phone call or a letter before the media was briefed would have been a much better way Philip Ingram is a former Army
Officer who co-founded a small group called The Independent defense Authority that’s been supporting the women he too is scathing about the inquiry it’s not victim Centric the victims aren’t at the heart of it what do you mean by that not being victim Centric everything in there reinforces the stories that the victims
Have given so you know they’ve been hurt you know they’re victims so make sure that everything that you do is looking after them first and foremost and bringing the detail out second um I haven’t even touched on the victims in here and how does that make you feel
Angry I know the impact that this is having on them um I know the impact it’s having on a lot of their mental health do you think that if things are allowed to continue like this if the RF is allowed to continue to Market its own homework that actually we’re just
Waiting for another Scandal to happen it’s not there could be there are I know of them across defense and and they’re coming out so unless defense recognizes that it needs a bit of help in dealing with this then this is going to continue the Red Arrows crisis is not in
Isolation a young Soldier is thought to have taken her life in 2021 after what the Army described as persistent unwelcome attention from one of her bosses the following year the Navy ordered an investigation into allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against women in the submarine service every time a new
Injustice is exposed military Chiefs promise change policies are drawn up improvements are made but toxic Pockets remain it’s led to calls for the military to allow an outside body to become involved we have to have a place where a voice can be heard and difficult unsafe convers ation can be had in a
Safe way if we don’t do that then we’re going to have exactly what we’ve just seen described for the Red Arrows where you have an internalist investigation of themselves and what have we had as an outcome a very unsafe and unknown uh investigation you know to to everyone
From the outside that was basically a brushed under the carpet cover up the RAF declined a request to interview the current chief of the air staff air Chief Marshall Sir Richard knon instead a spokesperson providing a statement that said two comprehensive and thorough investigations have been completed relating to unacceptable behaviors
Within the Red Arrows the findings of the investigations led to action being taken against several individuals up to and including dismissal from the service this was followed by an unreserved apology from the chief of the air staff and the introduction of many changes within the unit based on the recommendations of the
Reports as air Chief Marshall niton has previously stated any new evidence on unacceptable behaviors anywhere in the RF will be thoroughly investigated where appropriate he will not hesitate to use the most severe sanctions available to deal with those whose Behavior harms others the ARF acknowledged it had taken some time to
Publish the reports but said it had been necessary to get this right rather than help the victims the raf’s response has only caused them more pain Kate Rachel and Lucy have no faith in military Chiefs to bring about promised change yet their efforts haven’t been in vain something is
Changing far away from the chain of command a growing desire to speak out among women who’ve served and until now had suffered in Silence this includes Anonymous testimonies collected by Parliament as well as unverified comments posted online after the Red Arrows inquiry was published years ago I had a red arrow pilot slap my ass whilst I stood at a bar and then he asked me to go outside on numerous occasions at scampton I had
Men try to enter my room in the middle of the night again alcohol fueled and had someone budge the lock to actually get my first few years saw me groped called thick for making an error told I’d failed a course because my face didn’t fit the red arrows Scandal was clearly
Too big to ignore but while air Chiefs believe they have acted decisively they’d perhaps be wise to listen once more to the Victims things can’t be covered up with bravado and bant I hope this these actions that we’re doing signal the start of a new era we need to keep this moment momentum going and it’s not going to happen overnight but I hope it will change for the
Better I want to be able to give other people the courage to also speak out and come forward and reach for help and say that it’s not acceptable if we want to serve in the armed forces for our country we should be able to do that without having to face these disgusting behaviors
An expose of the toxic culture inside the RAF’s most elite performance squadron: The Red Arrows. Victims of sexual harassment and bullying speak exclusively to Sky News.
Read more: https://news.sky.com/story/untouchable-inside-the-red-arrows-and-a-toxic-culture-of-harassment-sleaze-and-bullying-13036439
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