I am now a civil servant employed by the Department of National Defence; nearly 30 years ago, I joined the Canadian Forces, in which I served seven years, including time in Germany. Canada pulled out of Germany in the mid-1990s. These days, young CF officers come to me with ancient photographs taken five years after I got out asking "What's that thing? Who are those people?" I know now how my Dad felt (ca. 1960) when a recruit asked him, "Please, sir, what's a U-boat?"

Soon, that will start happening to you RAFfers ... get braced.