Dark Earth Timeline Discussion

[Simon Darkshade]

Nachtmahr or Nightmare has an incredibly good ring to it, and is utterly suitable for a surprise strike plane upsetting careful plans and balances. From a morphological or semiotic point of view, it is balanced with two four letter sections centring on long As split up by a harsh T, and that is something visceral and evocative in its own right.

Nightmare Squadron.

As a title, again to use the words of Todd Howard, it just works.

Consider it locked in for a short story, and potentially use down the line in the event of…stuff happening…

[Jotun]

You'll hear no complaints from me.
Years and years ago, a poster on althist.com produced a Finlandwank timeline which had the - I kid you not - 666th bomber squadron of the Ilmavoimat (whom I designed the squadron crest for...you can imagine what it looked like ), an absolute elite outfit, kill Stalin during the May Day Parade - or was it the anniversary of the October Revolution? - on the iconic balcony observing the parade.
Would that designation (666th Special Tactics Wing/Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader zbV 666, nicknamed the Nightmare squadron) be a step too far?
The base could be just off the Harz mountains with its witchcraft connotations (look up the myths of the Harz's highest mountain, the Brocken (which means chunk or lump in modern German). If you got it, milk it, right?

[Simon Darkshade]

The whole 666 designation and witchcraft angle might not work in a world where witches are real life horrors and dangerous to life and soul to boot, rather than simply illustrative imagery; I would imagine that in this case, getting such a designation past the German cabinet when the Chancellor is an actual paladin might be a bit of a stretch!

I do like the idea of a secret underground mountain air base, but the occult connotations of the Brocken might be a bit too much again; the Sonnenberg provides a bit more shelter and distance without the issues of the name.

[Jotun]

The whole 666 designation and witchcraft angle might not work in a world where witches are real life horrors and dangerous to life and soul to boot, rather than simply illustrative imagery; I would imagine that in this case, getting such a designation past the German cabinet when the Chancellor is an actual paladin might be a bit of a stretch!

I do like the idea of a secret underground mountain air base, but the occult connotations of the Brocken might be a bit too much again; the Sonnenberg provides a bit more shelter and distance without the issues of the name.

Gotcha. I was just spitballing^^

[Simon Darkshade]

Not a problem. I love the spitballing, as it provides ideas and hooks for future development (including long form stories when I get back the combination of time, health and reduction of caring pressures to allow that), as well as the priceless aspect of a German perspective on German events and developments.

As the recent collation post and my analysis thereof has demonstrated, identifying 'holes' in coverage does make for a richer experience for both writer and readers, as it shows where certain bits and pieces can be 'directed' in my broad initial planning of the type of events for each year. Whilst there is relatively more for Britain, Australia, the USA and Canada (probably in that order) due to the exigencies of there being more available English language histories, technical monographs and social history snippets, I am cognisant of the world being much larger than that, and really enjoy being able to work in different aspects from many different nations, such as the Bielefeld conspiracy, or pieces about Scandinavian development.

[Jotun]

Like Jan's TLW, when I joined up 14 years or so ago, I think that your universe could use a bit more non-Anglo flavor.
This does not mean this is a turn-off, as it is only natural to write about what you know.

Another thing that could be amusing would be Friedrich Barbarossa one day rising from his sleep under the Kyffhäuser mountain (incidentally also in the Harz) and raising merry chaos...
"One day, when the ravens fly no more on the Kyffhäuser, Barbarossa will rise from his mountain, hang his shield on a dead tree and the tree will turn green again and announce the arrival of better times,"

[Simon Darkshade]

It most certainly could. Unlike TLW, I’m flying solo on this one, despite my open standing invitation to anyone else; one of my little dreams is a TV Tropes page before I die.

Barbarossa is a definite inclusion, along with the Pied Piper, the Lorelei, kobolds, the wonderfully named Beerwolf, Krampus, a historical Till Eulenspiegel, Faust, lots of stuff from the Brothers Grimm and a great deal from the Hammer Horror films set in Germany (Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter for one).

[Simon Darkshade]

October 1974
October 1: Oil prospectors in the Sambisa Forest of North Eastern Nigeria uncover the long overgrown and partially buried remains of a very large strange flying machine. Upon transmission of their discovery back to Lagos, a significant British military force from West Africa Command is immediately dispatched by air to secure the discovery for examination by experts from the Ministry of Space.
October 2: The Soviet Union conducts five peaceful nuclear explosions in the vicinity of the village of Udalchny as part of a dam construction project. The final explosion results in an unexpectedly large release of radiation, with two Soviet Army personnel taken to a nearby military hospital after reporting curious symptoms.
October 3: An earthquake registering 9.1 on the Richter scale strikes Peru, approximately 100 miles southwest of Lima, killing over 200 and injuring thousands. The cost of the damage inflicting by the disaster is estimated to be over $250 million, with several villages, roads and mines destroyed and aftershocks continuing for several days.
October 4: Orion 6 arrives in the Neptunian system, beaming back images of the far off gas giant back to Earth (with a four hour delay from their great distance), showing a massive light blue planet with a fragmented ring system not visible from the inner solar system. The next stage of the mission will involve a landing on the Neptunian moon of Triton after examining its curious atmosphere.
October 5: Dave and John Kunst arrive back in their home town of Waseca, Minnesota, having travelled around the entire world on foot, covering over 14,000 miles across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa; their feat is regarded as the first verified walking circumnavigation, whilst their feet are regarded as in need of a jolly good rest.
October 6: The War Office begins a study on potential development of an improved variant of the current Army service rifles, the L1A1 SLR, on account of recent developments in the Soviet Union of a purported new assault rifle to possibly augment the AKM; it is anticipated that the study will be completed ahead of a Commonwealth military special conference on infantry weapons scheduled for mid 1975, and that there is little scope for a change of calibre given the amount of ammunition produced in the rearmament period of the last decade. Any future rifle variant would be in addition to stocks of American Armalite AR-25 rifles currently being delivered or Fabrique Nationale in Belgium’s production contract for 1.5 million of the very similar FN FALs, which will be completed in the early part of next year.
October 7: The World Food Conference in Rome closes with 152 countries agreeing to the Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition, which sets a goal of eradicating those common enemy of mankind - hunger, deprivation and want - by the new millenium. Australian Prime Minister Robert Hawke goes further, expansively pledging that ‘by 1990, no Asian child need be living in poverty.’
October 8: 24 USAF F-111s strike a suspected terrorist encampment in North Eastern Iraq, with jamming and electronic interference provided by an RAF skyship on a regular training flight from Habbiniya to Mosul. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry summons both the American Ambassador and the British high commissioner to protest the action as a violation of Arab sovereignty in the most strenuous terms possible.
October 9: A meeting of the living former Presidents of the United States of America takes place in Washington D.C. as part of a conference on world affairs, with John F. Kennedy, Roger Thompson and Harry S. Truman joined by the sprightly 116 year old Theodore Roosevelt, who bounds up the stairs in front of waiting reporters a typically boisterous demonstration of his enduring manly virality.
October 10: The Ministry of Labour concludes a new round of round table wage discussions with representatives of the TUC, the CBI and other key industrial and business concerns, with an agreement in principle for a standard hourly minimum wage for manual work of £1 8d for the standard 40 hour week, with additional rates for weekday overtime and Saturdays. The standard wage rate is smaller than initial trade union demands, offset by gains in extra allowances, workplace rights and conditions and new pension reforms, whilst business concerns were ameliorated by government assurances regarding the planned base corporation tax of 20%. Additional union concerns have been further ameliorated by the reduction in growth of average new house prices to £4362 due to the glut of new construction, and inflation remaining steady in the recovery from the 1973 recession.
October 11: The Wonka Chocolate Company releases its new range of products in time for Christmas, including a Rainbow Candy Bar of different colours and flavours, Wonkalicious Chocolate Surprises (which change the colour of the consumer's hair or the shade of their skin for 20 minutes after ingestion), Triple Bangers (a multiflavoured chocolate inside a multiflavoured candy shell, with a centre of popping sherbet sprinkles), this year's varieties of Wonka Bars and the Marvelous Creations range, an edibile cookbook and a fairy floss balloon. Wonka's highly imaginative chocolates and candies are partly funded by the lucrative contracts that the company has attracted from the Ministry of Defence for ration creation and food preservation, with some speculating that the reclusive Willy Wonka could well be in line for a knighthood if certain developments come to pass, and by the success of the innovative, nutritious and exquisitely tasty Pot Noodle, a product recently introduced after an exploratory trip to Japan and Korea by Wonka's youthful protégé, Mr. C. Bucket.
October 12: A gang of dastardly criminals hijack the Pelham 1:23 subway train in New York City, taking the passengers hostage, whilst operating under coloured code names and masks resembling a number of current Hollywood actors. After the leader, disguised as Robert Shaw, is killed by treading on the third rail, and two other hostage takers are shot, one member of the gang escapes with the $1 million ransom; he is subsequently captured after being stopped in the street by passing Hollywood star Walter Matthau, who thought he was a fellow actor.
October 13: The inaugural Berlin Marathon is held, with the 394 runners including a delegation from the German People's Democratic Republic specially invited as a gesture towards potential easing of tensions and relations between Germany and the Soviet puppet state in East Prussia.
October 14: The Kenyan United Party records a resounding victory in the national elections, winning 50 seats to 42 of the formerly governing Labour Party, with the Liberal Party winning 27 seats, the African Union Party 18, the Conservatives 12, the Kikuyu Central Party 10 and the various independents 17 seats. United Party leader Henry Baker welcomes the peaceful poll and promises to govern for all Kenyans, black and white, in order to continue to develop a better nation for the future of their children.
October 15: The US Army begins a programme for the replacement of the M107, M110 and M123 self propelled heavy and superheavy howitzers, in conjunction with the M109 replacement programme, with new advanced artillery systems incorporating longer range, increased rates of fire, integrated fire control computing systems, increased survivability and composite armour, automated ammunition handling and a new engine to allow them keep pace with the projected XM100 main battle tanks.
October 16: Biblical archaeologists announce the discovery of new evidence of Joshua's conquest of Canaan, following on from earlier discoveries of suddenly destroyed walls near Jericho, with a new dig at Et-Tell providing a large number of artifacts, carvings, written materials and weapons indicating that the positive identification of the site as Ai, if not yet the conclusive identification, is increasingly likely.
October 17: Establishment of the Orbital Transport-und Raketen-Aktiengesellschaft, or OTRAG, in Germany, by rocket engineer Lutz Kayser, one of the latest German rocketry concerns emerging to service the burgeoning aerospace sector.
October 18: Time Magazine carries a cover story on 'The New Age?', detailing the recent rise in all manner of purported psychics, psionics and powers within the human mind and questioning whether this is simply an unknown manifestation of magic or some new hitherto unknown force.
October 19: The British Museum introduces several new extensive exhibits utilising miniature pocket planes to allow visitors to walk through the streets of Ancient Rome, Egypt, China and Tenochtitlan, explore an Iron Age hill fort, stroll through the beautiful Hanging Gardens of Babylon, in addition to their extensive librariums and innovative use of enchanted intelligent holography.
October 20: Swiss voters resounding reject a referendum calling for the deportation of foreign workers by the beginning of 1978 to 'counter foreign infiltration and overpopulation' with the measure defeated by 2,364,887 to 789,225 votes.
October 21: The South African Ministry of Labour announces an increase to the minimum wage of black and coloured miners, taking it to an initial 75% of that of white miners as of January 1975, with further equalisation to follow at a rate of 5% per year until full equalisation in 1980. The measure is intended to counter any opportunity for growth of support in Communist backed illegal organisations amongst the crucial mining sector.
October 22: A special Soviet air show displays a number of new aircraft, including a twin engine Sukhoi ground attack fighter (which observers believe may be an equivalent to the A-10 or the Lion), a Mikoyan strike fighter, a Yakovlev light or battlefield fighter and a tantalising glimpse of the fabled Kalinin rocket interceptor.
October 23: The 1980 Summer Olympic Games are awarded to London in a narrow decision over Moscow and Mexico City, with the latter bearing the disadvantage of there being a preference against two consecutive North American Olympics. Behind the scenes, a backroom deal was sealed through the good offices of several neutral states between the Western bloc and the Soviet Union for the 1984 Olympics to be guaranteed for the Red capital; a British representative was heard to comment, sotto voce, that the irony of the year seemed to evade the Kremlin.
October 24: A USAF C-150 conducts the successful air launch of a Minuteman LRBM, with the experiment providing valuable data for the highly classified Skybase Project; whilst the aerial launch did provide more data, it is not anticipated that this would lead to the replacement of the highly successful Skybolt IV ALBM, which currently serves as the mainstay of SAC's air launched missile force with its range of 2500 miles and top speed of Mach 20, but rather a new potential option for further developments, and potential negotiations.
October 25: Formation of the Consolidated Railroad Corporation, or Conrail, merging and consolidating the interests, track and assets of ten railroads in the North Eastern United States. The United States Railroad Commission facilitated the merger, as part of a long term plan for the consolidation of US railroads into eight major groups to streamline freight and passenger rail operations, whilst preserving the integrity and operability of the Interstate Railroad System for reasons on national security.
October 26: Completion of construction the Prince Philip Power Station on the Lagrande River in Northmark, Quebec, becoming the largest hydroelectric power station in the world, overtaking the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington, and bringing the first stage of the James Bay Project to a conclusion.
October 27: A research team of Soviet physicists and chemists discover an ultraviolet excimer laser capable of precision etching and modification of live human and humanoid tissue without the usual accompanying heat damage to surrounding delicate body parts and in their report, postulate its potential use for eye surgery; the development comes on the back of extensive Soviet work with both laser technology and the use of innovative methods of altering the human body.
October 28: A party of young British boys undertaking their test expedition for their Gold Award of Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme in the jungles of southern British Honduras discover a hitherto unknown underground Mayan city whilst setting up camp for the night. Inside one of the largest chambers of what seems to be the city’s main temple, they discover an incredible life size statue of a dragon, seemingly made out of pure gold.
October 29: President Reagan signs the Federal Fire Prevention and Control National Defense Act of 1974 in a ceremony at the White House, attended by U.S Forest Service spokesbear Smokey, who had given many impassioned speeches on the matter.
October 30: The Executive Council of Australia authorises the acquisition of £6000 million in development capital for the expansion of mineral, natural gas and oil resources in Western Australia, Central Australia and South Australia, the establishment of three new uranium enrichment plants in Northern Australia, the development of twelve new offshore oil platforms in Bass Strait; expansion of coal mining in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland; and the development of two new integrated steelworks at Rockhampton and Mandurah to join the existing facilities at Newcastle, Whyalla, Wollongong and Hastings. The investment is part of a concerted effort by the Hawke Labour Government to increase the size of the Australian economy from its current level of £65,179,953,594 by 36% in the next five years.
October 31: An unlikely two man team of a taciturn paladin and a wisecracking exorcist successfully destroy an undead creature that had begun to haunt the dreams of young residents of Springwood, Ohio; the beast turned out to be a child murderer executed some 20 years ago. The matter of how the killer was bought back from his well deserved grave is handed over to the FBI's Y Files group, with some speculation as to the possible role of recent arcane energy events.

[Bernard Woolley]

October 12: A gang of dastardly criminals hijack the Pelham 1:23 subway train in New York City, taking the passengers hostage

I'm a big fan of the origional film (and the book), so that gave me a good chuckle. I hope Matthau got the opportunity to say "gesundheit" to the last hostage taker.

[Simon Darkshade]

Last time I called you a man of culture, but now I'll upgrade that to a distinguished gentleman of culture.

I also like the film, like most of Robert Shaw's oeuvre, really, and wanted to find a way to incorporate it, but with a bit of a twist. Rest assured that there was an iconic Gesundheit involved.

[Bernard Woolley]

Rest assured that there was an iconic Gesundheit involved.

Glad to hear it! Btw, if you haven't seen them, don't bother with the two remakes. They're rubbish.

Oh, and it really must be a magical universe if Pot Noodles are tasty and nutritious!

[Simon Darkshade]

I certainly won't; insofar as films are concerned, my preference is for the originals, not just for the plot, direction and actors, but for that ineffable other element to so many others - the time and place. For the likes of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, the city of New York itself is like a character of its own in a certain way.

They are, and it isn't too great a stretch when we are talking about the *category* of the food stuff. In Heston Blumenthal's programme 'Heston's Feasts', he did create a gourmet version, so the idea isn't too crazy.

This 4.25 oz version from Wonka will feature more and better quality noodles, little bits of the relevant meat, extra miniaturised freeze-dried vegetables, fried onions, a broth or bullion base seasoning sachet, some form of appropriate oil component, flavoured soy sauces, and an extra seasoning sachet. Initially they will come in Chicken and Mushroom, Roast Beef, Barbecue Pork, Indian Lamb Curry, Oriental, Thai, Prawn Cocktail and Bacon. A version may eventually end up in some ration packs...

[Bernard Woolley]

For a bit of fun I did once consider writing a British remake, The Taking of Balham (The Gateway to the South) One Two Three.

[Simon Darkshade]

That would have been very interesting to see, even if the Balham Underground station already had had its own tragedy back in WW2.

That Underground tragedy has given me a little idea for an DE television series which looks at both well known and lesser known aspects of the Second World War at home and abroad. It would be presented by the retired Field Marshal Count Jan Niemczyk, VM (1st Class).

The name?

The Last War

[Bernard Woolley]

I chose it because it was the only LU station I could think of off the top of my head that sounds like Pelham. The Taking of Morden One Two Three, doesn't quite have the same ring to it! Though how about The Taking of Epping One Two Three? The title ofthe book/film referrs to the station the train departed from and the time. So, it would not need to take place at Balham, or Epping itself. But in one of the deep level tunnels. Which is why I thought that the Northern, or Central Line would work best.

The name?

The Last War

[Simon Darkshade]

I think with that reasoning, Balham could well work.

I’m glad you liked the little pun; I can see the elderly Field Marshal now, sitting in his leather chair in his study in front of a roaring fire, wearing his red silk smoking jacket and a luxuriant Old World moustache.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight on The Last War, we will be looking at the Battles of Guadalajara in Spain and Walmington-on-Sea here in Britain, Sir Percy Hobart and his ‘Funnies’ and my own Winged Hussars at war. But first, let us hear from our sponsors, Raid Shadow Legends Armstrong-Whitworth.”

[Simon Darkshade]

October 1974 Notes

- The discovery in the Sambisa Forest is something very interesting, indicating some ET activity a long, long time ago...
- Soviet PNEs result not in some ordinary radiation illness, but something a bit stranger. Something is afoot in Siberia
- Orion 6 arrives at Neptune and gets ready for landing on Triton, after observations, photography, mapping, recording and experiments for the rest of the month of October. Part of the mission is to see how long the spacecraft can orbit around outer planets, measure different factors and test a number of ideas that will one day hopefully be able to be used on far more distant planets...
- Both of the Kunst brothers survive their epic walk around the world here
- Even the considerable production of small arms over 10 years in Britain still needs to be augmented by overseas purchases and production. The AR-25 is a counterpart to the @ AR-18, whilst the FN FAL is very similar to the SLR. The proposed improved version to counter the unknown AK-74 (which here would be a different calibre) will take some time to develop
- The World Food Conference declaration is a bit more ambitious, and comes with Bob Hawke making a garbled version of his 1987 pledge that, 'by the year 1990, no Australian child will be living in poverty'
- American strikes on terrorist groups essentially 'squatting' on the territory of certain Arab countries raises the stakes a bit, as well as potentially paving the way for a Jordanian style reaction to those who bring such problems upon their 'hosts'
- The living former POTUSes have some very different views and perspectives on current events, which would make for an interesting afternoon
- British wage rises are fairly measured, with a lot of assurances around the sides to both the unions and businesses; should wages grow too quickly, then inflation will likely begin to spiral out of control. The corporation tax is a different one to that introduced by Callaghan in the 1960s, providing for a streamlined and ultimately lower rate than previous applications of the relevant rate of income tax paid by businesses, but by the same token simplifying and broadening it
- Wonka comes out with a range of new zany chocolates and sweets, some of which are based on much later developments from Earth, along with some very interesting developments in the area of rations (one of my little areas of interest, thanks to falling down the rabbit hole of MRE videos on Youtube) and most interestingly in the area of a good Pot Noodle. Wonders never cease
- The Pelham One, Two, Three reference both is a homage to the film and a bit of a different humourous twist on it. Gesundheit
- Kenya's elections feature a lot more parties than the single one of the historical poll of this year, reflecting its very different status and situation
- US Army SPH replacement follows on from the historical shift from the 1950s M44s and M55s and the 1960s M108s, M109s and M110s, with all fully enclosed and filling the gap for a late 1970s/80s family of artillery. The offhand mention of the XM100 does refer to something similarly advanced as the M1, albeit in advance over the existing M70
- Some interesting developments in Biblical archaeology point towards some further consequences
- The Time story on New Age developments rightly questions whether the proliferation of supposedly new powers in a particular context
- Improvements to the British Museum will bring in a lot more punters, which will both pay for the upgrades and for additional security cost for some of the non-public holdings
- South African black miner wages rise further than in @, reflecting the far better state of race relations at play in the Union, whilst still highlighting how much further it needs to go
- The first two Soviet planes are based on the Su-25 and MiG-27, with the others being far more novel
- London gets the games as a result of some of the earlier competitors being knocked out in the first few rounds, leaving it as a clear run between Moscow and London
- The airlaunched ICBM will be looked at a bit more heavily here, with the clue being in the name of the Skybase project. Skybolt has been developed quite a bit since the 1950s
- US rail consolidation won't quite be quite as slashing
- Soviet developments both offer a path towards an earlier LASIK and some other potential applications; there is a suggestion that their knowledge comes from some rather unnatural experiments
- Discovery of a lost Mayan underground city is a reference to one particular episode of The Mysterious Cities of Gold and something else, far older
- Smokey Bear says that only you, and the Feds, can prevent forest fires!
- Australian mineral exploration and infrastructure development is somewhat inspired by some of the historical dreams of Rex Connor, the ill-fated enabler of the Khemlani Loans Affair which precipitated the Dismissal of 1975; here, under Hawke rather than Whitlam, there is a harder economic edge to Labour (note the spelling) planning
- A wacky team dispatches Fred Krueger before he can do anything untoward, again; there is the suggestion that his re-emergence is connected with goings-on in Hawkins, Indiana...

[jemhouston]

Don't the Soviets know you never disturb the old ones. They don't like being woke early.

[Simon Darkshade]

It is more like their actions having awakened an ancient prank from eons ago, so that the Soviet personnel in question develop some curious mutations and powers...

[Simon Darkshade]

Some November nibbles:

*November 1: The USA is awarded the right to host the FIFA Soccer World Cup in 1986, following on from Spain in 1978 and Argentina in 1982; the major challenge for American soccer officials is to try and raise the profile of and public interest in the sport over the intervening 12 years. The news of the decision makes Page 4 of the The New York Times, at the bottom right, under an account of a caped superhero rescuing a cat stuck up a tree, and an update on the US Army’s new machine gun.

*November 5: In the US midterm elections, the Republicans seize control of the House and Senate on the back of the so-called ‘Reagan wave’, with the President’s sustained high popularity bolstering the fortunes of the party. In Arkansas, young attorney, Rhodes Scholar and Vietnam veteran William 'One-Eye' Clinton defies the general Republican success of the election to win the 6th congressional district by 1498 votes.

*November 15: Release of the Hollywood blockbuster disaster epic Earthquake, telling the story of a calamitous 9.9 earthquake striking Los Angeles and San Francisco, starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, James Dean, Walter Matthau, Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, Bela Lugosi, Robert Driscoll, Bruce Lee and Jack Hawkins, and directed by Mark Robson. It is later described as starting the ‘disaster film craze’ of the mid 1970s by notable film critics Statler and Waldorf.

*November 17: The War Office confirms a new raft of pat increases for the British Army, with recruits to be paid a base weekly rate of £20, privates £25, corporals to begin at £30 and sergeants at £35, whilst a second lieutenant would have a base rate of £36, a captain £60, a major £75 and a Lieutenant-colonel £90; base wages are in addition to food and lodging (which are to remain free despite some calls to the contrary), additional pay based on length of service, special allowances based on proficiencies, the ‘additional factor payment’ of 10% paid monthly, combat service pay of £50 per month and the ‘Queen’s Shilling’ payment accrued daily. Pay for young men conscripted under universal National Service will also be increased to £12, along with other accrued benefits. It is anticipated that increased pay regime will in turn increase the total personnel budget of the Army, but the measure is seen as necessary in line with natural wage growth in the civilian sector and the value of the British serviceman.