Should this have happened?

On Tuesday the government has announced the sale of the search and rescue service. It will no longer be manned by the RAF.  The ITV news story is here.

Now I’m not sure, but it seems rather strange to sell the service to an American company from Texas.  I can appreciate that the government might want the cash input, but what do Texans know about the British Isles. Should they have had to pass some sort of test?  I realise that rescue services are probably transferable, but the UK on a whole varies much more than Texas.  And yes, Texas has a coastline…on the Caribbean.  I know they get hurricanes, tropical storms and tornadoes, but I seriously hope they employ UK helicopter pilots to fly the rescue helicopters.  Pilots who are used to the UK and all its foibles.  At this present moment I suspect that the sale went to the highest bidder as is normal, but it remains to be seen if the company who has got the service, is the best for the job, and only time and successful rescues will tell there.  Also, I hope the government are going to put the money they have acquired to good use in helping our economy, and it benefits every man, woman and child in the UK, as after all, it was a public service that they sold off, supposedly in the public domain.

Another point has just occurred to me, will the new PRIVATE company charge for their rescues?  Because I don’t know of any private companies who give their goods/services away for free.  Is this a retrograde step for the search and rescue service of the UK?  What do you think?