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Unlike the Army, where raw recruits rarely have school qualifications and are faced by bawling drill instructors, new arrivals in the RAF are no longer expected to face such a hostile welcome.  The instruction not to coerce but to persuade RAF recruits forms part of a new training package combining traditional elements such as extra history lessons about the Battle of Britain with some more politically correct features. 

References to weight have been taken out of personal fitness literature to prevent female recruits from developing weight-related illnesses such as anorexia, and recruits have longer to prepare for the annual fitness test. Under the new system, female recruits who become pregnant are not thrown off the course but allowed to go on leave and encouraged to return after their child is born. 

But as well as these more modern aspects, the course has also been redesigned to include additional lessons on the history of the RAF and more training in personal discipline, tidiness and integrity.  "It is all part of an evolution and while some of the old traditionalists might not like some aspects, we have to think about what is the best way to train a recruit in the modern era," one instructor said. "Growling and screaming is simply counterproductive for what we are trying to do. It is much better to explain so a recruit understands why something needs doing rather than shouting at them." 

Senior officers admitted there were times when a raised voice or threat of punishment were required but such occasions were rare.  The changes have evolved throughout the Nineties as RAF recruit training has been restructured and concentrated at RAF Halton, a sprawling leafy site located in the Chilterns near Aylesbury. 

The RAF may have been reduced from 89,000 to 52,000 by post-Cold War reforms but around 3,300 new recruits are needed each year to fill jobs as engineers, air traffic controllers and all the other non-flying jobs.  Candidates of both sexes and from all age groups - instructors have trained a recruit who was over 40 - arrive at nearby Wendover station before being driven to Halton. On arrival they take their oath of allegiance, which is the legal prerequisite before the instructors can order them to do anything, then have a haircut and are issued with kit. 

 Occasionally there are errors. Earlier this year during the Kosovo crisis, when RAF resources were focused on the war effort, new recruits at Halton found themselves without boots and berets and were forced to start their seven-week basic course in trainers and with scarves tied round their heads.

Halton maintains plenty of RAF tradition. Inside the dormitories, recruits are expected to make their beds elaborately each morning, folding blankets, pillows and sheets into a bed-block that has not changed in design in 70 years. What is perhaps most striking is that the recruits do this every morning without any involvement from training staff.  They get themselves up at 5.30 for the hour needed to clean the room and prepare their kit. Peer pressure and teamwork do not allow for slackers and the recruits round on those who refuse to toe the line. 

Each intake is made up of of 80 or so recruits, and instructing staff are proud that only nine per cent do not pass out successfully; before the new system was introduced, the proportion was as high as 14 per cent. The staff hope to bring down the proportion further. They carried out a survey recently of all RAF bases, asking experienced, qualified personnel what they thought of the quality of recruits arriving from RAF Halton.  The old hands reported that the new recruits did not have adequate knowledge of the RAF's history so additional lessons were included in the course. Another grumble, about the lack of discipline among recruits, led to more discipline being instilled at Halton.