The Royal Air Force reports against Harmony Guidelines for formed unit tour intervals, and against Individual Separated Service guidelines for personnel. Nimrod squadrons do not deploy as formed units. RAF Harrier squadrons and Regiment Field Squadrons deploy as formed units but not all personnel serving with the squadrons deploy at once.
As unit tour intervals do not specify the percentage of personnel who deploy, data has been supplied based on Individual Separated Service. The figures for the percentage of personnel serving with RAF Harrier, Nimrod, and RAF Regiment Field Squadrons who exceeded the RAF Individual Separated Service guideline of 140 days of detached duty in a rolling 12-month period are shown in the following table:
Unit Percentage of RAF personnel exceeding 140 days in rolling 12 month period to 30 September 2006 RAF Harrier squadrons (1 and 4 Sqns, 20 (R) Sqn-Harrier Operational Conversion Unit) 12.9 Nimrod squadrons (51, 120 and 201 Sqns, and 42 (R) Sqn—Nimrod Operational Conversion Unit) 10.5 RAF Regiment Field Squadrons (1, 2, 3, 34, 51 Sqns and 63 (Queens Colour) Sqn) 111.7 1 Provisional. Due to the introduction of a new Personnel Administration System for the RAF, all RAF data from 1 May 2006 are provisional and subject to review.
As at 30 September 2006, 0 per cent. of the personnel serving with the Royal Navy Harrier squadrons (800 and 801 Naval Air Squadron) exceeded Royal Navy Separated Service guidelines of 660 days in a rolling three-year period.