Senior British military officials recognize they are stretched to the limit when it comes to aircrew on critical platforms, including WAH-64 attack helicopters and elements of the Sea King fleet.rnThe Army Air Corps is 20% below its budgeted aircrew number for the Apache, which is continuously deployed in combat operations in Afghanistan. On average, 8-10 of the type are in-theater, split between Kandahar and Camp Bastion.rnThe funded manning level for the WAH-64 is 50 crews, according to Rear Adm. Tony Johnstone-Burt, head of the U.K.'s Joint Helicopter Command (JHC). At present, however, the army only has 40 crews available, and it will not-under current plans-reach 50 until March 2011.rnBurt, giving evidence to the Parliament's Defense Committee, said: "The manning situation as a whole ... is OK, we're managing, but we are at maximum stretch, and there are hot spots in certain areas depending on the fleet we are talking about.
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