Also OZFIRE, you can't have a job if there are no volunteers!!
I think people need to remember that sometimes.........
David, ther's no doubt of that ... stating the obvious really!!! My comment though was direct more to the time staff appear to spend working with and for the volunteers as opposed to the time they spend meeting political and government demands and passing on their wishs and directions to the volunteers, who manage and operate at the pointy end.
I think we sometimes forget when we look at staff that they have many, many masters above them and that they put in extra ordinary hours, often unpaid (hence voluntry) to meet with us, train us and try to meet our many needs - 430 Brigades (17000 volunteers) to 90 staff, not a good ratio