CEF being the main lead BS you say? Tell me, who has had INCREASED funding for the last four years? Tell me who’s had DECREASED funding for the same. Tell me, who’s just been told to look at closing units to save estates money?
Writings on the wall. It’s not my fault if you don’t speak the language.
It doesn’t need to change…i’m not a officer so it doesn’t affect me, but it is a major selling point of people coming to ACO that you get a Queen’s RAF commission, it makes the person more proud to wear the uniform, rather being turned into a glorified scout organisation that it’s only remaining link to our parent service is a uniform that we have fight tooth and nail to stay in. It is also, for some, the closest they can get to joining the armed forces for one reason or another, so to say your piece of paper you had to go to the trouble of earning is now not worth anything? You are now a no body in the eyes of the RAF? Yep. Great. Really helps regaining morale levels in the ACO.
If I’m honest, anyone citing that reason as their primary driver to joining isn’t someone I’d want in this organisation. Yes it’s a nice to have, but someone saying that - sorry, but no thanks.
Oh and it DOES need to change. Too many idiots have ruined it for the rest of us. I know of two walts who have been canned and are trying to force it to the upper levels. God only knows why and what they think it will achieve. Anecdotally I was aware one was doing it, “just to [fornicate] them over and those left behind” probably in an attempt to tie up man hours which should be spent on their stuff.
They will still have a Queen’s commission…
Wouldn’t say it’s a primary reason for people joining, as you said we want the right people. However it will also would be a factor in someones mind. I agree it is always the few that spoil it, but when there is very little going for us as a organisation at the moment and they keep giving us more crap to deal with on a weekly basis. One does wonder how much more slapping down staff and cadets can take. In all honesty I wish all the cadet forces had the same commmissioning service we have, but they don’t. Surely the few that ruin it for everyone else should be made an example of and not brushing with the same brush.
Rather than change the entire commission, wouldn’t it have been easier to preserve the fundamentals of the existing commission but remove the right to petition HMQ via a revision of the Royal Warrant\TCOS\AP1919 or whatever regulation that permits VR(T) to do this?
I’m only guessing but that would require primary legislation and that would be too difficult to navigate I suspect.
Isn’t the ACO meant to be primarily about youngsters?
It’s hard to tell any more.
How long before the ACO mandates that all adult staff have to go into uniform as SNCOs or Air Cadet Officers? I’m guessing the process to become an Air Cadet Officer will be significantly easier than VR(T) selection, so more staff in uniform is a logical step, especially if CIs are banned from instructing risky activities, e.g. shooting, mountaineering, water sports etc. I anticipate that remaining CIs who refuse to go into uniform will only be restricted to administration roles within their units. Signs are the ACO is undergoing massive change for the worse. Only the most dedicated staff will remain after the dust has settled.
A very simplistic view there and something some people band like a badge of honour in this organisation, “I’m only here for the cadets”. Which is crap because regardless of how you are treated and your intentions if it gets too much people will walk its human nature. HQAC need to learn this valuable lesson before there is no staff left!!
The ACO is about us all, cadets and staff
it’s a triangle with the cadets and staff at the bottom and the squadron at the top, the Sqn is bigger than us all but if there are
No cadets then no squadron
And No staff then no squadron
As the triangle will fall!!
I do agree there are some staff who actually see themselves as front line officers and are totally self centred on themselves and what they can get they see the cadets as their road to greatness (can’t really say what I think of them).
The issue I have with all of this is simple,
I signed on as a RAF VR(T) officer
I read and understood what I was required to do and I return what the ACO would do for me (which is very little). Now we are being told that it’s to change wither we like it or not, there is some information which everyone will agree is very fuzzy.
Yes they are now trying to include CFAVs (another term brought in to dumb down things, like pay getting changed to VA ( yes pension crap was mentioned but think about the recent Uber thing)) for input but you can see on this forum and forums like this apologists for HQAC and it would probably be these people sent to give opinions… so the meeting would resemble a North Korean parliament get together…
All i ask if for open and clear transparency in this organisation, on this and other threads people say I heard X and others “yes my wing co said that” but for the vast majority we hear nothing, and sharepoint announcements are not the answer to fixing the communication issue, the vast majority of working staff have no time to really sit and go through sharepoint.
Some will agree with me others not but it’s my opinion so what do I know…
Again, my post above… we just don’t know 2020 seems to be this magical place we are heading too at full steam but no map…
To be honest I don’t think it’ll make the slightest difference to new joiners, as the CF commission will be all they’ve known.
The one to be a bit more worried about are current VR(T) officers who - as Pep alluded to earlier - might see this a bit of a slap in the face.
No, you signed on as an RAFVR(T) officer. Why do people need to place a distinction between the two? You don’t see the RAFAuX or RAFR doing it. Is it pretending to be closer to one than the other? I don’t know, but people who do it often can’t explain themselves.
I think you’re reading far too much into that.
^^^ exactly what he said…
If anyone at HQAC’s Morale Desk is interested, the phrase ‘slap in the face’ was one I heard from about half a dozen different VR(T) over the weekend - others produced more colourful terms which the grizzled warfighters of that august formation will of course be both entirely familiar with and completely unperturbed by…
The consensus of opinion was that no one was going to flounce off because of it, but that it was yet another insult, either deliberate or accidental, from a bunch of witless bunglers who are utterly divorced from the reality of the organisation they claim to run.
While no one will go soley because of it, its just another pinch of bitterness to go in the brew of disillusionment that will be weighed the next time the ACO wants something - all its doing is making a ‘yes’ harder to justify and a ‘no’ easier to give.
We’ve had more strategies all badged with years for a long time but they all seem to get half-way through the period OR we get a new CAC and we get a new one. The 2020 one will be superceded by another one, say 2018-2025, so they can forget all about the previous one, like all the others.
There seems to be working groups at HQAC for this and that are comprised of some know nothing member of HQAC staff and volunteer staff who are unlikely to have an idea of their own or ask questions. There is no transparency or communication of progress to the great unwashed, as such are totally unaccountable to anyone except the members and probably ACMB, we never see any progress probably as they never seem to have a proper ‘project’ plan with milestones. As a result none of these produce anything of value to the cadets and or staff.
The single biggest hurdle to and reason all of these strategies and working groups fail is that we (as an organisation) are not in control of our own destiny, we are subject to the ministrations of the MOD in relation to all of our activities. They should not even look into something unless they have full autonomy (financial and or resources) to make it happen. So in all honesty they should scrap all these grandiose plans and just stay on the golf course or pottering around in their gardens, just to be wheeled out like the archetypal retired senior officer to open a fete or similar.
I recall seeing a very detailed ‘spreadsheet’ for one of the strategies but it was a smokescreen and mirrors admin exercise to make us think they had a clue or cared. When you looked at it you could see exactly at which point they’d fail … after the first meeting.
The one thing this change will provide people the chance to dip out and not really lose any face, like maternity leave or redundancy.
I see where farriersaxe is coming from. Having seen the ATC slip from an organisation that provided a really different experience and unique opportunities to one that is now edging more and more to a militaristic scout group, it’s not unreasonable to doubt the long (10-15 years) term future. It would be an extremely sad day, but with the problems in the MOD and the inability of the people we’ve had in charge over the last 7/8 years at HQAC it’s not difficult to see why. Schools lose heads for less than the failings we’ve seen in our leadership. What we need is an Alex Fergusson not Sam Allardyce running the Corps. Unfortunately we get the latter recently with the exception Mr Moulds.
How jolly nice of them to write a letter of thanks to the CCF (RAF) Section Commanders etc.