The Head Teacher Holds the risk
This will be quite difficult in Wales where there are only 4 CCT RAF contingents. All fairly remote from ATC Sqns.
1 Like
You would like to think they keep the same if not more AT camps based out of Fairbourne and Windermere especially since they are RAFAC owned sites. From our Sqn point of view we will have had 3 different cadets attend 3 camps at the 2 sites this year, at Easter half term, Summer holidays and the October half term coming up.
I know Drill and Ceremonial camp has gone for 2024 with a review to how that shapes up for 2025/if it does. There is a lot of risk involved with that camp and expense of having 300 cadets plus CFAV at one site.
Never been a fan personally but Junior leaders surely needs to take a hit in terms of delivery/end product and possibly even QAIC.
I agree with the Regional/ Wing support message however that could go further and look at sector. As RAFAC we should be “as one” with both ATC and the CCF, part of the remit of combining the 2 should be for the CCF to offer the private school out for a week camp during the summer holidays.
If you think private schools have some of the best facilities locally, usually accommodation and catering for around 100 if not more if not using the school facilities but tented accommodation, sport facilities, classrooms and IT Suites and most own their own buses. It could be run by either Wing/Region in theory to maximise the potential but also the staffing ratio however an idea could be to use a private school CCF detachment as a “base”. Over a week camp say 4 flights of 25 cadets could take part in, Shooting, fieldcraft, sports, drill, music (if applicable), cyber, classification training (if applicable), MOI, First Aid, radio, and synthetic ground training. Could also depending on the location use it for DofE exped training as a starting and end point. Add onto this tours to local places of interests, air museums or the usual bowling etc or even a local RAF station tour using the transport of the school with one flight per day visiting.
Would the above take alot of organisation, yes however not much difference to your Wing competition day with a few added extras, if you had a set template that could be repeated year on year it would be easy enough once in place with healthy competition, “Flight points” and enjoyment, over a week you could achieve alot of the progressive syllabus without too much expense or “getting in the way of the RAF”
2 Likes
Junior leaders did take a hit. The travel budget was slashed and they reduced the weekends by almost half, but made them longer. Same training time for less travel cost.
4 Likes
Which is the way to do things.
Maximum bang for our buck.
1 Like
This is the way
3 Likes
Depends if they can recruit a Chief Instructor for Fairbourne; given the recruitment freeze this is unlikely in the near term.
1 Like
Not going to happen - CCFs both traditional independent schools & CEPs are private enterprises who already pay more into the cadets than they get out (RAF section have to buy their own PTS badges as RAFAC can’t afford to supply them).
Even if this would be possible, Army & Royal Navy would call dibs first leaving the air cadets at the bottom & back to square one .
1 Like
I wonder if anyone at the centre has considered the impact this will have on DofE? That’s a big chunk of the Gold Residential’s gone in one fell swoop.
1 Like
Fixed that for you
3 Likes
Looks like RAFAC are not the only ones pausing volunteer activities in 2024 in order to review.
It all ties in with the same picture. Volunteering is lower than it was pre-Covid, with lower levels of satisfaction, and organisations making it harder to volunteer too. Link is from May, but still feels very relevant.
2 Likes
It is interesting and I’ve often given it thought over the past 25 years…
Why with a growing general population do we in society see such low/reducing levels of society??
If lets say for arguments sake 10% of the adult population volunteered 50 years ago and while the country’s population has gone up, you might expect that volunteering would also match that staying around the 10% mark…but without any data to back it up i dont feel that 10% ratio has remained and instead reduced.
why do we find ourselves with volunteer run clubs having to turn people away, create long waiting lists or even closing down when 20, 30, 40 years ago they were thriving?
Part of me believes it’s an effect of what sone would consider “H&S gone mad” or to put it correctly adding in protocols and supervision minimum supervision ratios - while a Squadron or Scout Troop with 50 kids could be managed by 3 adults 30 years ago that isnt the case anymore and needs a minimum of 5 adults or a restriction in numbers jidt to remain viable.
But another factor im certain is societies reluctance to volunteer. We’ve lost a sense of community within our community. While watching “Call the Midwife” my wife will almost weekly bemoan how we’ve lost that community spirit…yet has never volunteered herself and doesn’t understand why i volunteer the way i do.
I don’t think she sees the irony in what she say vs how she acts towards my volunteering.
She fantasies about a situation she desires but won’t aft upon herself. And she’s someone who would like to see community spirit.
There are many more who care little about others.
For whatever reason it has either become less popular, less practical or simply less appealing to volunteer anymore.
As a society we dont know our own neighbours anymore let alone the families in each of 5 houses in both directions along the street as people used to and i feel whatever prompted that change in society and within our communities is the seed which saw that 10% volunteering population shrink while the population has doubled in two generations
Fortunately of all the Squadrons I’ve been on, non were scraping by for staff, and while some are flush with 15+ and others coping with 6-7 those units that dont need a full hand to count the staff team have only totalled one unit in each Wing I’ve been in
Disclaimer the 10% figure is purely made up. I recognise this is likely to be wrong and is simply chosen to illustrate the point.
1 Like
Well then. HQ said ACLC was cancelled citing accommodation issues. The FOI would imply that is not the case at all… Or the FOI has missed some emails!
1 Like
Local community isn’t really a thing these days because more people commute for work. There’s also the fact that the economy is so crap that lots of people in lower paid jobs are having to take on multiple jobs to keep above water so don’t have time.
(I’m pleased to see someone else’s wife like mine - bemoans that no one is volunteering, but doesn’t understand why I volunteer when no money is involved)
5 Likes
A lot of it is down to jobs becoming more demanding and commutes longer. As well as families having to have both parents working to make ends meet and a rise in single parent families, even things like having to support adult children through higher education when before they would have a grant or be at work.
Not saying we need to go back to the 1950s and the nuclear family at all, but even when I was young my dad was home at a sensible hour. But even then both my parents worked. Within a fairly short timescale I think that had gone, and working late had become common.
So a lot of people just don’t have the time to volunteer, and maybe the organisations that need volunteers haven’t kept up with the times, and adapted the ‘volunteer offer’?
2 Likes
This is exactly my problem.
I wake up early for the gym, as i don’t have time after work before the lad goes to bed, so I’m up at 0445.
With traffic I’m not home on days until gone 1700.
And every other week is nights, so a complete write off.
I’ve found it very difficult past few months.
1 Like
Quality not quantity is what counts though!
I can only assume it wasn’t the cadet’s accommodation that was challenging. Maybe the messes refused to take the staff?
IIRC, ACLC is held at Cranwell.
CHOM is entirely out of action due to repetitive faults, meaning that all officer cadets regardless of their position through (M)IOT are currently being housed in Number 1 Mess in shared rooms (CHOM is single living).
This has then subsequently led to further accommodation being required for IOT cadets across station, restricting which blocks have capacity and pretty much ruling out anything that isn’t related to officer training - including the planned move of non-commissioned training to Cranwell, with the closure of Halton now delayed until at least 2027.
2 Likes