Yes yes. We all know this.
I think it’s more a case that the RAF don’t treat acting ranks as separate. Most (if not all, although someone’s bound to know of an exception if I say that) ranks can be held in an acting capacity: usually until promotion is confirmed, promotion courses completed, or both.
For example, promotions to Cpl, Sgt, and FS are all acting (paid) until successful completion of JMLC/IMLC/AMLC respectively. (Edit to note that substantive rank is subsequently backdated to the date of the board.)
The only time there’s any distinction made between acting and substantive rank, to my knowledge, is with RAFP A/Cpls.
Has anyone experience of dealing with this quirk of our system where there is no rank slide as described in ACP1358.
Its frustrating 
If you look at the old photos around College Hall, it’s evident that at one time the tradition would have been to continue wearing WO rank, along with white collar tabs, until your commissioning on geaduation.
The old (VRT) process was that you didn’t hold a commission until you had graduated from OIC. The new process is that you hold the commission from the moment you pass your board.
That’s why wearing your NCO tabs would have once worked but now doesn’t. Whether it’s the correct approach or not is an entirely different debate.
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“Tradition is a set of solutions for which we have forgotten the problems. Throw away the solutuon and you get the problem back.”
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Not sure on that, because weren’t our white tabbed officers saluted even before?
Was confusing as heck when dealing with both regular and ACO (as it was at the time) white tab/band wearers…
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wasn’t that the “new” VRT system? (brought in post DYER when white tabs came in across the board for O18s, baby Sgts and Baby Officers)
while the “old” VRT system was commission was granted from passing the board
I seem to remember there being a change at some point - perhaps it was just symbolic in that despite having the commission those CFAV Plt Off at Cranwell had to “revert back” to a provisional “acting” rank to comply with the Cranwell expectation of Plt Offs in training?
I think this is an error in ACP 1358, so I’d raise via your WWO.
The assumption is all officers are first APOs and thus wear Pilot Officer braid on a white patch. it has missed the policy within ACP 20 that FS / WO can go direct to Fg Off.
What does happen though is for the duration of CIC / OIC or whatever it’s called this week, the individual wears APO slides to fit in alongside white banded hats.
Correct. The old Off Cdt RAFVR(T) rank was an ‘acting down’ rank with a substantive rank of Plt Off.
No it wasn’t.
Under the old process you commissioned from day 1 and you wore the same uniform as any other Plt Off from day 1.
Then towards the end someone decided you needed to be an Officer Cadet until you went to Sleaford Tech and did OIC. So they introduced the Officer Cadet rank tabs, however nothing in the appointment process changed and you were still a Pilot Officer, just wearing Officer Cadet tabs.
This then created a few anomalies since you didn’t wear a white cap band and because you were really a Pilot Officer you were still supposed to be saluted and you still made Flying Officer after 2 years irrespective of how long it took you to get to OIC.
That’s why when the RAFAC rank slides were procured they decided to creat “Acting Pilot Officer”, to achieve the above but without the complication of saluting Officer Cadets.
All of which was completely pointless as it’s not like OIC taught you anything you needed to know before wearing uniform in public and it’s not like the public can tell the difference anyway.
My understanding is that under the old (pre-white tab) system, it was down to the officer to resign their commission if they failed OIC. I heard a rumour that the system changed because an officer failed OIC twice and refused to resign their commission.
It’s an interesting story, but the VR(T) White tabs didn’t change the system, only the uniform before your course.
The new white rank slides might have changed that but considering all the CFC stuff seems to have just been copy and pasted across I doubt it.
Whatever it says now is probably what it said before.
(How do you fail OIC?!)
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Twice! But it could just be a story, as you said.
My digital OIC nearly failed another attendee for having a beard that was too well groomed (ie not technically a “full” beard)
Lol
I turned up to the last day of my SCC with no rank insignia, unshaven, hungover and 30 minutes late. All I got was a line in my report that Flt Lt daws1159 was late one day due to “burning the candle at both ends”
Other than my OASC board report, I’ve never seen a course report for anything I’ve attended including OIC or SCC - I just thought it was a myth to make you behave!
Is the white banded hat provided at CIC?
They’ll give you the white band
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28 years between wearing the White Band for the 1st time and OIC. And the old ATF was next door to the H Blocks that were No2 IOT Mess…
…did I get the shakes every morning walking down to work? Oh yes, happy memories
and yes Fg Off tapes on Sqn - white band and OIC white with orange tabs at Cranwell
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