What about those ATC Sqns commanded by Sqn Ldrs?
in regular RAF Sqns are cmd by Wg Cdrs, EA Wings by Grp Capts & Grps by AVMs?
Volunteers are bottom up so the organisation structure needs to grow from below.
Military are top down so their hierarchy grows from the top.
Our current structure works - the ranks are illusionary anyway.
Interestingly SCC equivalent of a TS are also meant to be Cdr by a Lt (but normally sits a PO as each promotion involves a weekend course)
Several earlier comments suggested tanks didn’t matter, weren’t a reward / recognition for experience / time served, etc, and are just about teaching cadets about military ranks. That’s why my post began with “If we’re using the rank structure to teach cadets about the forces …”
However, I’d have thought that more posts on sqns for sqn ldrs and wg cdrs (on the case of VGSs) would be a good thing for retention?
Ah I did wonder so it’s an artificial rather grown - that explains why is failed then (& one thing that has indirectly caused volunteer loss but that’s a different thread)
If they’re big enough to be considered a sqn in their own right, I see no reason for that to change. It’s the small ‘sqns’ that should be thought of as flts and thus commanded by flt lts that I was referring to.
To confirm-
White cap bands are no longer issued for OIC / CIC.
If you are ‘A/FgOff’ CLS will issue you with A/FgOff tapes for the duration of the course.
That makes perfect sense - if you are commissioned from SNCO you only wear the white back Fg Off slides at ATF. No need to source locally & going forward this won’t be an issue.
I know. I’m just saying units that aren’t big enough to be commanded by sqn ldrs, by the same logic, aren’t big enough to be called sqns.
Another example of not the norm: Stn Commanders = Group Captain… not always, many are now Wing Commanders all based on size
And let’s rename pilot officer and flying officer for non flying roles whilst we’re at it. Ultimately, the RAF rank system is a bastardised mash-up of Army and RN ranks which has never quite worked if you look too closely at the words compared to the responsibilities. If the RAF don’t quite get it right then what hope for us when it’s applied to an arms length youth organisation
And some are now Air Commodores, because of further rank inflation.
Most pilots will never hold the rank of pilot officer as they commission as flying officers
I agree but, for clarity, I wasn’t saying sqn ldrs should command (ground based) sqns because of their rank title: it’s because that’s the rank that commands sqns in the RAF (as everyone gets to flt lt after a certain number of years and so the OC is that one rank higher).
But, yes, the officer rank titles are a mess and pilot officer has always been particularly problematic with those who don’t know. Even flight sergeant led some (civilian / army) friends to believe I’d gone into some kind of NCA role rather than simply being promoted from sgt.
Not flying squadrons… Wg Cdrs generally command those.
Which is why I said ground based (sorry for not repeating it in the bit you quoted).
Pilot officer is used in the same way you would have a pilot light or run a “pilot” event - it’s an event of a test or a trial so a pilot officer is a trial officer.
A flying Officer is an actively trade trained officer (I.e. they are now flying) When trenchard set the structures up he wanted bespoke names to give the force its own separate identity & used Sqn as the base unit as it was a term used by both Army & Navy (so with ground trades you follow Army use of Sqn, Air trades you follow naval use of Sqn)
Flt Sgt - the snr Sgt for a flight.
The Army & the navy have a whole list of ranks that don’t quite correspond to what the role does anymore.
But we have gone a bit off topic.
Ahh….so a lieutenant is a placeholder for someone else so a Flt Lt commands a Sqn in place of the Sqn Ldr….so everything does work still 
100+ cadets gives a flt lt something to aim for… 
Not sure how many buildings would hold that many cadets…
The Officer ranks in the RAF are basically stolen from the RNAS, if only we kept the cool insignia too
Or you hadn’t made them insanely difficult to read from a distance over one metre…
Here’s an idea!
You’ve been around 100 years. Celebrate by making them gold and saving us all a lot of trouble…
We should all wear one style of insignia on working dress like the US, all three services the same would be so much easier. West service specific insignia on 1’s and 5’s 
controversial I know 
