Unfortunately it has come to the stage where I feel that I have no option other than to leave. There have been numerous issues in my squadron but unfortunately due to the OC and other members of staff being close friends, i have felt my position in the squadron has become untenable. Without going into details or wanting to sound like a chld, I have felt that in the recent months I have been pushed out of decision making with regards to cadet activities/training etc. When I have queried this I have been told that it was decided to give the other member of staff the responsiblity. I could go on and on but i feel that I am onto a losing battle no mater what I say. I certainly donāt feel like I am part of the staff team and I feel that if I were to resign they wouldnāt beoverly bothered. To be honest they treat it like a youth club!!!. Anyway rant over. Just have to man up and get on with it and resign.
Why donāt you transfer to another Sqn?
i am going to look at that as an alternative to resigning. Although my experience has made me pretty disallusioned with the whole organisation.
Iāve known people who have transferred to other squadrons when they have been in this position and itās OK for a while, but the rot in their mind has already set in and they eventually leave. There is also the need to speak to your Sqn Cdr and receiving Sqn Cdr and when they speak to each other whatever thoughts the old one has can be embedded in the new oneās mind. Would I take someone if they told me the above Iām not too sure.
At the end of the day the decision is yours. If you have another squadron close by, pop in for a chat and see if they have space for you. Transferring is better than resigning.
That would be extremely discourteous.
Teflon - why would it be discourteous if if is me that is for want of a better phrase ābeing pushed outā of my currently squadron.
Regardless of the situation you should speak to your current OC first. There are a few on here who would suggest speaking to sector officers or prospective OCs first effectively sticking the boot into your current squadron, which IMO is not right.
He might not even be aware of exactly how you are feeling and from what your OP says, it is just you feeling like you do, there is nothing to suggest it is being done purposefully. Even the OC getting others involved, thatās part of what you do in that position, we donāt always wait to see what everyone else thinks.
On one of my old squadrons some of us used to go the Con Club just down the road after parades. Many decisions were made there and those that werenāt there didnāt get a say and the OC was happy with that. I donāt remember anyone getting antsi about it, they went along with what was being done.
I imagine that all of us have not been directly involved in decision making at some point and not taken to feeling like an outcast.
Who is to say that going to another squadron is going to be any better, given that you are the new kid. Even going in as OC doesnāt mean youāre āpart of the crowdā, you hold the whip hand wrt decision making just by virtue of positon. Just think about new joiners at work, same thing, it will be a while before they get fully involved.
Iām just a clueless newbie CI who isnāt friends out of cadets with any of the other staff. They all know each other and I feel like an outsider.
Many times Iāve suggested things that many other Sqns do but Iāve always been shot down with my ideas because āwe are not other Sqnsā Iāve given up saying anything now and just sticking to what Iām doing and going to events that other staff donāt want to go to. Iām kinda in the ādo I still want to go anymore phaseā and In the time Iāve been a CI, Iāve enjoyed about 10% of it. Itās like being a cadet again with being told what to do
No it wouldnāt. Discourteous is sidelining a CI. If you read their post it says they have already questioned things.
You can question it all day but if the person youāre questioning is the problem where will that get you?
OP - if you want to stay on, speak to your sector commander if you have a decent one. If you donāt speak to the wing commander. Then go to a new squadron and speak to them.
I agree with pEp.
Itās something Iāve thought about, Iām reaching that point where the black and yellow handle is looking very tempting. All but two of the staff on my squadron are great. Very supportive of my meagre attempts to help, except two. And the attitude of just one of those two is bad enough that itās affecting my drive to stay.
Only reason Iām still attending at the minute is because I can offer things to the squadron that most squadrons donāt have the luxury of. That is, a foot in the door to our local station. I recently arranged a trip to the station, and the attitude of the cadets there was the reason Iām still clinging on. Went to the squadron the following parade night and certain attitudes made me wonder why I bother.
If itās making you unhappy, jump ship. Bang out. Itās something Iām going to give a long hard think about over the coming weeks.
Such a sad answer. I know of a squadron where they have been offered a tie up with an active flying station, and the OC, well it fell on deaf ears but knowing the OC that is not a surprise. he hasnāt changed since about 1980 and is still in the ACO.
There is a formal complaints procedure that would allow you to go directly to your area officer if speaking to the CO is not an option. I transferred, I did speak to the CO just because I had nothing to lose. If anything its an opportunity to say why however, the CO canāt block your transfer and would be foolish to try.
Having transferred, I couldnāt be happier.
I am sorry to hear of your plight and would not wish to comment on the specifics. As a Sqn OC, it can often be more of a challenge getting the staff team to pull together but that should be worked through. Personally, Iād rather my Adult Sgt spoke to me about the way he feels and we can make a conscious effort to resolve any underlying issues.
Having said that, there are many squadrons who would welcome you on board, particularly where they are short staffed. Perhaps you can also speak to your Wing Staff Officer about the situation or a transfer to another unit.
I was never was and never really have been friends with people in the Corps outside the Corps, even as a CO it wasnāt something I felt was necessary. There are probably 3 I see outside the Corps, but Iāve known them for years and they arenāt on the squadron.
Iāve always had my own friends who are nothing to do with the Corps and feel much happier with them. I see the ATC as something I do in my spare time and I donāt need to be friends nor operate in anything other than a professional work-like manner. I know many staff who are in each others pockets, including some our current squadron staff. They come down share jokes etc from the socialising they do and decisions are made about things, but does it matter no.
If it does matter to you then move or leave, but donāt expect it to be much different anywhere else, but I imagine itās what your perceptions of being staff should be like on a personal level. My experience of squadrons has largely been of turn up do what you do and go home. Younger staff might socialise outside but thatās about it. I suppose now Iām too old to care anymore.
With respect the RAFAC is a youth club.
ok so it is uniformed and sponsored by the MOD but when it boils down to it, CFAVs are volunteer youth workers doing exactly the same as our Scouts, Guides and Community counterparts.
it is funny, i am the same yet my friends I see regularly, the ones I am in WhatsApp groups are all "Cadet friends"
of those on Sqn I only socialise with one, but we were Cadets together from years back and socialised before i joined the unit.
in my previous two units i was the same. I didnāt socialise with Squadron ācolleaguesā yet have plenty of friends, buddies and pals from across the Wing or further that I regularly see, meet up with, chat to, gossip with and attend Weddings and birthdays!
With regard the situation.
Firstly it is your decision as pEp said, only you know how much enjoyment you are getting out if it.
secondly this sounds very familiar with my initial situation. as easy as it is to say i bit my tongue and got on with it. I was an ex Cadet of the Sqn and other than one Uniform member of Staff and a very old CI was on the Squadron longer than the rest of the Staff team but because of my junior years and rank was larger ignored.
i found my niche on unit (radio) which allowed me to make the decisions i wanted i created a good understand to train the Cadets and build up the Squadron kit to deliver both training and support the weekend events.
if you can do the same maybe for a different discipline it will help give you some authority on the subject.
thirdly - speak to someone on unit you trust. be it the 2IC a CI or even the Padre, perhaps they will see your point of view, perhaps they will see your paranoid and reading too much into it.
get another point of view and share your concernsā¦it will help having someone who at least understands your situation who could subtly fight your corner should situations returnā¦
lexycamy
Whilst itās sad that you have been treated this way by a bunch of nobs/wana beeās I to have left (since 2016) I have put in 30 years of my life into cadets and it was time to go. In my case was sort of similar to yours to which the political BS I got from my Sqn and wing level from these wana beeās made me leave to which Iād have not looked back on that decision and I am more happier for it.
Transferring would be a good option if there is a Sqn close to you that is willing to accept you or if there are other squadron in dire need for staff to parade there providing that other members donāt speak ill of you which would sabotage your chances of transfer.
Ultimately the decision is yours and yours alone whether or not you want to stay whilst its hard that the cadets will suffer in the short term, this is a small price to pay compared to a much larger price that is to be paid later on.
I hope this might help.
I canāt see any squadron turning down the offer of staff TBPH, especially one that is already on the books and not having to go through the tedium of getting them in.
I think acceptance can mean different things, is that accept as another member of staff OR accept socially.
People talk and as adults if we canāt accept and deal with that especially if not from a positive position, then we may as well give up.
I know that I am not everyoneās cup of tea, do I care, not one bit. I am who I am, take it or leave it.
I feel honoured
I often feel like this, usually hourly, but at the end of the day I sit down with a few supportive friends and family and work it out like this;
I have been doing this for over 30 years, its a big part of my and my families life. (kids ex-cadets and supportive wife, met me through ATC)
I am here for the cadets, they have their own issues and that doesnāt bother me, If Im not here then some other āpersonā can be giving the the wrong life lessons.
I do it for selfish reasons, I enjoy it (despite the prats).
I learned if you move sqn (I have been at four and OC for 10 years at one) its the same problems given by a different COC.
Being ex-military I would miss the environment.
I am here for the cadets, they are great.
I am here for the cadets, I get a kick out of teaching them,
I get a kick out of cadets, I should be doing standup
But most of all I know that If I keep turning up I am the people who donāt like me and that is a victory. The cadets and staff like me and I like them, besides did I say I do it for the cadets?