There is an official means of communication and this should be used at all times. CoC should be fully aware of this, regardless of reasons of wanting to get messages out quickly.
I too avoid Social Media nowadays, and would expect ANY form of communication except from between my squadron staff to be though the formal channels. Anything else adds confusion and makes us look very stupid indeed.
Like it or loath it social media is here to stay and is a very quick means of communicating to the masses. How many of us use it to communicate with our staff and cadets.
Less than 18 hours from when the CAC sent the tweet this thread has started. So it proves the point of letting the masses know that something was up on social media works.
The question is should the message have been;
1 there is a problem with flying this weekend, contact AEF before traveling.
2 An important message has been placed on SharePoint all to read immediately.
Which is worse?
Theyāre not mutually exclusive!
Correct course of action would be to disseminate the full and correct information via the official channels to all and sundry, as soon as the āissueā had occurred, both within the RAF and the AC.
I find it very difficult to believe that this particular SNAFU suddenly happened at half past 10 on Friday night. So why did it take until then for either 1) CoC to be informed, or 2) for CoC to put out the message? Thus avoiding the last-minute panic and a rushed tweet/FB post/whatever at dark-oāthirty in the PM and a PR embarrassment for the organisation.
Having cadets unable to fly at all is enough of a shambolic embarrassment, the way it has been communicated has made it 10 times worse. Absolutely awful.
Because it travels via the CoCā¦
ODH > 6FTS > AEFs/HQAC > RC > Wgs > Sqns
Between 6FTS & HQAC is a delay while it takes time for someone to realise we might need to know, as it filters through 6FTS
Absolutely right; and to be fair, it did hit the RAvnOs late on Friday afternoon, but they are volunteers too, with day jobs to do, so instant comms canāt always be assured.
The problem is, it is communicating with the hoy poloy unless you operate closed groups. If you donāt everyone can see which can create the sort of hysteria this has. Also it only works if you use it, if people donāt use it itās pointless.
As I said Monday night 2 cadets and parent, where are they in the CoC?
The organisation is going through a parlous phase and we really need to make comms like this, which isnāt a positive by any stretch people specific ā¦ therefore email.
The āinstant commsā problem can be easily solved by staff phoning their AEF ahead on the day (good practice IMO, in case of Wx/Tech/Other RAF SNAFUās), although I understand for those travelling a long way with an early start thatās not always feasable.
The point is, regardless of time of day, the official means of dissemination should be followed. BADER, E-mail, RAvOs etc.
I appreciate that things take time to filter down, however to find out via unofficial means at half past 10 on a Friday night that all flying from tomorrow onwards is postponed indefinately for some unknown reason that canāt be made public is rather unprofessional.
It doesnāt look good when parents & cadets have found out about this before staff, who then (quite rightly) go to the sqn staff asking what on Earth is going on and they canāt answerā¦
I disagreee. Social media is nothing new.
Vine
MySpace
Hi5
Bebo
iTunes Ping
Gowella
Google Plus
All took a hit. And with more people turning away and deactivating their accounts, social media is at risk just as it always was.
A CEO of a department for Facebook has already come out saying that Facebook is destroying the fabric of our society. And they only way they have kept up, is because they manipulate and prey on its users.
Not to mention the AI system they had to shut down because it developed its own language.
The real shame is that bebo closed and all the dregs and crap went onto Facebook. But they will all have their day.
Except Genisys I supposeā¦
YouTube Simon Sinek Millenial Question.
The sooner organisations and especially Military and Public Services stop using Twitter especially, the better. Itās utterly cringeworthy some of the utter drivel and crap that gets put on.
I would, personally, far rather have to deal with parents/cadets who know as much as I do about something than arrive at our ālocalā AEF after 3 hours drive and getting up at 4.30am to be told thereās a bader email sat on my OCās desk telling me not to bother.
I have no problems with Twitter/Facebook being used as as emergency broadcast - personally I think itās utterly moronic to prefer to not have information than to have it, however imperfect it may be. Whatās ridiculous is to not then back that up as quickly as possible with something a bit more solid that the Sqn staff can use on Monday evening when approached by cadets and parents.
Any method of communication that saves me getting up at 4.30am for a wasted 6 hour round trip is good - anyone thinking otherwise probably ought to have a kinetic interaction with a house brickā¦
I donāt think CAC has quite got a grip of that point yet. Sheās too busy on Flidbook and Twatter āgetting down wiv de kids, innitā.
Right, itās 4 working days after the āsocial meejaā input. What, if anything, has drifted down through the ever-efficient formal communication chain?
seconded ^^^^
An ideal post would have been - Are you due to going flying tomorrow? Check your Squadron Email accounts for an urgent update on the situation
Still nothing here.
Hmmm, I might be putting 2 + 2 together & making 3.99999, but had information from one RAF base (non-AEF) concerning personnel shortages on the air traffic frontā¦
As we know, AEF flying has to be conducted with radar cover.
Are SM accounts official Air Cadet communication channels?
Weāve had a few snot mails over the years about not sending things to/from non bader accounts and yet many in the Corps seem perfectly happy with putting things out on something that can be read by anyone or anyone of the acolytes / āfriendsā. You canāt have it all ways.
Now a week and still relying on rumour and speculation.
There have been many well written posts extolling the virtues of SM in a way to get a message out across the widest audience, but the drawback is the lack of content to allow a full explanation.
We still havenāt been given this full explanation. Why is this issue so secret? Are all the Tutors deployed to Syria over the weekends, to allow the Predators to have a good work/life balance?
The only thing that is happening here is a replication of the PR used in the Gliding pause.
My Staff, Cadets and Parents are not stupid. If this issue is a safety one, they will accept and hope that the problem is solved quickly. But I am not prepared to pass on false information, which people on this forum has told me the information given to me by my chain of command is.
Please can we all be treated like adults and be told what is happening?
Fair point, I can totally understand that angus.
Still no official news here however. Not well handled. VGS fiasco all over againā¦
Is anyone got AEF this weekend?
If not has a reason been given, other than CACs SM feeds?
I received a brief note on Monday to advise that itās suspended and the reasoning is Official Sensitiveā¦ so the information is with the WAvO - have you asked yours? Maybe they are just updating those who are affected?