Air Cadet Management Board

And what exactly has that got to do with the original question.

Mods - do we have thread drift?

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Simple really - I don’t know the answer and I was hoping that the well informed members of the forum might just happen to know.

But evidently not, and it is worrying that no-one appears to know anything about a body which appears to have a considerable influence on the future.

I disagree, there are numerous answers to your question.

Of course they may not necessarily meet your agenda, which is a different matter.

A simple answer to a simple question for everyone’ s benefit is all that is required - surely the answer is not covered by the Official Secrets Act! We are talking about a civilian youth group here which relies on public generosity for the Cadets to benefit, and parents happen to be members of the public.

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To summarise the answers already provided.

The ACMB sits under the ACC & is the functional management board of the RAFAC. Chaired by CAC, the members are the 6 Rgl Comdts, Comdt 2FTS, Wg Cdr CCF & the Corps Finance Officer. In attendance are CACWO, Wg Cdr training (a CFC Officer), the Corps Chaplain, a Rgl Chair & a rotational OC Wing.

Reviewing the minutes, this organ makes the policy decisions on the management of the RAFAC ahead of submission to the ACC where required for approval.

Just like any other private company’s management board really.

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Just try getting the minutes of their meetings though.

As previously stated the Record of Decisions are available on Sharepoint & there have been some released via FOI requests as well, so no big mystery.

Stop being sensible and providing useful answers WarKitten. You’re ruining people’s conspiracy theories!

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If it is a public “accountable” board, then the minutes should be openly published.

I’m having a battle under FoI to get minutes of meetings from a Home Office / Police working group - the initial response was from the Head of the Home Office department, giving one link to only one set of minutes. The Internal Review came back with the same answer; the Head of the department attends the working group, so there should be no excuse (complaint now made to the ICO). They even advised me to ask a follow-up FoI from a different department - “Yes Minister” is alive & well! In this specific case, not publishing just points to evasion & lack of transparency.

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Oops sorry, being a spoilsport :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

The concept of open government extends to allow you to ask a question, but not to guarantee that you will get an answer.

Oh, to add insult to injury, the specific department is not yet a designated body covered by the terms of the Freedom of Information legislation… Let’s see if they play nicely. :wink:

A large number of companies have "work’s committees’ or some manner with which to allow the plebescite some input, to try and ward off ill-feeling and unrest and getting some union throbber coming in and getting all excited.
However in the case of a private companies management board, they will all have years of experience in that company and or business field, working their way through the business accruing experience, expertise and knowledge, over a number of years. How many of the ACMB have been in the ATC as a CFAV, accruing experience, expertise and knowledge. An odd one or two might be invited to sit at the table, but no doubt safe ones, unlikely to ask questions and expect answers/solutions. From the various minutes I’ve seen from HQAC meetings, answers, solutions and decisions seem to take ages.
When ever we have been asked / consulted in the ATC it seems to be
1 after the decision has been made
2 ignored completely
3 put on an unlit back burner
because it is obvious people who have never done what we as CFAV do, instinctively know best, because they have been in the RAF. I wonder, would we be allowed to tell the Air Force Board how to run the RAF, because we have been in the ATC? No and why should we.

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Looks like it may have been re-branded (who doesn’t love a re-branding exercise!!) to being the Command Board…

Interesting indeed, which all confirms that there is a new tier which does not appear in the structure projected by ACP11 (which is a Governance document produced by this Board )

This then leaves speculation that governance of the civilian pillar is no longer independent, but within scope of this Board.

In my experience many RAF regulars had previous as Air Cadets and are therefore sympathetic to the ATC and willing to lend their expertise. There are however many, including some Station Commanders who appear not to be sympathetic.

The RAF types appreciate aviation, and given that we are for air minded youth, that is a bonus if they do help.

Some of the RAFAC echelons however are not air minded, save that you get in a flying thing to go on holiday, so dont be hard on the RAF types.

And as for consultation, spot on, When was ACP11 put out for consultation? instead there is pressure to sign acceptance without being able to consider the changes or the implications.

That has to have been a Command Board decision.

You can tell Auntie Dawn is/was an administrator as she does love a rebranding as if changing the name and or logo will make things better and mean what has gone before will be forgotten. You can call a cess pit anything you like but it remains a cess pit.

I love how they tacked their talking shop on to someone’s bun fight as well.

What is a Customer Exec Board? Who are their customers? Cadets? Parents? Staff?

It’s nice to see the delusion about ‘top uniform organisation’ is still there, although it doesn’t specify the top of which league … Failure to deliver? Failure to adapt?

2025 is such a long way off, that many of the present incumbents won’t be around to be held to account and if the top dog or bitch changes they’ll instigate their own agenda and it all goes up in the air again. The organisation needs to lose these pie in the sky long term plans and deal with the here and now, as the long term strategies etc are meaningless. We have these at work, but at least at work you feel engaged in the process and there is a commitment from the business to fully support anything needed to ensure it at least moves along and NOT expect the workers to fund and or provide the means to make it happen.

I’m not sure even being or not being air minded is the problem. If you’ve spent 20+ years climbing the RAF’s greasy pole and you’re not “air minded” or at least a bit interested in aviation you must be an oddity. How many cadets or CFAV today are ‘air minded’?
I still don’t see how having been an air cadet say 20-30 years ago and then being in the RAF (even if you’ve not been an cadet) qualifies you or gives you insight into how best to run the Air Cadets, 30 years later, when there are people who are dealing with the day to day problems, who are totally divorced from the senior management and processes therein. There are an awful lot of people out here in CDAV land who have the skills, knowledge, expertise or just experience to do more in terms of top level management, but they’re a barred from involvement unless they are deemed a ‘good egg’ or someone they can just use and abuse for a few years. I know and have known a number who have been involved at HQAC in one way or another and have all said your enthusiasm dwindles when you are asked to do something and either see it shelved, put in a drawer and or support not entirely forthcoming as you were promised. One bloke spent 3 years ‘working at HQAC’ and just binned the organisation as the management couldn’t have been more detached from the reality of the day to day organisation if they’d been on a different planet. I’ve seen him a few times as he helps out at a local hospice and he is still bitter as he gave 40 years to the Corps and felt let down by people he’d been taught / brought up to respect.

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In all the excitement I had forgotten about the CEB, so agree with the question about where it is focussed.

And there are many who have suffered the ACO experience, and despite the bling it does not appear to be getting any better, and without people on the ground being accorded the respect they are entitled to, and that includes consultation about things which may affect them, things could easily fizzle out.

One assumes the ACMB are not aware of this danger. don’t make negative waves Moriarty to quote Odd Ball.

And so I think I am beginning to understand. You have suffered the ACO experience, want to be respected and then consulted on matters that affect you.
We are all now civilian volunteers and can walk away at any time, respect is not an entitlement it is earned.
As far as consultation is concerned I would suspect that the vast majority of decisions made by the management of the RAFAC will have an effect (to a greater or lesser degree) on individuals. In practical terms it would not seem possible to consult other than on a representative basis.

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The CEB is just the Rgl Comdts & Comdt 2FTS, they are a new body set up to review the “good ideas” the permanent staff at HQAC have before they get released to the wild in an attempt to prevent more cock ups like the PTS introduction & the badges saga. No more tail wagging dog.