basically my squadron is at tipping point. our numbers our down to about 7-14 cadets per night, Our NCO’s are either aging out or leaving by june and i’ll be the only one left. What i’m asking what can we do to improve on these numbers? What can be done to increase the size our our squadron. Also what can be done to increase staff numbers as well we only have 1 staff member. it’s now basically we improve on these or we become a detached flight or even worse closed down!! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
regards SGT O’reilly 
Hi Emily
Attendance will pick up if you make cadets want to come. A well-structured plan for parade nights with interesting activities will get cadets coming back but also they’ll tell their mates and maybe get them to come down and give it a try.
I can appreciate actually “doing stuff” is difficult when you’re down to one staff member and you’re feeling a bit out at sea, I know the feeling But don’t worry about it, use your experience from being a Sgt and speak the the staff member about what can be done on parade nights, bearing in mind your requirement to keep up with all the compulsory training etc. I’m afraid I’m not so useful when it comes to actually suggesting what you can do since I’m a bit “out of the game”, but I’m sure others will come and give suggestions.
You could start looking at recruitment events to boost numbers and looking to put your Sqn more in the public eye to increase interest, but you should only start doing that after you’ve got parade nights sorted in the sense that they’re interesting and varied, otherwise new recruits will turn up but won’t last long if they think it’s boring.
What town is your SQN based in?
If you have only 1 member of staff ask your sector officer, if you have one, if a there is a member of staff elsewhere that can move across to help out.
I find that most squadrons tend to maintain a constant level, with the cadets doing the recruitment themselves, although to do this there needs to be a varied training programme, along with the better weekend events. If come June your going to be the only NCO left sit down with your staff and have a chat about where the squadron is going, offer your assistance, also if you have NCOs timing out as cadets, why not get them set up as staff.
A good member of staff to recruit would be a padre, not for bible bashing but for the citizenship aspect, they are also in touch with the community and could lead to further staff recruitment. Having a good staff team is the first step to a good squadron.
With regards to activities on parade nights you obviously need to get in the classification training, Drill & sport, but make sure you have a written programme that gets followed, volunteer as Training Officer, the worst that can happen is a No. Local talks from the AFCO, RAF Outreach team. If you have suitably qualified people ACP 16. Night Navigation exercises, Local Training Areas don’t require a BEL qualified person to use, as I understand. Whats important is that its varied and you give the cadets the Air Cadet Experience.
Hope this helps.
[quote=“Emilyoreilly” post=2805]basically my squadron is at tipping point. our numbers our down to about 7-14 cadets per night, Our NCO’s are either aging out or leaving by june and i’ll be the only one left. What i’m asking what can we do to improve on these numbers? What can be done to increase the size our our squadron. Also what can be done to increase staff numbers as well we only have 1 staff member. it’s now basically we improve on these or we become a detached flight or even worse closed down!! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
regards SGT O’reilly :)[/quote]
I’d suggest deleting your current ACC user account and opening a new one that isn’t your name. The ATC is a very small world so people can very easily find out who you are and where you are from.
Err, why? She’s asked a perfectly valid question to improve things at her unit. Why would there be a witch hunt over that?
It’s usually considered unwise to openly post personal details online. In the small world of the ACO a name is usually enough to find out where somebody is from. I know some users do use their real name as a username but most don’t. I’m also aware that after posting for a while the people that know you could probably work who you are anyway.
I’m not suggesting she’s said anything worthy of a witch hunt at all. Part of my point is if everybody used their real name then there will be circumstances where people may not post what they really want/think.
It’s just my advice and can be taken or left.
I have to agree with Operation Nimrod here, Emily has decided that she wants to display like this, then that is fine, its no different to people who are commenting in open groups on Facebook. This thread is not the pace to mention it though, a PM would suffice quite happily here.
As you say though i was identified by some on here quite early on, but it does not worry me, if it did i would have been really obscure with my username.
[quote=“themajor” post=2838]I have to agree with Operation Nimrod here, Emily has decided that she wants to display like this, then that is fine, its no different to people who are commenting in open groups on Facebook. This thread is not the pace to mention it though, a PM would suffice quite happily here.
As you say though i was identified by some on here quite early on, but it does not worry me, if it did i would have been really obscure with my username.[/quote]
Exactly, have you seen some of the things that people post on FB!
Although I still think I’m right on this (Probably cos I’m stubbon as hell) I take your point it was a comment that should have been in a PM.
[quote=“Emilyoreilly” post=2805]basically my squadron is at tipping point. our numbers our down to about 7-14 cadets per night, Our NCO’s are either aging out or leaving by june and i’ll be the only one left. What i’m asking what can we do to improve on these numbers? What can be done to increase the size our our squadron. Also what can be done to increase staff numbers as well we only have 1 staff member. it’s now basically we improve on these or we become a detached flight or even worse closed down!! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
regards SGT O’reilly :)[/quote]
Emily,
Ignore all the people falling out over whether you should/shouldn’t have an annonymous username.
If you’re the senior NCO then I’d suggest you go and speak to your 1 staff member (assume they’re the OC) and tell them your concerns. Basically what you’ve posted above!
If you’ve a FS or CWO then I’d have that conversation with them and go to the OC and present your concerns as a team. Remember though if they are the only member of staff they might be really busy doing all the (dull) day-to-day things that us staff guys need to do to keep the Sqn open!
Offer to help them out by maybe planning the training programme or doing some of the (dull) admin type tasks. There are some excellent ideas and if you PM me I can send you my training plan (it is for a Sqn of 60+ cadets though so its busy!). Overall I hope that you can help make your Sqn better! Posting here for advice and updates is always good too!
Leeroy
Devil’s Advocate:
Maybe the best thing for Sar’nt O’Reilly’s squadron would be to become a DF or be stood down. Either way she could then be part of a squadron with more cadets, staff and resources.
Possible new thread: should the ATC have less squadrons? I’ve often thought it would be better to have fewer squadrons with more cadets and staff, concentrating the resources (like instructors, rifles, vehicles, tents, radios and on and on and on…) in more central locations.
The first thing you need to do is get help (assuming you haven’t already).
Concentrate on getting some new staff - speak to the parents of those who do already attend and see if they’re willing to help, speak to your CivCom, speak to your wing. Get some local publicity and start an adult recruitment campaign (this is assuming you aren’t in some remote location).
Then concentrate on what you can offer, or can piggy back other squadrons for. Ask around and see if they have any spaces on their activities, take up wing opportunities, then the cadets going will hopefully tell their friends.
Have an open day/evening in the summer and invite the local press, the local school heads and get cadets to bring their friends/brothers and sisters down.
If all else fails, at least becoming a DF would help you in the short term, it would make you more viable and attach you to a local squadron!
to answer it all yes i’m the most senior cadet on the squadron, (we don’t really need a flight sergeant or warrant officer). Our CO is fully aware i have posted this and has my 100% support. And Leeroy it would be greatly appreciated by me if i could have a look at your training plan one last thing i’d rather get this squadron up and running it becomes a detached flight, seeing as the next nearest squadron is over 10 miles away and that wouldn’t be fair on any on of the cadets at my squadron if we were to be shut down or attached to them.
To a certain extent… its your CO who needs to start looking at the issues above - you can offer to assist where appropriate, but its the bosses job to sort top-down.
Staffing issues = COs problem
Training Programme = COs problem (as he’s no other staff)
Happy to send over my training programme for you (please PM me an email address)
Hope that you can work it out and keep your Sqn going!
I think if I was the CO i’d be pestering the WSO to help solve the issue!
WRT the OPs plight: as a cadet what you can achieve personally depends on your CO.
But suggest
piggy-backing with other squadrons on activities;
work on a training programme but keep within your squadron’s limits, as to promise a lot and not delivering is worse than delivering a little and keeping to it, but look to grow it; keep to the plan whatever it is, if it says that tonight you’re doing (a) do (a) and not (b) or © this does mean people have to be flexible and taken out of their comfort zone. But in doing this the cadets will be settled to a certain degree
I use members of my CWC who have interests and skills to assist with things and always have done. Parents are a different animal and the best way is to talk openly at the squadron so that the cadets go home and speak to them, rather than badgering them “in the car park”, remembering that it will take 3-6 months to get a new member of staff on the books and a year or so to get them fully operational so to speak. It won’t be overnight.
What I will say is don’t worry about the numbers, too many people in this organisation are bean counters. If you don’t already have them start intakes and get a few new faces in. Intakes stabilises the Basic training programme. Do it initially as a mates invite to find your feet and experiment, if it’s a new thing.
i’d say that piggy-backing is the immediate ‘quick win’ - it’ll get your cadets doing stuff and therefore telling their mates at school that they’re doing stuff leading to additional cadet recruitment, you might get an additional staff member out of it as there’s obviously a lot of travel involved in your area, so maybe someone at your neighbouring Sqn is actually closer to you or even just willing to lend a hand. and - soley on my own experience of being in a DF, and of then being in a Sqn with a DF - i’ve found that Sqns were rather keen to do anything that would avoid having to take on a DF.
if another Sqn helps you out of your current hole, it might not get lumbered with you as a DF.
your current set up is unsustainable - 1 member of staff can’t do it all for any length of time, and 7 - 15 cadets just isn’t viable. i don’t doubt your OC is already screaming at his WSO for support, but tbh, if there’s been no result from that then i can’t see how your unit can continue. sorry.