Could someone please tell me if SMS can be populated by multiple inputs. What I’m trying to ask (badly at that) is, can I upload more than one cadet at a time? i.e if 12 pass their WHT can I whack them on in one?
Trying to slim line the process as I have 109 cadets (RAF) to cater for. We are currently having to input the same info onto three databases. Bader, Westminster and the school system. Of cause none of them talk to each other either. Thank you in advance for any helpful tips you I.T gurus can give an I.T dinosaur.
nope! Can’t be done!
not for WHTs anyway. this requires you to visit each Cadet’s profile and edit (add) accordingly.
reading these boards it would seem the plan was always for a mass upload/update but it never happened
It can be done for a range of general qualifications. Only if it is done from an activity application,whilst doing the post activity report you can award cadets their qualifications in 1 click
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Last time I tried that (admittedly a while ago) it didn’t work. Have they fixed it now?
Yes however, WHTs and Marksman awards cannot be deployed in this way 
IIRC back in the early days of Bader this was asked for and for reasons that eluded those of us with a bit of IT savviness thought was rubbish.
I’m sure if there was a will there’d be a way, but therein lies the problem. I bet if this was something someone in the corridors of power wanted it would happen, but it’s only the scumbag volunteers that want it, so we won’t bother.
Westminster does it. Just saying
Wasn’t/isn’t Westminster a brought in package, whereas Bader was put together by a CFAV at the behest of current OC 2FTS, then RCN, as the ATC wanted something on the cheap.
IIRC from what I was told, the bloke who put Bader together was treated like crap by RCN and others, so did a smart turn to the right, leaving them to get on with it.
I was going to say that. 
I would question whether you need to put any of that information into Bader at all!
For several years, I toed the party line and input all the data for the cadets in my CCF section of over 100: flying, shooting, WHTs, qualifications, proficiency, awards, courses, camps, etc. It took me quite a lot of time.
About a year ago, I realised that I had not gained anything from doing this. Not one single tangible gain for the hours that I had been spending entering and maintaining data. So I stopped putting anything on Bader to see what would happen.
It has now been a year, and no-one seems to have noticed! We haven’t lost out on anything.
I think CCF sections should just boycott Bader and focus on Westminster. It is all on there!
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Unfortunately our Sector Commander would notice.
He makes on average a monthly visit, and often has a purpose, quarterly inspections, H&S inspection, MOI assessment, whatever.
Each visit he takes a random selection (his selection) of F3822s and does an “audit check” – he often picks a Cadet he knows was on a recent weekend activity and checks that is in the book. Also checks it has been signs and also checks that it is listed on SMS.
Aspects like WHTs which don’t auto-populate (unlike simply attending a PiPE event) are particularly checked.
HOWEVER you raise a good point. What does it matter? How is the ACTUALLY useful? To whom does this help, make life easier for or aid??
With regard to WHTs particularly I can only go by the hard copy in a F3822 as I don’t have access to the Wing’s SMS records so when running the monthly Wing shooting I check the hard copies in front of me to ensure WHTs are still in date and valid. And even if I DID have SMS access to the Cadets attending it would be click>click>click>click>…etc to select the individual, personal records, shooting, WHTs for each individual Cadet.
Our peak is 18 Cadets for the 6 lane barrack range. That is a lot of clicks to check what is simply available by “right get out your F3822s and turn to the WHTs page”
In the real world WHTs records on SMS have little/no advantage
Most the information on Bader is for data analysis purposes only by people without anything to do on a sqn, eg WSOs, RSOs and various paid employees in the Corps. When we’ve had our last couple of AIs the WSO gets excited about it and is met with ambivalence. It’s signed off on their 3822, which is all we had. I remember finding my old record card and it had hardly anything on it. I don’t ever remember a 3822 vs record check pre-SMS.
For sqn staff it is admin drag that either eats into parade nights or requires staying once the cadets have gone home. My time of staying at the sqn for an hour or so after everyone has gone home just to catch up on things ended some time ago and I don’t insist other staff do it.
They will do when/if the WHTs are pulled though on a shooting SMS activity to be visible to the activity IC as available activity report, whih cwill help identifying that training need and the impact this will have on the range day.
It can also be copied into a new 3822 as our current cadets seem to have the skill of washing/losing 3822s.
I operate and always have done operated a policy of only putting basic info into new 3822s, so if the cadets fail to remove their 3822s from whichever garment is washed and they lose info, it’s their fault. A life lesson about taking responsibility for their own things. Do teachers supply a complete set of notes if kids wash/lose/let their dog\cat\budgie eat or deficate on their school work books?
is this possible??
given our event IC is the Wing’s Deputy shooting officer who doesn’t actually attend the weekends this comes as a surprise this feature is available, but also a disappointment as we’ll not be able to take advantage of it in the current format (and of course relies on the accuracy of the data that has been inputted…)
It is not currently possible within the activity, but is on the development table.
What Wing Staff can do is use fields, but I am unaware if this includes WHTs. It would be a manual process of reviewing the attending cadets, as not currently part of the activity module.
As an aside how can the Adult IC not attend the event?
Easy. Not turn up.
It does to some extent depend on the activity, if it’s a “community activity” where you don’t need any qualifications, other than how to spend a day working bloody hard for no recompense (if you’re in uniform), then anyone can do it. Probably more difficult for some other things.
I’ve never understood the i/c activity for ‘community events’ other than to have someone to blame if something goes wrong. In pre Bader times we never had a nominated i/c for community events.
The bigger issue is how the things are fixed once ‘authorised’ and last minute changes can’t be made by either OC or Adj.
Of course in CCFs with no ROS books, there is no other place to record WHTs…
One ACF CEO summed up WESTMINSTER as enabling the ‘long screwdriver of brigade’ to drill down into the data and see what was going on. BADER enables HQAC and for you ATC guys, Region and Wing to do the same.
The other thing is that all CCFs will already be using two other MIS, their own school one and WESTMINSTER. If BADER was the main MIS then I could see some benefits to the CCF of using it; at the moment there are none.
We’re not even in the situation where annual camps are managed on BADER yet the SCC have been doing it for something like 6-7 years on WESTMINSTER.
Again, just sayin’…