Who ever it is down to they were left in the dark. Parents should have been kept in the loop and not told at the last minute!
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There does seem to be an issue with Wrong communicating with other squadrons about the possibility before the civ comm, bit at the end of the day, if no experienced staff were willing to step up and run things - you canât expect a brand new CI to take over as OC - then the outcome would have been the same regardless of procedure
And I donât disagree, but is that really the Wingâs position? The sqn had staff who knew they were leaving, and knew no replacements had yet been found, so is it really that hard for a bunch of grown ups to put 2 and 2 together?
Wing can never be a panacea for all sqn errors.
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Is it ever?
People seem to forget that majority of the wing staff (incl OC) are also volunteers and also have jobs and familiesâŚ
My impression is that nobody can claim any high moral ground and all came out with mud on them. its easy to blame 1 person or group.
Wing/HQAC are particularly poor in trying to recruit staff accross the board and need to really try to get something sorted in this dept.
Sqn Staff, how long did they know they were leaving? what information and time scales did they give to the CivCom/ Wing about their futures.
CivComm, they are there to help⌠did they know the staff were leaving? did they try and get replacement staff prior to seeing the sqn being closed?
did anyone from the sqn run any type of recruitment for staff they may of gotten the 2 new staff members on board sooner?
there are too many if buts and maybes in this, but if all parties have not communicated with each other then all parties have let the cadets down!
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Wasnât there a Squadron in your Wing that had a similar experience?
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Difficult one this ⌠there will be specifics we cannot know, but I can say from experience that those âin powerâ will use all mean to get out of a problem and that includes shutting a squadron.
It kinda make mockery of the âwe do it for the cadetsâ mantra but then what is the sacrifice of some cadets against a high paid civil service position?
Sounds harsh?
Well ⌠how many squadrons are not run by official COs but other ranks? I suspect more than we are lead to believe. It is not really conspiracy, just dismay that every effort to keep a squadron going (and Wing will only be puppets in this) is not always apparent. Where there is a will there is a way and that applies to ATC-HQ as much as local people.
After all, the closure of a squadron or two does affect CACâs ay packet!
There is a squadron where there was a conspiracy to remove the OC, orchestrated from Wing. The process dragged on, dodging from one reason to another, without any real justification, but essentially without following the procedure set out in the bible. That OC was supported by up to 12 staff and was very popular with Cadets, who enjoyed a varied programme based upon the wide experience amongst the staff.
Initially the powers decided that the OC should be moved to another Squadron where that OC would provide monitoring and guidance. This was only an option and the eventual choice after much to-ing and fro-ing was to suspend the OC, because that way the OC could be banned from attending the Squadron and cease to have any contact with the Cadets, even though there had never been any risk to Cadets. In fact the reasons behind the whole charade were so tenuous, it was obvious that the powers were struggling to justify their actions. And still no-one knows why.
The slot was initially taken over by one of the prime movers from Wing, who ended up being escorted from the Squadron after a short period.
They then replaced the OC with the one who was originally proposed to act as a monitor.
The Cadets were expected to go along with the changes, but were outraged that previous AFI results were altered to make it look like the change had been tot he squadron benefit.
The Cadets simply hung on to complete whatever they needed for later life, but basically many left and I think are unlikely to want to help the ATC in the future.
The Squadron has stagnated, it does not have any staff, and the official line from the Minister is that Squadron are regularly, which belies the fact that subscription income (the only annual income) is around ÂŁ5k and cadet turnover is ascribed to not much happening, unless you like DofE.
During this period, they were more or less trying to make it compulsory for Cadets to support Wing training events.
So this experience supports the behind the scenes duplicity, and I know that there was never any consultation with the Civcom, who became equally disillusioned.
You might ask why not shut the unit - well that was a matter of strategic importance and was not what one of the protagonists was after.
And on top of all this, it is quit shameful that the head of this organisation can subscribe to instances of bullying (to achieve objectives) and not use her impartiality to make a fair judgement. Plus there is the audacity that she now believes there is a loss of mutual respect!
Bob is right about FOIs, but under the Law basically any Government body can determine not to release information which might not to be in the public interest. That includes copy of correspondence where HQAC has instructed the Charity regulator how to act, and the regulator is supposed to be independent - free of ministerial control.
I just wonder whether Trump has been providing guidance to the ACO especially on the abuse of power ?
Just look at the âbullying in the Corpsâ thread.
Why would anyone bother fighting it?
Iâve seen constructive dismissal at work go two ways, where the individual resigned and others where theyâve hung it out and made themselves unwell. In the ATC it should be a simple case of âlatersâ and let those instigating it sort it out. Where people have resigned it has created problems as âthe ducks were not lined upâ.
The difference between the real world and the ATC, in the former if it happens, advertise and employ someone with the prerequisite skills and or experience, in the ATC you hope and pray there is someone to clear up the mess and fill the hole youâve created who wants to do it, bearing in mind they would be walking into a potentially toxic environment and about as welcome as a fart in a crowded lift. Iâm not sure even those much beloved by wing lined up for it, are that stupid to think it would be a straightforward.
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