Even so, I’d be more inclined to go into uniform anyway and test that thesis. Even if eventually forced out, that time in uniform would count towards CFM, etc, when I transferred elsewhere ( whereas time as a CI isn’t recognised).
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I do think we need to get rid of CI for new-entrant staff. You join in uniform. However, I would like to keep CI for “retired” uniform staff (which after a period could just become the retired CAFV cadre), perhaps where they want to take a step back.
BUT I also think we need a better mechanism whereby we can utilise the skills of “specialists” which was what CI was originally used for, for eample the local Ham Radio bod who comes to teach two or three times a year as an external instructor. They can be used, but can’t run activities alone etc. I definetely don’t think there is any need to bring in a lower rank than Sgt RAFAC - it would just cause too many issues.
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Agree, except for that last sentence. RAFAC should use all the RAF ranks for cadets and adults in order to learn these by osmosis. It’s the raison d’etre for having RAF ranks at all.
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The only reason against it it messing, also you wouldn’t want LAC or SAC as that cause issues for things like running ranges.
But the messing thing just isn’t really true most of the time.
Cadets eat in the JRM and normally need to be accompanied. Or you frequently see everyone eating in the WOSM / Officers’ Mess as we had at Henlow.
So our people are constantly in different messes.
And if accn is limited (it’s always limited), you’ll all be in transit anyway, which is used by everyone.
Then back to the point about eating, where you’ll be accompanying cadets, or everyone will be in one mess…
If ranks below sgt were a problem (they aren’t for our SIs), you could just bump people to probationary sgt for the course / camp / activity and solve that problem.
Any move to a lower rank for CFAV would likely need to be tri-service. I doubt the Army would agree to it.
We have the Acting Sgt (white tapes), and APO. In all honesty we could make our lives easier by just taking new entrants into those ranks. Applicants could show up in civvies until they have passed a basic drill check and service knowledge test?
Otherwise it’s a PI rank but that means adding another tier.
Been a while since I’ve done a Blues Camp but when I have used service accommodation it’s always been far more issue getting accommodation for SI’s in transit than it has been getting SNCO’s into either the mess or the mess annex.
If ranks below Sergeant were necessary it wouldn’t make any sense to promote them for Camps.
I’d happily have a PI and in the process eliminate the white tapes and APO rubbish. You’re a PI, you get streamed and once appointed you wear your rank job done.
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The ACF has adult under officers in addition to PIs. I think they have 2nd lieutenants on probation as well (but without any differentiation shown on rank slides).
Which makes perfect sense, 2nd lieutenants/pilot officers are a training rank anyway, there is no need to complicate that.
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As is lt / fg off.
I think (and I could be wrong, likely I am even) that PIs can be streamed to Officer, but a SI/SSI moving up wears UO rank. At least that’s what I’ve seen in the wild.
But Army does Army, they have so many differences between Regiments and Corps that it’s entirely possible to have lunch in a mess and no two officers are wearing the same colour jersey.
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The RAF is the same for shirts but that’s more a quality control issue.
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Not a bad way to do it. Common starting point.
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Not in our organisations though - fg off is not a RAFAC training rank - and it shouldn’t be seen as such. It’s more equalivalent to Flt Lt in the RAF - the point everyone gets to.
The other issue with an all uniform policy is that of a person who wants to join as a CI …may have exceptional skills …ie IT or ex forces etc …but, would not comply with uniform regs …bright red hair, piercings …facial tattoos etc!
…would you bar that person from joining ?
Yeh, but when we’re built in the image of the parent service that undermines everyone at that rank. What everyone else you engage with will see is someone who has been in for fewer than 2 years (or is freshly commissioned from the ranks, but within something like that last year).
And it wasn’t always the case within the RAFAC, so there exists very little understanding of that point, which will always have to fight the perceptions gleaned from how the parent service does it.
In many ways, being a SNCO implies much greater attainment and experience than fg off.
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You could restrict it a bit more to people who wouldn’t be permitted to wear the uniform though. Wouldn’t need to be all or nothing.
There’s definitely a need for CIs, I would simply argue that it’s not ideal that it has become the default holding point if we could perhaps appoint RAFAC “Air Recruits” to get people into uniform sooner and normalise it (without all the expectation that comes with entering as a Sgt, which is a rank the regulars and reservists work very hard to attain).
Although it’s worth mentioning that we have an increasing number of reservists that fit the sort of specialist description you’ve outlined and they now get waivers for all sorts because we recognise that we really need their skill set.
As it happens, a lot of them also start as sgts.
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Which is what CI’s are supposed to be, it isn’t supposed to be for everyone, it’s supposed to be for an SME who comes in, does the job and goes home. If you are at the unit every night, if you hold an Exec position the system always intended that you would be in uniform. As an Organisation we have made a rod for our own backs.
Due to the RA for some types of drones that our instructors may use, they will need to wear MTP regardless of appointment.
This won’t be the mainstream drone used at regional level but those used for applications. this is why only uniformed staff were on initial instructor courses. We now have CI instructors who can wear MTP when instructing.
What’s the big deal ? It’s protective clothing that serves a purpose.
My argument would be that if they can wear a uniform for this then they can wear a uniform the rest of the time, too.
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