Last September, after being a CI for around 18 months I was commissioned and on the same night I was asked to take command of a Squadron. This is something I have always wanted to do, even as a cadet, but maybe not quite so quickly. I inherited three staff (including me!) and around 16 cadets. I am now working hard to increase cadet numbers and we now have around 30 on the books and a few weeks ago recruited a handful of new CIs. In that time I have also been on my OIC and SCC courses. I really enjoy taking command of a unit, especially as things are on the up!
However, to get to this point has meant I have had to treat running the unit as almost an extra full time job, having to do most of the work (training programme, admin ect) myself because of lack of staff. I don’t think I have had a day not doing cadet work for more than two months and I can’t help but think about the unit more than I think about my ‘real’ job and struggle to switch off. It has taken up all of the free time I have.
How I can mentor and train my new CIs to take on extra responsibility :?:
What things I could do to manage my time better/ gain some of my free time back :?:
Has anyone been through/ is going through something similar :?:
I am still young and I really don’t want to have to give it all up in a few years if other responsibilities start to take over, so any advice would be appreciated!! I also know there are no easy answers
It sounds as though a plea for assistance is required, up through the CoC asking for help from local NCOs or occifers. This can be either someone splitting their time with you and their home unit or even being shipped in ‘full time’. Voice your challenge with your request for help as you have above.
The only thing that is going to get your free time back is to have more help on the Sqn to lift the burden from you.
If you continue the way you are, you will be broken and that is bad for all.
This practice of chucking in young officers straight in at the deep end is a joke.
Keep at it mate, you’ll pull through, But make sure you’re keeping on to your sector staff, including the sector OC and SNCOs. The immediate support you need right now will only come from above, use that slack to help to recruit the new staff you need.
Hell, I bet there are wing staff out there who miss helping out on units from time to time. I know our Deputy Wing OC volunteered to teach lessons at my unit the other day.
Not good mate, the way you’re going you’re heading straight for burnout.
Then what?
Don’t be afraid to scale back a bit- pace yourself. Don’t think cadet numbers are the be all and end all. Focus on developing and recruiting a strong staff team. Delegate jobs - if an event comes up put a ci “in charge” but give them guidance.
And as has been said above, seek help from the CoC… Good luck with that!
Seriously though, however good/committed/keen you are, what good can you be when you’ve burned out?
You have to be very careful. What you are doing is not sustainable for too much longer. If your real job starts to be affected you could end up in the mire. Not to mention your personal family life DO NOT ignore this, you will need support from this side of your life. My wife and children have at times been the only thing to keep me sane.
Don’t worry about cadet numbers as these go up and down and as you’re new in post there will be some leeway. Your increase if you can’t deliver will drop off and as said concentrate on staff. Your new CIs with the best will in the world will take 9-12 months to get full on the books, in which time some could walk away or just get binned by the process.
Having been in your situation pick your battles and seek an experienced SNCO seconded even if it’s one night a week, if you haven’t already. I got one who came down once a fortnight until I got my own one. These can take a lot of the pressure off on an evening and you can concentrate on other matters.
Some sound advice from the previous Posters (including GHE2)
I’ll echo what the others have said and say the level you are operating at isn’t sustainable. You need a work/family/atc balance and the only way you’re going to get that is by recruitment, training and retention of staff. This might be a 1 year / 2 year / 3 year plan but until the staff are in place to deliver a good cadet experience at your Squadron then there is no point in recruiting. Some ideas
Turn your focus to training these new CIs you speak of.
Speak to your WSO and see if there is a good CWO turning 20 at a local Sqn and get them to come to your unit as staff
Get an experienced Officer/SNCO to transfer to help out.
Whatever you do don’t think you’re alone in this and keep going like you have been. Get the staff team sorted and the cadets will follow!
a few things I would be doing is giving the other staff tasks and make sure they do it ALL and follow it through, also purposely take Sqn nights off every so often and leave the other staff to it! some staff will just expect the CO to turn up and hand feed them things, they are grown adults leave them to run the sqn night every now and again it would amaze you what a difference that does that when they start seeing what is actually required then some may want to actively step up and take a more active role in running the squadron.
also if you are getting staff from other squadrons, check them out and ensure you are not being used to dump unwanted and useless staff they can make what is difficult just now a nightmare and you will be struggling to get shot of them
as everyone has said, well done - but its not sustainable.
bin recruitment, concentrate on your staff - when you next speak to your WSO/DWC etc… about staffing mention the unsustainable nature of the situation re work/family/ATC. if that subtle hint doesn’t work, wait a month and tell your WSO by email that unless your ATC workload reduces significantly you’ll either lose your job or lose your wife. pick one, and tell him that if neccesary you’ll walk away from the ACO to keep your job/wife.
if it works, great, problem solved - if not your WSO/Wing have just told you they don’t care if you get sacked and your wife runs off with the milkman.
What you have acheived is a fantastic turn around for the Squadron. However you are realising that this is at a significant personal cost, and is unsustainable.
Now is the time to look at how you cement these changes in the unit, and effectively how you make yourself redundant.
You need to start taking all the things you are currently doing, and getting other staff to do them. This is not always easy as they may be unwilling, or lack sufficient skills. Your job is to persuade them, and get them the training or experience that will give them the skills.
There is a good chance that your units performance may well dip whilst you concentrate on this aspect, but you need to accept this and build for the longer term. Staff and their training need to be the OCs priorities. It is the job of those staff to make the cadets their priority. Too Many keen and eager OCs see themselves as the direct solution to every problem, rather than an manager / organiser who needs to find and train others to be the solution.
Ideally, your unit should function with virtually no input from you at all, leaving you free to look at longer term bigger picture stuff but that will be some time away yet.
The most important thing you can do for yourself, and your cadets long term benefits is learn to say no on your own behalf. No one else is likely to tell you when you are working too hard, when you need a break, or when you have simply spread yourself too thinly. If you are to be around for the long run, then you need to be able to say no sometimes in the short run.
Get each Staff member to concentrate on an area of interest and only do courses to gain quals and experience in this. If they/you try to do to many areas, the required personal quality days make it impossible to sustain.
It used to be that you could be do lots of different things ie shooting AT sports and be a generalist, this is not the case any more. Working as a team in the local area whether it be a sector or just local units you get a better list of activiities and the cadets take part in different groups and gain more from it.
If it is AT they are going to do, then to get to the required levels takes time away so incorporate this into the plan. Keep them involved through the week ie 1 night a week doing some similar training.
Thanks for all your useful advice, I feel much more prepared on what to do next! :cheer:
I have produced some Terms of Reference for all of the staff I have, have penciled in a staff meeting to explain their new roles and have spoken to my WSO who has sent me a very good ex. Cadet Flight Sergeant who timed out 6 months ago to help as a CI/ be my adjutant.
Hopefully when all the staff are trained up it should make my life a lot easier. Unfortunately, I heard that a colleague and good friend of mine from a nearby Squadron is resigning as a CO because of the pressure/ workload. I don’t want to end up the same way!! :blink:
Adj is the key to your problems, a good Adj can take a lot of the crap off of your shoulders. Without one you will be neck deep in admin and emails from up the CoC asking stupid questions.
(I spent my first year in command as OC Adj &Training Officer)
A word of warning, be careful about putting your CI’s into uniform. Wings have a habit of poaching new uniformed staff to help elsewhere, so you just get a team working and your new pilot officer is off to run a Squadron elsewhere. I’m not saying thwart their ambitions, just think it through and negotiate terms before you start.
I think that the problem is that you’re the one to have been picked in the first place - no offence, but I can’t imagine that a brand-new-out-of-the-packet Plt Off would be the first choice to get command.
It is possible to run a squadron with all the demands that they require nowadays - if you have a suitable staff team to take up their share of the work.
I’m guessing you’re the only officer on the Sqn (or the only ‘full-timer’ at least)?
Welcome to the club. I turned a squadron round at significant personal cost. I hope you succeed but be very caerful with your health. I learned the hard way and am now a more junior officer elsewhere as I could not balance my real job and the ATC…
