Do I leave

Having been with aco for 25+ years the sparkle is slowly going. When will fellow staff realise that this is not a job it is a hobby.

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I’m in the Rafac for the right reasons and enjoy it but some staff members really ANNOY ME

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I would say if it’s the people near you, transfer squadrons?

Clearly something has happened for you to post this… I can only say that unfortunately there are people in it for the wrong reasons, cause huge problems and are difficult to work with. Sadly, they can’t often see it.

Only you know what’s happened to make you feel like this. If you want help and another viewpoint you’ll need to elaborate a little.

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The organisation has changed quite a bit in the last 25years.

I understand where you are coming from completely…
My suggestion would be start doing things that interest you
Look after No1.
If the cadets see you having fun and you are enjoying it then they will start enjoying the activities you are doing…

If you still feel down and lost for motivation then yes maybe it is time to go, it isn’t doing you any favours personally when your mind is against it…

Ideally you stay and continue but ultimately this organisation will take and take until there is little else to give…

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I give so much and for what. Recently lost last remaining parent. What support did I have. None.

My life gets priority now and even though I kind of enjoy being CFAV I can’t do every weekend.

Came close to pulling the ejection seat of life after losing parent

Also something happened to me personally some time after funeral. Again no support given.

bin it, whether permanently or for X period, and get some bereavement councelling.

if you’re feeling low, which given your bereavement you will be, having something else that you feel negatively about will just drag you down, it may well stop you grieving properly, which is a sure fire way of ensuring that it snowballs and reapears vastly worse at a later point in time.

bin it, grieve, adjust, rebuild your life.

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Totally understand where your coming from .Recent life events are obviously making you look again at your priorities.I have a similar amount of time in to you and tbh the organisation drives me nuts at time and I cant get to all the weekend stuff as im a shift worker plus have union duties to do.As to support from the organisation your never going to get that.You should though get it from those around you whether it be staff at your sqn or those closest to you.As to staff that annoy you .You find people like that everywhere and as has been previously stated there are people in this organisation strictly for themselves as a “career”.
I jacked the corps in some years back after various things came to a head and I felt totally ignored and quite frankly patronised by people who were total gonks.
I came back when other staff in my Wing not to mention parents asked me to come back.I did so went to a different unit and rediscovered my mojo. In your situation id bin the corps immediately.Your mental health and well being are the most important things at the moment.The corps or RAFAC isnt.

Do you happen to know your Wing padre??

I you were me I would give him a call, I’m not religious but
Our Wing padre would be over in a shot to talk to me and help me with what I am going through…
Perhaps you could speak to them?

If you want let us know your Wing and someone here could try and get in touch with you and help you…
You may feel it but you are not alone, it’s just the people who may care and help don’t know just now…

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I agree! We don’t have a great support network, but the Padres are trained in this.

Having been in some dark places myself, you need to get support. Remember, you are never alone…even if you think you are.

With regards to the ACO / RAFAC, do you have any support from your local squadrons? My sector is desperately low on staff, and we share resources, even busing squadrons to other squadrons to do a joint parade or talk.

Feel free to drop me a PM anytime for ideas to help you out.

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The old “hobby not a job” claim is more involved than people might like to accept.

I’m currently short of staff on my Sqn and I’m filling the posts of: OIC, Adj, WO, Training Officer, Comms Officer, Sy Officer, H&S Officer, and basically everything else bar First Aid, Stores, DofE, and Aerospace.

If I treated my volunteering like any other “hobby” and just dipped in and out as I fancy then nothing would get done and the cadets would lose out.

I treat it like a job, albeit a part-time one, because to do otherwise would only make my own life more difficult trying to pick up the pieces later on.

I am not by any means a lone example in the Corps.

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The organisation is extremely poor at supporting staff when they are having a low time.

I know people who have had mums, dads, husbands, wives, sons and daughters who have passed away or become seriously ill and the Corps’ support runs to ‘go NEP’, probably at a time when the distraction and camaraderie offered by the Corps is needed most.

When I went through redundancies and having to find new jobs, the ATC fell off my personal radar and I mentioned it to Wing the only thing they suggested was going NEP, which I didn’t want to do, so I resigned my commission and re-joined as a CI. Didn’t make me popular, but I was more important than the squadron, which is still going.

As for the job vs hobby, it is very easy to fall into the do everything trap and get totally bogged down in it. Unfortunately Wing, won’t offer any support, will let you do it and when things aren’t going so well, come down on you.

Also on the ‘do I leave’, question, the volunteer agreement could well make some question remaining.

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I don’t envy you one little bit.
Been there done that and it creates its own problems when trying to lose the jobs. admittedly when I was a one man band we didn’t have so many jobs to fill, but giving it someone else gets difficult as others get into the line of thought that the OC/OIC does it. I can’t imagine you’re doing it through choice.

WRT to whether or not the cadets suffer if things aren’t done, a doubtful thought as many of the “jobs” we’ve been stuck with are just admin that are there to keep others in a job, such as H&S, outside doing RAs to ensure sphincters are covered, the H&S is there to justify someone’s job, likewise online registers meaningless exercise for squadrons. All we need is a tick list for the rare evacuation.

I don’t envy me either :stuck_out_tongue:

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