I don’t think it matters who writes an article to gauge it’s validity. If you are the subject of it, you may hide behind the fact they may not be your greatest fan so have an axe to grind.
I’ve never met OC 2FTS and my opinion of him based on this alone is of a man out of his depth and in a position way beyond his professional competence. Let us not forget as an FTRS Gp Capt he is getting a salary in the region of £75K. People on those salaries in positions suc as his, have to be up to the mark and held accountable. I work with people on salaries less than that who if they don’t perform the door has as exit sign on it.
Hmm, strange, the original tweet shows as a RT on the 2FTS Aerospace Twitter feed but still not on the main one for me.
Ive met OC 2FTS just once (before he made it to 2FTS) and I really wanted to like the man as Id heard lots of bad stuff about him.Unfortunately I found him to be a not very nice or approachable person and his interaction with cadets was atrocious.
I think Dawn is all to clear on the situation, most likely getting on with the job whilst her boss sorts the gliding “pause” stoppage not sure what we are calling it now lol.
Her boss is of course AOC 22Gp
A rumour I heard recently was that 2FTS(?) had an original plan to have only 5 VGS centres… That apparently got kicked into touch by Cmdt ACO.
However, if correct, it shows a huge “knowledge gap” about the VGS organisation, geographical locations served & the difficulties that some units already have to get to a VGS facility.
is nextricably linked to the DIO Basing Review
So if I understand the delays for the continuing coq up that has been the so called glider recovery programme is due to the Basing Review.
Was this part of the problem in Apr 2014 to date when they should have been getting fixed?
I may be simple, I can’t see how what I understand to say we don’t know where the VGS might be in the future as the MOD looks to lose real estate has got to do with an announcement about fixing the gliders.
To me this is BS of the highest order. If required I am sure we can source some swords for the ACMB, OC 2FTS and others who have been involved thus far to fall on, so we can get some people in who have a clue.
We had an ATC Sunday service yesterday and I asked the staff how do we sell the AIR Training Corps at the intake in March, when we don’t have any practical air activities. How do you sell something that doesn’t exist? Currently we’re having to be dodgy timeshare salesmen/women. We’ll take your money on the promise of something that doesn’t exist.
The last two intakes have been dreadful of the 12 who turned up last time we have kept 4 and of the 16 at the one before we only have 3 left of the 11 who stayed with us. I have seen a steady drop-off in the cadets I have with extremely patchy attendance among the older cadets. I’ve got 16/17 year olds who not so long ago would have been in line for a GS, but had several groups get nothing.
With exam period fast approaching a couple of parents have said their sons and daughters will be off from Easter and only attend depending on homework until then.
we’re begining to find it harder, and we’re starting to lose cadets - not many, but more are leaving early on, we get a greater loss rate in the middle of the cohorts time, and they are leaving earlier when they get to 16/17/18
we’re very fortunate, my Sqns have always been well resourced and with plenty of AT quals amongst the staff, and we’re in an area where going into the hills for the day is perfectly practicable.
when the pause came in we decided to heavily focus on AT/Fieldcraft in order to fill up the year planner, however it was a surge effort - we went at full whack, and full whack is only sustainable for so long when the staffs outside commitments are more important than their contribution to the ACO. we’ve recently had to cut down on our output because peoples goodwill has been exhuasted by it, and the empty spaces in the wall planner are getting bigger.
some other Sqns i know have not been so lucky - if they’ve not got the staff, or they’re in the wrong area, then they are much more reliant on centrally organised activities to keep the cadets interested - without that, and flying/gliding was a big wedge of that - they’re in trouble. i’m aware of several in that catagory that 3 years ago were 30+ sqns, but who are now lucky if they get 15 on an average night.
Was not Cmdt ACO, bigger fish!!!
If that has confirmed the “rumour,” then the same principle applies - whoever thought that 5 VGS centres would be adequate clearly has no idea of the organisation or the task.
I think the plan has changed many times??? We can only await.
Who knows
The problem is as staff we might be able to wait, but if you’re were a 13/14/15/16 year old cadet would you wait? I know that if had been told that as a cadet I might never get to fly outside of the maybe at annual camp, I doubt I’d have stayed in the Corps. If I wanted to do AT things, the Scouts would have been a much easier option as the Scout group met in a hut just across the road, in comparison to the ATC which was about 4 miles away. I joined the ATC all those years ago because of the chance to fly, not because I was going to go camping and similar my mates in the Scouts and Boys Brigade did that. I could go into school and say never guess what I did at the weekend.
I am getting reports that two VGS’s have been closed TODAY, any updates from anybody??
I am hoping this is not the case?
i’d say that thats a view held by a small proportion of cadets - we have one or two a year who’se only interest is flying, and broadly they leave. usually in a huff, and usually after not many months.
the overwhelming majority join, and stay, because they want to be part of a youth organisation that does lots of different things, and yes, flying is a big draw, but its only part of the whole, and it would be critical to note that a large proportion of that overwhelming majority would have no interest in a ‘junior flying club’: they want an annual camp at a flying station, AT, DofE, shooting, and fieldcraft with flying/gliding spread regularly through the year. they also want to meet regularly to spend time with their ATC friends.
the ACO, for all its faults, still offers more than the scouts and the ACF - we do what they do (ish), and we do either more of it, or we do other things as well. however, with the gliding pause, the drought of air opp flights, the loss of annual camps etc… we are casting aside that lead.
without flying/gliding we are a rubbish version of the ACF, or a tedious version of the Scouts. neither is attractive…
If this is true, I expect more to go with them!
I’m guessing it went along the lines of:
ACO:"Bummer, maintenance issues. Ground everything. Look at plans to fix it"
Daves mate @ No10: “excellent, chance of closing some waste of money bases. Add it to the DIO review”
Be wary of who’s pulling the strings. It may not always be the person you thought it was. The great and the good move in mysterious sneaky ways. Just look at the Brexit debacle. No10 punt out positive lines, educated folk here and abroad laugh at them. The old saying goes, if you throw enough some of T will stick.
My source was wrong, one was 643 VGS but on further reading that VGS closed a few years back now, the other was 621 but we all saw that sad news a few weeks back.
Tough to know what is real and what isn’t,
Is that the same VGS being looked at for aligning themselves with a brand of energy drink?
New trucks look good, I noticed 626 and 622 have already shared the post. All are Viking Sqn’s?
Investment is a good sign though right.
Not necessarily - it’s no good having a brand new infra-structure of expensive goodies (buildings, winches, car, trailers, whatever) if you don’t have the gliders to use - or the engineers to repair the ones that have been laid up.