Hi guys
I am a cadet and i am going to uni in September.
I will be moving to student accommodation and thus will only be in it for 37 weeks of the year.
Can you do a part transfer so when i am off i can still get to a sqn ?
Might seem a silly question but acht well.
Any advice would be great.
You need to transfer to to the Sqn you will attend the most, if not your original. Then you can become supernumeray at the other meaning you can attend both
What uni are you going to?
Have you checked out the local sqns?
Aw smashing. Thank you!
Does it matter its a different wing?
Yeah looked into all that so know what sqn it is.
Nope not at all
Brilliant.
Thank you for your help!!
You need to talk to them first. And be prepared for the fact that, if you’re an NCO, you might have to accept a demotion to begin with (though this isn’t a hard and fast rule).
A bigger question though is why? I deliberately didn’t move squadrons when I went to uni, it was time for me to grow up and try new things. I joined uni societies and clubs, socialised with new flat and course mates, explored the new city… I wouldn’t have had time to be a senior cadet on a new sqn as well.
And then I later joined the UAS.
Have a think about whether this is something you really want to do, rather than something you’re just continuing because you think you have to.
There’s nothing wrong with carrying on. Just make sure it’s what you want.
I’d echo @GrandMaster_Flush, you have a fantastic opportunity to try new things/groups/culture/everything and be treated by the world as an adult, don’t waste that opportunity by bashing away at a new Sqn.
I’d stay on at the old Sqn, help out when you have the time/inclination, but use every day you’re at uni to turn yourself into a self-sufficient, self-motivated, capable and experienced young adult - you will far more use, and a far better example to the younger cadets, than - to be blunt - being a bit of a sad-case who can’t let go of being a child.
It will also, let’s be blunt again, inhibit your relationships and activities at uni. I would seriously urge you to not stay in the cadet mindset, but to get out and become an adult instead.
I’d like to add my two pence.
Whilst some points above make sense and aren’t necessarily wrong, you should do what you want to do.
I didn’t move away for uni, but my uni course was a demanding one, not your normal two lectures a week job.
I maintained my status as a cadet SNCO and then as staff, whilst also doing all of the above mentioned activities.
If this is your passion, stick at it.
I would suggest leave it until Christmas to find out how your course and time there will work and then make a decision about what to do about being a cadet on a different squadron, You may find you have to get a job and the other attractions on the campus more appealing and interesting than being a cadet.
This is exactly where the keeping on with the ATC as a cadet over 18 makes things more problematic. As a CI at uni people would be better able to integrate and because they are not cadets able to decide their commitment, without any extraneous expectation and not upset the delicate dynamics that you find on a squadron.
We are based in a city that attracts a lot of students. We explain to our student cadets that they won’t be part of the main chain of command on the squadron, but that we will use their knowledge and experience in targeted ways to help coach our NCOs on certain things or deliver certain activities.
Also remember that in some cities you may have a choice of units. Some will undoubtedly be more student friendly than others.
i echo the above to posts as this is me.
ok so a long time ago, pre-BADER but
I went to uni, as many of the SNCOs did before me, I stayed “on” at my home Squadron and they knew to expect me back at the holidays.
I returned at Christmas, Easter and Reading week and caught up with friends (this is the days when there were no “Smart” phones, it was PAYG text or MSN Messenger to stay in touch)
I enjoyed the long summer and realised i missed it, so joined the local Squadron (of which there was two in the city - the other being an “F” unit).
I was accepted as the CFS i was and thoroughly enjoyed myself. they paraded on a Friday, which was a first for me, but not being a “student” night wasn’t bothered by it however often left me as the only SNCO as the others would be out and about!
I paraded in their Remembrance parade and took part in some sports events. There were some questions when my out of Region Squadron number was spotted on my brassard but was soon accepted when explained.
I later returned to the unit for my final year of study as Staff.
As i say this was pre-BADER so an easier process from an admin point of view. I had agreement from both OCs that i was Supernumerary at the Uni Unit and could continue to parade, while my subs continued going to my home unit and that was about it.
i found it a very rewarding and interesting experience coming from a rural environment, quiet market town Squadron to a large inner city environment and the same change with the Cadets and i learnt alot about how we all use the same hymn sheets, but some of use pronounce the words differently, read them with a different meaning or simply choose not to read that paragraph sometime through choice others through forced circumstance.
if it were me would i do it differently? no.
i threw myself into everything uni could offer in the first year, and enjoyed it and didnt have the distraction of two evenings a week getting to the unit. by Second year i ticked the “things to do at uni” boxes, and knuckled down into the work and so enjoyed the distraction of Cadets from my study.
i strongly suggest you wait until you find out what uni is like, how much effort is involved in your course, how much reading or tutorials are required and if you still miss it after taking time off, be that waiting until Christmas, Easter or longer.