How do you go about transferring Squadrons?

Deleted at OP’s request

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It is very simple in theory: find a squadron who will take you and request (verbally) that your squadron transfer you.
They can make the change on Bader and should send any physical records (3822A etc.) to the new unit. Uniform goes with you. Uniform goes with you.

What will generally happen is the 2 OCs will chat to make sure everybody is happy with the change. There is no form required (unless your wing has invented one) and wing need not become involved.

Talk to your Sector Commander, not only about a transfer, but about the attitude of your OC.
Whilst there are two sides to every story, if your comments have weight, they should be investigated as well.

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Good idea about Sector Cdr; most cdts wouldn’t have a clue who it is. :roll_eyes:

Bimble into your ‘new’ sqn and chat with the CO. He/she should take things from there. The actual process is painless and quick.

Or should be.

Word of warning don’t forget that many staff are friends outside of cadets and it’s hoghky likely that your new OC will know and may well socialise with your old OC. It shouldn’t be an issue as long as people remain professional but unfortunately that’s not always the case.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate this!
My Sector OC has been very understanding previously and has a tendency to view everything in a very reasonable manner. I know that I am not the only person with an issue regarding my OC as many staff around the Wing are familiar with their antics. Unfortunately it is the case that nobody can do anything about them as there is no ‘hard evidence’ so to speak of their behaviour.
Thanks again, I’ll speak to Sector OC and see what they think

when you speak to your sector OC and potential new sqn OC, it might be politic to have a plausible cover story for your wish to move - location of school/work/college etc… if your former OC knows that you’re bad-mouthing him he may return the favour.

i know this goes against the cadet-centric nature of what the ACO should be, but remember that these people may have known each other since before you were born, and will have to work with each other long after you’ve left the ACO. they may or not like each other, or approve of each others views, or indeed think that your soon-to-be-ex-OC is so useless that they wouldn’t use his body to beat out flames, but they are not going to start a war on your behalf when the issue is, in effect, a clash of personalities.

its also going to be a lot easier on your younger sibling, who i assume will be staying at your original Sqn, if its not widely known/believed that you’ve moved because you loathe your OC, and one assumes, he doesn’t like you back.

come up with something plausible, let your existing Sqn staff know that attending is because a bit of a nightmare because of it, and go looking for a new Sqn on that basis. by all means privately talk to your sector commander about your unfortunate experiences, but don’t expect that other Sqn’s are going to welcome ‘trouble’ with open arms.

Have you heard the phrases “the grass in greener on the other side of the hill“ and “same crap different day”, ie moving looks good, but you could find it’s exactly the same as where you are now or worse. What do you do then?

Who’d have thought it, two NCOs of the same rank and one losing out in the urinating up the wall game, feeling hard done by. I cannot imagine many staff not seeing this situation and letting ‘jungle rules’ come into play. I have to say you haven’t really got a plausible reason to move on the basis of your comments. Your CO and staff will know about your school arrangements and how difficult attending should be. So you need to be careful, unless you want to be seen lacking in integrity.

So a ‘troublesome’ cadet who are difficult to handle, again who’d have thought that. As staff we have many troublesome cadets over the years and you do your best as that’s all you can do.

Just as mentioned, staff know and speak to other staff, cadets do the same as well. So I imagine any decision made the real reason will be known, ie you’ve not been able to cope.

Saying the CO doesn’t care, is that because they haven’t just gone along with what you have been saying or doing? As that is what seems to be the basis of your comment. Who is to say your CO isn’t having a crap time personally and the ATC isn’t their main focus? I know all about that. It doesn’t make them bad. But as I found the organisation doesn’t really care about it’s staff when they are having a difficult time personally. If there are only 3 staff, not unheard of, and one or more are experiencing difficulties in their personal life, something suffers.

I’ve been on both sides of this as a CO and nothing is ever as clear cut as it appears. I had cadets say they want to move because of x, but give y as their reason. When I’ve spoken to the ‘new’ CO I’ve given the whole story as it would be unprofessional to do otherwise, as the ‘new’ CO needs to know what they are getting into. There is also the highly likely outcome that you would lose a rank for a period, as the receiving OC will want to see what you are like as they will have cadets in rank or expecting promotion and you turning up with your rank will put their noses out of joint. I never took a cadet NCO without dropping their rank by one, which was made clear from the outset. I only ever had one stay, but they had moved to the town and travelling to the old squadron wasn’t really an option.

If you were coming to me I ask if you had spoken to your CO? If not I would say speak to them and get them to call me, but you would be appraised of my conditions at this point if the move was made. Don’t think that speaking to the Sector Commander will ease things (as some suggest), as they don’t really know you and will speak to your CO, who would quite rightly be irritated as they know nothing about the move request, which wouldn’t bode well on your part.

Both you and your sibling need to move for this to look anything less than a toy throwing exercise on your part. I make no apologies for not being as sympathetic as others. But this is how the big wide world is and it’s not a place of fluffy bunnies and everyone being ‘nice’ to everyone all the time and there are times you have to get your head down and get on with it.

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Alternatively, your ‘new’ CO may think your current one is a complete tool.

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We don’t really know who is to blame or whether it is six of one and half a dozen of the other. I’m sure we’ve all experienced ‘problem’ cadets and we all know COs who wouldn’t even be trusted organising a parade night if we weren’t so short staffed. Sector Commanders are better known on squadrons where there are staff issues than well run squadrons so maybe cadets knowing the Sector Commander is a clue. Maybe not.

At the end of the day, there is some sort of issue, and a new squadron for the cadets is probably the most sensible option.

Another cadet who is finding life a little bit tough and for no real reason wants to move squadron on the basis outlined by FA that the grass is greener.
If this was a cadet who had been around for say 3 years and not getting promoted then I could see why there might be some desire to move to see if there is more luck somewhere else. But no they are a FS and would expect them, getting to the end of their time, to be able to ride it out.
Rather than pandering should we not be saying that you should be just getting on with it and if you want to move just do it. Speaking to Sector Commanders and so on effectively bad mouthing people, does you no favours. It doesn’t matter what others might say or think.

In short, move or leave.
But in moving can you ensure that you are able to fulfil commitments on the new squadron, as you would imagine that it will be further away and or more difficult to reach.

FA makes a good point that there could be a reduction in rank which might not go down well, however if you are a CWO then you would be ‘protected’.

If your OC is making Racist, Homophobic, or sexist remarks, then report them. It’s bad leadership, and totally against the rules and the ethos of the ATC. As soon as it happens, write down exactly what was said, to whom, and if possible, how it made them/you feel. If you report it, and it still happens, then report it one step higher. Repeat until it stops, or you’re emailing CRAFAC.

The other stuff kind of comes with life, and learning to deal with it is part of the transition to adulthood.

Some people will be insecure and try and belittle and undermine you.

Some people will dislike you, regardless of how you are to them.

Some people will be a royal pain in the rear. For what it’s worth, I would refer the cadet concerned back to a staff member as soon as they start playing up, and let them sort it out. The role of a Cadet SNCO is defined in the ACP’s, and no where does it state you should be a social worker/parole officer!

Transferring is an option, but is a decision not to be taken lightly. The grass is certainly not always greener!

Good luck.

There are two types of people on here. People that offer advice and people that don’t. Choose who you listen to wisely.

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You can’t ask people how it made them feel and use that as evidence, they have to volunteer it. What if you asked 20 people and only you and one other was that offended, do you ignore the other 18 responses (90%) as it wasn’t the answer you wanted? In my line of work if asked a group and 90% were indifferent, that’s what you would report with a comment referring other 10%. The 10% wouldn’t be the deciding factor. I’m not suggesting what is alleged as having been said is right, but you have to gather evidence properly and report it as such. Also on this matter, I used to like Frankie Boyle on MTW and since he was forced to leave, I find the LGBT / feminist so called comedians on there as very offensive, so I don’t watch it.

What I see in this is a cadet feeling a bit sorry for themselves and looking to blame someone for it. The other FS doesn’t like them, the CO doesn’t like them and seemingly only one member of staff might like them out of the 3. This all comes with life and as you say you have to deal with it.

I wear different hats inside the office and in front of cadets and then again my real life hat is different. It would seem the OC in this case forgets to switch hats. One of my daughter’s did say to me you aren’t the same at home as you are with cadets. To which I said you just have to be to be like that.

We are supposed to be preparing cadets for the nasty world, not some cosy liberal left wing cotton wool lined dystopia.

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I am not going to comment on the rights and wrongs of this case, I just do not have the full facts from both sides.

But the corps policy on bullying harassment and child protection. More information can be found in ACPs, 1,2,4,20 and JSPs 763, 814. All should be available on request from your CoC. If your COC refuses go to your WExO and they should provide copies.

Also documentation is the key. You will need to record time date and location and what was said. This will make what you allege credible.

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Like I said, If possible. They, depending on the relationship, they may confide in you that it made them feel bad/sad/worthless etc. They may burst into tears after the event. The OP may feel embarrassed at the use of language.

It doesn’t matter how many people are offended, offensive language has no place on a cadet unit. If I tell a sexist joke, and 90% laugh, whilst 10% are offended, should that be ignored? Of course not. As the_silverback says, the Corps policy is clear, and a process exists to help stop and prevent scenarios like the OP has described.

As I said you have to have different hats for the real world and the ATC. I know teachers say the same between classroom and staffroom.
This chap seems to have forgotten this.

What we don’t know is if the bloke is being offensive or is it a cadet who seems think the CO doesn’t like them and looking for a way to get at them and knows that this extremely subjective and sensitive area is a good way to do it? If they have been so offended I can’t see anything to indicate they have said anything to them or got their parents involved, they also have a younger sibling who they could prime to mention it to mum/dad.
From experience of a former member of staff who was a bit loose with their language, parents will come knocking on the door if little Johnny/Janey is upset and sometimes on that night. This was before the Guardianistas got upset while sipping their frothy coffee.

Saying that people feel sad, bad, worthless or burst into tears seems to be very prominent language at the moment engendered by the media when they are on a witch hunt or the sort of thing you hear after a TV programme ‘if you’ve been affected’.

As a squadron commander I don’t have the time or inclination to really like or dislike any cadet as you need to know someone very well on a personal level. I’ve never known a cadet that well. They join, they do things, they leave and if we’ve been able to help them fine.

Does not a cadet worrying about a member of staff liking them seem a little bit odd in a clingy / attention seeking way.

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