How to write a letter to the OC

Cadets Ask the Staff
22

This is what I ended up writing - hope it is okay:

ENVELOPE : FLT LT BLOGGS

Sir,

I am sorry that I, once again, cannot make it tonight as I am revising and this is currently meaning that the time on Tuesdays is really important for me to be productive!

Firstly, I would like to mention that I wanted to do the JNCO development course, but unfortunately the new date coincides with the EFA, but I suppose sometimes things are like that in life!

I had a thought about something I thought would be fun to do on squadron, and wanted to speak to you about it and see what you think. I would be more and happy to discuss the possibilities with you in person, but I am really keen to make a start.

It occurred to me that over time speaking to fellow cadets, that the majority have the ability to play a musical instrument, and that sparked this idea. I was thinking - why have we got so many musicians but not using them and doing something with our musicality.

I looked on the ‘air cadet central’ forum and saw that it had been done before, where squadrons have involved music more, by becoming a marching band or a “function band” which seems less formal, and have performed at annual awards evening dinners and parade nights. That was more what I was thinking.

My thinking was that we would have a couple of nights in the training plan , preferably not too far apart, where we would rehearse. Perhaps in Winter this could be Fridays fortnightly , or even more regularly, however I understand that throughout the year that the training plan gets pretty full! The main goal would be to all enjoy playing some fun tunes together as music is something that unites.

If you think this is a good idea, then my plan would be (with your permission) to find out what basic equipment we have in our stores and whether the civilian committee would be able to fund some music stands and perhaps some music, for example.

If allowed, I would be happy to organise the band, as I have prior experience by being the main member of a band in my school, where I have arranged new music and organised “gigs” . Sadly, this week is my final week of playing in assemblies with this music group- which is something that I will very much miss. But if we had a squadron band, I thought that we could start gradually and see where it takes us.

I have also read about “sector bands” but I am not sure what our area is like for musical opportunities and whether our building would be a bit small to accommodate something like this! I was expecting to start small as a sqn as I am presuming that the bigger = the more expensive!
Please let me know what you think Sir! I will be attending squadron on Friday evening.

Yours Faithfully,

Cdt Question

23

@JoeBloggs @WhiskeyNovember @JustCallMeFlight @pEp @tmmorris @ThatDrummerBoy

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24

what you’ve written is great, however its a lot of yap for an email. Our OC’s have enough emails to read already without us adding an essay to that list. keep it simple with

"formalities

apologies for not being present this evening.

whenevers best can we have a conversation about starting a squadron band? it’s something im very interested in and would be very excited to explore.

formalities"

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25

hi mate just saw this thread, few opinions, you don’t have to go through with them

you don’t really need this bit. “as I am revising” is enough

cut the second “I thought” - “I had a thought about something fun to do on squadron”

think you meant “more than happy”

“which sparked this idea” would flow better

“but not taking advantage of their talent” would flow better

“On the “air cadet central” forum, I saw that other squadrons had formed marching bands or less formal “function bands” which perform at awards evening dinners and parade nights. The latter was more what I was aiming for.” would flow better

“Perhaps” means basically the same thing

I wouldn’t put conditions on an initial letter, makes it less appealing

“With your permission, my plan would be to” flows better

unneccessary

Your OC probably couldn’t care less

See how successful the sqn band is before exploring this

“…perhaps we could talk about this then?”

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26

I agree with this, when I had a project that I wanted to undertake with my OC, I just asked him after final parade if we could talk about it on the next parade night, however your OC might appreciate being able to read the email in their own time rather than wasting time on a parade night on introductions when it could be used on getting you set up for the band.

its your call after all you know your OC best

27

depends if your band is going to be playing during any formal parades

28

Hello, unfortunately I had already sent the letter when I got your reply, however I think our OC would rather have the flexibility of reading the letter whenever and wherever as he is usually very busy on parade nights!

Many Many thanks, and I do wish that your reply came before sending as I agree with 99% of the changes that you suggested !

Thanks

29

But to be clear, if you’re a cadet, you should be addressing this letter: “Dear sir, / ma’am,”

You can put those other details above if you like (Google a letter draft, as there are many ways of doing it).

Eg

Flt Lt A. Bloggs RAFAC
1234 (Random) Squadron
Cadet Centre
AS12 3DF

30

Edit: Apologies, for some reason this displayed as a new thread, but I’m clearly late to the party!

31

JSP 101 used to be a thing of beauty with proper examples of how to write a formal letter to your OC. Unfortunately, it’s been depleted to a Civil Service style guide, little or no different to what is used in other departments.

Anyway, the proper Service Writing version back in the day would’ve told you to open with ‘Sir,’ or ‘Ma’am,’ (handwritten, and without the ‘dear’) and to close with a variation on:

I remain,
Sir,
Your obedient servant,

Signature

INITIALS AND SURNAME
Abbreviated rank
Appointment
Unit

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32

I’ve always hated this bit.

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33

I believe ministerial /parliamentary correspondence still follows the higher old style of letter format.

One thing I do on emails, particularly if cc’ing a lot of people is start

“To Wg Cdr Bloggs

Dear Sir/Ma’am”

Although the rank things kinda going.

I’ve always found the servant but quite quaint but I believe it was mainly for corresponding to a superior in the civil service rather than general use (as a reminder that the military serve the crown & the appointed officials of the day) - could be wrong though.

34

Can’t read that without thinking of the Hamilton song

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35

I’ve also always disliked “sirs, ma’ams, ladies, and gentlemen”, though that could have more to do with the inevitable and liberal use of bonus apostrophes.

The plural of “sir” is “gentlemen” and the plural of “madam” (ma’am) is “ladies”.

“Madams” should still sound odd to you because it hasn’t been normalised, whereas “sirs and ma’ams” doesn’t seem to be disappearing any time soon.

36

Just use the classic “Good afternoon all,” :wink:

Can’t offend anyone then, but certainly will annoy a few!

37

That’s all well and good if (and only if) you’re the most senior person in the room. Even then, I prefer ‘ladies and gents’.

38

To be honest as a CI I’ve absolutely used ladies and gents and dear all. I can’t spend my time getting too wound up on how best to start an email…

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39

If you’re a CI, then that’s absolutely appropriate.

I’m constantly telling the non-uniformed members of my team that they can use my first name, even in front of cadets.

Cadets need to be exposed to the nuance of shifting levels of formality, so it’s useful for them to start understanding that contextual reality and why various people use different forms of address.

The big bugbear is people referring to “sir” or “ma’am” in the third person. That’s not their name and there are a few of us — learn our names and ranks!

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40

It’s comes down to the individual & what the are happy with - the school convention of mr or Miss works well in front of cadets as it adds that buffer to stop the over familiarity.

It’s one of those weird things - the troops have to call you sir but they don’t have to call you boss.

41

That’s fair. Rank / title and surname is also acceptable.

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