This may be a bit macabre (admin feel free to remove if you deem it inappropriate) but I was curious in the event of a cadet or member of staff’s death on a cadet activity who’s responsibility is it to inform the next of kin? Is it the CFAVs? The Police? Someone from the RAF? I for one wouldn’t feel very comfortable having to deliver that news.
Is there any sort of official guidance in the ACPs or is it reviewed on a case by case basis?
The police
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Cheers.
Admin guess this can be locked now.
Which kind of makes me ask the question of “why do the JCCC have a say over PIPEs/Polocy?”
Why the police?
I know local forces personnel ( army reserve PASO) trained to go and deliver the bad news (unfortunately they have had to do this) and they cover for all Forces not just army, surely with all the interlinking JCCC stuff they would get the task, I would of thought.
I think I remember reading somewhere that, although the RAF would provide someone to do it, the police would probably have done it first by the time the RAF would have sorted I out. I can’t remember where though…
A WO died on summer camp a few years ago, RAF Police and local Civvy police involved but JCCC arranged the knock on the door and subsequent support…
It depends on the situation really. Cadets are not “in the RAF” so the ATC volunteer staff and permanent staff aren’t trained to deal with it. If it’s suspicious or contentious then the police will want to do it mostly. I don’t know why this is a topic people want to discuss really. Bit macabre in my view
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I have had personal experience of this and the system is crap. The cadet didn’t die on an activity but still no support was provided by the ACO or the RAF. I broke the news to cadets, I searched for support agencies for counselling and therapy. Someone discovered we have a memorandum of understanding with SSAFA who will provide a family support worker to those affected if necessary and they were a great help but the organisation failed me and my cadets massively.
Recently or?
Within 1 year of today. I’m not going to go into too much detail here.
The Army are adamant that in the case of the CCF, JCCC will do the ‘knock’. Most schools are equally adamant that the headteacher and/or school senior management will do it. But JCCC have access to WESTMINSTER for this purpose, I am told. Not sure how that works wrt BADER.
Understandable and disappointing to hear that
Doesn’t matter what the army want, if it’s a police matter they take the lead - for various good reasons.
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In a previous life, an officer on our Sqn was killed (RAF not ATC). It was the boss and another officer who broke the news to his family.
I had experience of an incident a long time ago when 3 good friends and ATC cadets were killed whilst on duty.
From what I can remember, the RAF tool care of it all and it was the Cadets Wexo and the RMP who notified the cadets’ parents.
We were told by our staff.
Not very pleasant.
Was that in 2000? I was on that camp, the cadets were told by the Station Commander. Never knew who told the families.
These days phones and social media mean you have to act quicker - waiting for an RMP bod to show up (which could be a 4 hour wait) plus the wexo who could be at the wrong end of a bottle of wine isn’t suitable. And wexos / Oc sqns/ wing commanders aren’t trained to do it and the organisation is exposing them to all sorts of long term issues (clearly less significant than the NoK, but still significant).
Police aren’t specially trained to do it either, you just pick it up as you go along.
The reality is that NoK need to be told as fast as possible (before it leaks on social media) and the best equipped organisation to do that is the Police.
no. it was in the early 90’s