Not much more I can add to the sentiment here, but I will say it isn’t just long-term CFAV feeling bad about this. I’ve been 7 years, five of those in uniform, and the admin (and dare I say it, BS) load is just breaking me. The contrast to my day job is so stark too - so much better run by ensuring the paperwork stays with the paperwork people, and everything else is with the people who do their bit well. I know I can deliver stuff to cadets effectively, but there isn’t a single day some new piece of crap doesn’t appear in my inbox to deliver “urgently” or firefight.
Going back to CI is an option, but that’s not why I went to OASC and told them the reason I wanted to be an officer was because the RAF then showed they had confidence in me to inspire and lead others. I can volunteer in many places as a “civilian” (and with a whole lot less hassle) but the reason I went to the Air Cadets was because it was a step up. The problem is, OASC didn’t have a “health and safety and admin BS” aptitude test to warn me off, which is what the truth turned out to be.
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I’m sure we could write a planex that covers it?
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My opinion, and some others is that the perceived distancing of the RAF from the Corps (and yes, I will call us the ‘Corps’ as I joined the ATC not the CCF) and the demolition of the major connection to the parent service, the abolition of the RAFVR(T)…
This is due in no small part by the then complete apathy of HQAC to deal with complaints from staff and cadets alike until the RAF decided that a possible major cause of ‘issues’ was that connection… I saw this at first hand, and know definitively that a service complaint (JSP’s) I initiated and took 7 years to complete had some bearing on that disconnect… Do I feel responsible, No! Are those that I complained about responsible, in part yes! Were HQAC and the then Commandant(s) complicit, HELL YES!
Getting back to where the RAFAC (oh how I detest that moniker) is at and where they are going… During the height of the Covid lockdown, friends and former colleagues in the Cadet Forces speculated that they would never recover or at least would never be the same again. A generation of cadets lost altogether as they time-ex’d during lockdown. Staff decided to leave the cadets because of re-evaluating priorities.
We are told that looking back at the ‘good old days’ is negative, complaining that 6 hours of admin for a 30 minute activity is negativity… Harking back to the days when AEF, AEG, and Gliding Scholarships were commonplace is verboten!
We ‘were’ the Air Training Corps for goodness sake, not the Ground Training Corps!
The RAFAC has an attitude that pervaids a lot of British society and companies… Experience, knowledge, and service is not valued as it should be, it is discarded as old fashioned…
Rant over… FOR NOW!
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Simple answer to the original question No.
Will it be different size in the future? Yes
Will the cadet offering be different? Yes
Will the cadet offering be any more relevant? Jury is out.
Will the CFAV cadre be different? Yes
Will the admin support structure change? Yes
Will the parent service continue to change? Yes
Will those whose experiences were gained in another era (like mine were) continue to think that things are just not as good as they used to be? Probably
Given all the constraints, could there be more constructive dialogue at all levels of the organisation to make the cadet experience as good as it possibly can be? Undoubtedly YES
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One interesting thing to consider …could it be a single entity in the future ATC/CCF/SCC/CCF become one…say called the ‘UK Cadet Corps’
It would surely be more cost effective…but not popular obviously!
Activities would be as available and regionally based…take it or leave it!
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The issue would be inter-service rivalry that would be the issue, can’t see the single services being happy losing control.
Where’s the blockage or lack of desire/action for this?
It’s not at the bottom.
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Thats been rumoured for years!
Under what uniform.
Which set of rules
Which traditions
Etc etc etx.
RN doesn’t have control of the SCC, so they’d lose nothing.
It would end up being a willy waving contest between the Army and the RAF, which the Army would win because, Army.
We’d wear mtp and do a lot more fieldcraft. Not unlike the UAS’ now with their emphasis on force protection training rather than flying.
Not necessarily a bad thing
personally I would not be upset with a Purple Cadet Force.
Whatever we do in blue now, we can easily do in No3.
the RAF would lose some “identity” by the lose of the blue uniform absolutely accepted, but imo the alternative is offering three uniforms.
Army - greens
RAF blues (Wedgewood)
Navy Blues
however realistically until it happens to the parent service I cannot see it happening for reasons given above.
also it would reduce efficiency for Cadet huts as we’d only be using it twice a night (as three times would be unrealistic) - the training would be split between the those two nights. Perhaps have two nights of Army themed training, then a week of RAF then a week of Navy - where there is specifics/specialities ie tanks/aircraft/boats
would this appeal to the Cadets though?
and would it end up being split up anyway? perhaps there are 4 nights a week, 1 generic, then 1 each for specific stuff.
A Cadet can choose to attend on Monday the generic night, and Wednesday for Army if that is their interest
or Thursdays for RAF etc
like i say, until the parent service does it i can’t see it happening
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That would be a good result for some.
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That could work
Properly supported with high quality virtual materials. Plus making better use of weekends, if appropriate to the activity (the SCC tends to go out on the water at weekends, but we get weekday flying!)
it could work but I think the four nights a week is the only valid option.
a Cadet only interested in aviation topics turning up every three weeks isn’t great so would be best as a four night format one generic and one for each topic.
how do the CCF manage with with Army and RAF sections? I confess I know nothing about how they operate but know that Cadets do both disciplines so is it not a case of copying what they do and then expand?
The year was 2011. James Plastow was putting together a report which identified a number of efficiency - and cost - savings to be made by purplising HQs.
Everybody not at the coalface ignored him - Turkeys generally don’t vote for Christmas.
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It should be easy for cadets, and it makes sense to offer them some sort of tri-service experience. Staff sharing could be messy though, particularly with some of the egos bobbing to the surface in recent years. Others have already alluded that the army cadets don’t really need help staffing fieldcraft and shooting, and SCC staff are probably self-sufficient when it comes to RYA stuff. What would the RAFAC bring to the tri-service party? Ok, flying and gliding. But really? Can the RAFAC offer these opportunities to cadets from other cadet forces? I can foresee a lot of friction if blues RAFAC staff are routinely used as babysitting/driver dogsbodies for ACF and SCC activities. What proportion of RAFAC cadets are into fieldcraft? 25%, 40%, 50%? That’s a lot of RAFAC cadets suddenly given access to something that they could only previously do at wing level (with restrictions). What’s the likelihood of attracting similar numbers of army cadets who want to learn all about adiabatic cooling?
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How popular are the Public Services BTECs?
There are even military themed colleges opening up.
Im pretty sure the majority of my cadets would bin off the academic subjects, in favour of more shooting, fieldcraft, flying, and boaty stuff.
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