Why is it so damned difficult to join the air cadets as an adult ? The beaurocracy and the time waiting is bordering on the rediculous…Does anuone just get fed up and just walks away?
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Yes, loads of people get fed up and walk away, or join another cadet service that lets you go straight into uniform.
Yes. I lost a number of potential staff over the years because of it
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The same processes also lead to staff already in leaving. Before e-DBS I know multiple staff that left because their forms got lost multiple times so they ended up suspended for months.
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Which is now taking 8 months…
Wow must depend on the person - we’ve had one back within a week, and the other 3 weeks.
Ignoring wing issues with AVIPs I would say it’s on average 6 weeks down here to get someone in (AVIP consolidation days are our biggest delay)
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Which are post appointment anyway…
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Before I left, I was told that DBS checks are now randomly assigned to different forces across the country.
Some are busy and will take forever, others are quick and will return promptly.
Either way, it’s a cluster.
It feels like I am being set up to fail from the very outset and I seem to have no support from anyone. In all its been over six months and when I chase things up and I get told off as if im a fourteen year old cadet. This is not the way to treat someone who is offering to volunteer unpaid…
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By whom?!
I’d expect nothing but empathy and some schedule of remaining in contact, perhaps a strategy to help you get ahead of the game to better hit the ground running when you finally get the nod.
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Which part of the process?
eDBS can be turned around in hours.
BPSS is totally dependant on the applicant, the referee responding.
Initial process is down to applicant and OC Squadron to do their bits
The only piece that could take time is the BPSS, the rest is badmin on someone’s part!!
BPSS is fine, its just the DBS part thats causing the problems. Maybe its because I worked for the MOD for over 26 years. It wouldent be half as bad if they actually kept me informed but they dont. If the tables were reversed I would email an update either weekly or fortnightly. Even if there was no change to report. Its called common courtesy. To be honest ive long since had enough of the beurocratic claptrap and all the associated rubbish that goes with it. At the end of the day some of the people in charge need to understand that they are losing adult staff at an increasing rate and we deserve a little bit more appreciation. Also, its not the real RAF its a youth organisation…
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Working for MoD wouldn’t be an issue, I’m a CS in another Dept, and mine was within a day.
Sounds like a Wing HQ issue 
As per the above, I’m sure that there are some I. 22grp, not necessarily HQAC that would like a smaller, slimmer RAFAC and the reduced costs and risk that would lead to.
That is not in and of itself a bad thing, if it is quality over quantity. But then we would need an equitable way of selecting cadets.
Making it hard for volunteers to join would be a very blunt instrument for changing the size of the organisation.
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It ensures that any unbridled enthusiasm you have has faded before you ever reach a squadron. Thus maintaining the subdued stagnation favoured by many, as a means of not highlighting the failings of individuals or organisation.
It’s a tried and tested method the world over. S
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We’ve just had an ex CFAV return, his DBS and BPSS came back quickly, within 2 weeks for the DBS. The hold up seems to be at HQAC (according to our Wing staff) even though you would expect it to be an easier process for someone still (sort of) in the system. We’re up to 3 months now.
But I can’t see why, apart from DBS and BPSS, everything else is automated on VP.
I was also under the impression that the reliance on HQAC had been removed now. Once BPSS and DBS recived, WHQ should be able to process the application to the point where then can then start attending the squadron. Most of this is now done through VP.