With the Birthday Honours List due for release in the next 30 mins. Anyone want to make bets on if any Cadet Force Individuals will be honoured this time?
One RFCA person I reckon.
And a knighthood for Air Commodore A Keeling for services to cutting spend and reducing risks.
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Some Local News sites have already published the list for their local areas in breach of the embargo…. And the gazette released it 10 mins early as well…
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3 sea cadets, 1 RFCA and 1 fire cadet instructor from a first look & 2 AOC 22 Gp commendations
I would love a CFAV to get an AOC commendation, turn up to the ceremony & then hand it straight back / refuse it publicly as it’s inappropriate method for recognising a volunteer.
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It is shameful that an organisation of 9.5k CFAVs can’t get more than 2 AOC commendations.
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Trace deserves more than an AOC commendation for the work he puts in.
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Military list:
100%
It really is a joke.
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But it’s all down to the writing of, and amending of, the application.
I’ve been successful in writing an AOC Commendation, they really have to be short, sharp and to the point. A single page pen picture is not easy when trying to get in every key achievement.
I know your commandant gets pretty ragey when people talk medals (I hear comparing you to Scouts is his go-to, without a hint of how patronising that is), but when the BEM is there for tangible impact on one’s local community over a short period and you get people taking on the second job of unit command and wing command over periods of 5-10 years, it really is unforgivable that a process isn’t in place to expedite this through as standard recognition, assuming effective and good service has been rendered.
If this was paid work (on top of full-time jobs), the organisation would cost a fortune. A ÂŁ50 medal and not even being admitted to the order is an official state thank you that was basically made for just this sort of thing.
Also, just think of the good press you’d be getting twice a year, both in terms of the amazing work the people do, but also to all those potential volunteers out there who look and think “oh wonderful, an organisation that will ask a lot of me but make sure appreciation is shown. Where do I sign up?”
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I note he was happy to accept his OBE though just for doing his job.
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His lack of respect for volunteers is part of the reason that his departure is being celebrated with so much gusto.
The funny thing is that people would be more likely to get a state award in the scouts where they are are actually respected for volunteering rather than looked down on as a hinderance to the paid staff.
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Wouldnt urinate on him if he were on fire
There’s a broader point there actually.
If the reason you don’t all get BEM level recognition on a regular basis if you’re something like an efficient squadron commander is because there’s some sense of butt hurt up top from being overlooked, they’d probably do well to remember that everything you give them is on top of your day job, and they’re paid for their involvement in the organisation.
Y’all need to start championing each other more and writing each other up. Ask your nearest regular about brag sheets and start recording everything you do, then twist the arms of your company commanders or whatever you have to start asking for them every six months so they can turn the best ones into a write-up.
After 5 years in a key role, you should have so much to put on a nomination form.
There’s nothing improper about writing each other up if you think they’ve done a good job. At the end of the day, if everything you write is true, someone very high up drops the rubber stamp.
I apparently was given an “OC Wing Commendation” (whatever that is) some time ago. In the announcement they couldn’t even be bothered to spell my name correctly. That sums up exactly how valued I exactly am.
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Looks like I have been missed off the list…again. 
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I think one of the things that can scupper or downgrade any honours recognition is if the individual has already received recognition for the work they have done.
So from an honours point of view, a commendation certificate regardless where it comes from can mean that an individual dips out even though the award is meaningless to them.
It does allow the high ups to go “look we are recognising & rewarding our volunteers”
This then opens up the question of whether you can “decline” a commendation?
Feel like its not something someone can decline before it’s made public it’s been awarded.
This would be very useful to confirm, because when recommending people on the civilian system, other awards (national body awards, honorary doctorates etc) can be used as pretty solid evidence that other significant organisations have previously vouched for the merit of an individual’s work/volunteering.
It builds a case file, so to speak.
But if the military system says “oh, he got an OC Wing commendation 2 years ago, so all that work has already been acknowledged”, that’s a really really important thing to understand.
Especially with Lord Lieutenant Awards also being dished out.
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