RMP do exactly the same as substantive lcpls.
Surely that means that they can’t “deal” with cpls?? Or does that mean that British Army cpls behave better? 
Happy days of going through the GIT cse at RAF Newton, where they trained the baby RAFP - this meant an Op Roundup at least every 2 - 3 days! I was walking across the parade ground to the Mess for lunch when one was called over the tannoy. Oh well, my nearest building was the Mess, so no issue.
Uh oh, I spotted what looked like RAFP heading my way; I meandered a bit across the parade ground to try & avoid him; no such luck, he corrected his course towards me.
Smart salute.
Hello Sir, Op Roundup is in force, please may I see your F1250.
But of course Cpl, here you go. Now, let me check yours please.
Shuffle, shuffle, hands in different pockets, er, um, can’t find it Sir.
Sigh, right, accompany me to the Guardroom! Dunno if he was charged or not.
Wasted some of my valuable lunch time!
1 Like
It probably is one of those postcode lottery things, but where I am my squadron has neither the staff, the equipment or the funds to buy the equipment to deliver music. I did suggest a choir at one point but that went down like a lead balloon with the cadets.
Our WgMusO regularly runs wing band events, but these always seem to be aimed at experienced players, not introductory or beginner lessons for cadets who haven’t previously had the opportunity to learn.
I’m sure some squadrons do exceptional work teaching musical skills, but I don’t believe it’s widespread enough to warrant literally the most central position on the brassard. I’m not sure what badge deserves to be the centrepiece, but I’m convinced it shouldn’t be music.
1 Like
I think you would be suprised, if may be regional, but where I was even though it was a very deprived area we did very well with bands, some taught internally and some with proper experience from school.
I would agree with moving it, maybe swap it with first aid and change the shape to be more like the DofE badge.
I think they just need to be NCOs in order to exercise police powers over any rank.
I think it’s just a “status” thing, a private soldier especially a conscripted one might not get role over rank, whereas a JNCO or above should have a greater understanding. (The modern professional force is different, but as you know tradition is important).
1 Like
@Joe1 I’d love to bring you on board for the digitisation project, but I believe you’re a cadet, right?
If you reach out to me via your OC, I’m sure we could find a way to task you with some badges. I would then happily contribute to your CV and highlight your contributions to the national project. My gut says you’ll be able to churn out the standard we need.
Should that appeal.
1 Like
Sorry dont like the ribbons! Why should people who shoot guns get a badge? Its rare we do shooting! I like the circular badges. Isn’t the scope for us all about cyber space and flying these days? Might be ok for RAF but not children. Who work better for rewards!
I would love too! but unsure if my OC would email for me.. Unfortunately
Er, think about the bigger picture across RAFAC please.
For example, we gained 22 Gold shooting badges earlier this yr.
5 Likes
Which is absolutely something to be pleased about.
But why then are we hiding other achievements and awards through different colour laurel badges which no one is going to understand from a glance what the cadet has qualified in?
The PTS is far from perfect, but that’s not an excuse to hide the achievements of our cadets just because you don’t like the shape of a badge. Like it or not, our organisation has spent a lot of money on new badges to recognise areas of the syllabus which just weren’t recognised when we were cadets.
5 Likes
Sorry but our Squadron have not had the opportunity for various reasons.
Your looking at this wrong in my opinion.. Look at it like your running a company and having to mange a budget… Its not just about shapes its about how can reduce cost and how can still provide things to cadets without having them cost as much… ( I hate to have to be that person but this will happen at some point if we like it or not budget cuts and all that)
Exactly. My point being a d of E award is better and more Civilian known.
And you hit the nail on the head.
What should be seen is evidence of what the cadet has achieved and transferable to the work place.
DofE shows comms, commitment and leadership ability.
Cyber, space, etc are the new in scope activity in many areas of work.
Leadership - enough said.
I’d say the corps should be prioritising something along these lines:
- NCO development, leadership, MOI - key life skills
- DofE, CVQO/BTECs - CV boosters
- Flying, gliding, Marksmanship - USPs for recruitment
- Cyber, first aid - life skills
- Radio, RPAS, fieldcraft - hard(ish) to get into
- Road marching, sports leader
- Music, space, military skills - niche knowledge
I do think cyber & FA are more impactful on the cadets’ lives long-term, but enough people dislike them that focusing on them simply wouldn’t help recruitment, so gotta keep the USPs up there 
Might be an unpopular take - these qualifications (BTEC in particular) have very little relevance today. A BTEC is equivalent to a GCSE, and if you’ve got maths and English, no employer is going to care. And if you need A Levels or a degree for your job, no employer is going to care about that. In terms of CVQO, the awards it offers are only really worth something in a narrow spectrum of circumstances. We’d be better off using that energy on enabling people to learn real, transferable soft and hard skills, by providing better experiences to facilitate that
5 Likes
Only at the level the ATC delivered; higher level BTEC quals are available outside. IMHO, what the ATC delivered as a level 2 ‘BTEC’ wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on due to how it was delivered.
1 Like
I’d be absolutely stunned if any ex/cadet had got a job, or onto a course, rather than not getting the job/course, solely on the basis of a BTEC they got from us.
We’d be much better off - from the cadets stand point - spending that time/effort/resource on giving them life skills/experience, and sending them on their way with that.
3 Likes
I feel you’re focusing on the wrong thing there - I was talking about all the formal qualifications available to us. CVQO offer ones in lots of fields, ranging from levels 1 to 5. RAFAC offers level 3 right now, and 2 if the new ones ever come out. Having even a lower level qual is great evidence of interest - there’s a whole part of the UCAS statement of ‘how have you prepared for this?’
The RAFAC level 2s might be fairly basic, but there are cadets that are struggling to get the required number of GCSEs for further education, and this could help them. Also, if they were to apply for a job in that field, not many people will have a qualification that specialised, so it shows clear interest and a good foundational knowledge.