This is all true, but may I suggest that they can earn these qualifications at school, and we can give them plenty of other skills that will be far more useful in all walks of life and for all cadets, rather than something that is useful for a few cadets in a few scenarios
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I do worry that we focus a bit too much on delivering what industry wants.
Giving teens the confidence to try new things, learn how to communicate well, and overcome challenges is worth its weight in gold.
I’m all for qualifications, but I feel they shouldn’t be the focus.
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Cadets or staff?
In this case, we aren’t even! We’re delivering what industry wanted 20 years ago!
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I’ve always looked at it as if we can get cadets a ‘real’ qualification just from what we already do, or making minor changes, that’s fantastic. It’s external recognition of what they’ve been doing.
But when we start completely changing everything just to chase to goal of getting these certifications, then I think that’s too far. Then we’re just becoming a school.
Example, we already do paddling and climbing, so making slight changes to allow cadets to get NICAS or paddle awards is great! Likewise we were delivering aviation stuff that with a small amount of work can then lead to a BTEC, great.
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I feel the same about DofE. The more of our routine we can structure in a way that suits DofE, the more cadets we can get through a really great programme while doing what we already do.
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I am very disappointed about the lack of target shooting and marksmanship in the current ATC in certain regions. An opportunity was seen to cut the costs of having range alarm systems and then the ranges themselves were lost and the .22 target rifles withdrawn so no longer available for use.
As a Squadron we have 2 air rifles and a demountable 5m range with 2 firing points that then close off that room for other activities so shooting is a once a month activity for a few cadets who are only able to fire a handful of pellets which is useless in a Squadron of 50+.
L98 shooting requires an intense weekend of learning the “Army” course of handling the L98 including the use of webbing and full strip down and clean whereas we could do with a cut down version to get them shooting and learning marksmanship followed up with something to complete the full mastery of the weapon to include stripping and cleaning, use of webbing for fieldcraft etc.
I would encourage Squadrons to approach local target shooting clubs to see if they would welcome youngsters into the sport.
I now have approval to take my Squadron to my club and they can focus on the marksmanship side of things. The only downside yet to be addressed is that they can’t achieve their badges because “It’s not done according to the RAFAC syllabus” despite the targets being NSRA targets and proportional in every way to 5m air rifle targets but shot at 25 yards.
It seems to be a glass half empty attitude rather than a glass half full! Let’s have more optimism and encouragement! After all the cadets do love their opportunities to shoot but they are dwindling fast! The latest disappointment is the closure of military ranges due to the drought so shooting the L98 at longer ranges is out for the time being which is understandable.
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What sector opportunities are there?
Sadly, you won’t get anywhere with this - I suggested a “simple” system some yrs ago - get cadets (no WHT or trg) under 1:1 supervision to shoot basic groups & so see if they like shooting the L98. Heresy!!
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But there was a time when L98 WHTs could be conducted immediately before firing on the same day and webbing was only worn by fieldcraft geeks (like me).
I feel this is actually a problem with a huge portion of our cadet offer.
There’s actually very little that you can run for a whole unit at once. And that in itself massively increases the complexity for volunteer staff.
If we had a cyclical programme for the whole unit that loops back on itself every 3 years, then you wouldn’t have to host various levels of provision at any one time, bar perhaps some core stuff, or the basics for when you have new joiners.
Normally the case on most wg shoots.
What we don’t have is a “try before you buy” option to see if a cadets actually likes things that go bang.
Wouldn’t work for shooting - continuity is very important - no good getting to a key stage & then having to refresh almost from the beginning after a long break.
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And this is a bit of an own goal. I remember when I was a cadet, even though the L98 training was less than it is today (an hour or two before shooting), shooting it felt like a privilege for those who’d completed that training. This was the L98A1: single shot, bolt action
Then I went on a school trip with a load of ill disciplined ‘untrained’ classmates and the local Army depot had us all firing L85s on semi-automatic.
Similarly, during my familiarisation visits to various regiments when I was considering an Army commission, one of the concurrent activities was firing foreign weapons, including what I thought at the time to be an AK47 (almost certainly an AK74 with hindsight), again alongside others with no previous weapons or military training.
Not now the L98 trg is so extensive / time consuming, so it’s harder to get a place.
I’d far rather a cadet had the option for say 40 rds prone (1:1 supervision, with the supervisor doing the drills) as a taster before they committed to the trg - & then decided after the first CLF exercise that it’s not for them.
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Sorry for any confusion, but I completely agree with you. I meant not doing this is an own goal.
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That’s great if you have a decent group of staff, prepared to sign up for the whole three year process.
But what about those smaller squadrons who don’t have the resources? Are we going to force staff into training a subject they don’t like or care about, who will vote with their feet after 12 months.
I meant more that it would save capacity because we could have a centrally planned and resourced programme (with some flexibility) that means we don’t all individually have to plan out a year of training.
There should be loads of stuff that we all do (and basically do the same way).
Not much use when the average Cadet career is 18 months (not sure on the current exact figure but it’s always been in that ball park).
Yes but, surely, we need to plan to provide more than 18 months’ worth of content / experience?
Which we do, using a progressive syllabus.
Blue = Mass delivery at Squadron level.
Gold = Niche delivery at a national level.
With Bronze & Silver fitting in between.
There shouldn’t and don’t need tk be as many opportunities for the higher level courses because you aren’t realistically offering them to the masses since they don’t stay long enough to progress to that level.
A cyclical training system however would be trying to deliver all things to everyone which isn’t practical.
What I mean by this is that it allows everyone to do more of the stuff together, rather than constantly having to offer tiers of activity for cadets of various service lengths.
Example.
I’m trying to do a monthly teambuilding night using MTa kits. The goal is to get everyone working together. So I’m setting out enough kit and exercises to try to cover 3 years of that, which can then be cycled through with no need for extra planning.
Any cadet staying longer can help run things in their 4th year