care to expand on that? ie what are those reasons?
I cringe every time someone suggests they do it “to give something back” - as that just seems to wholesome to be true, as if that is a the overriding reason above personal enjoyment, sacrificing one’s self in the cause of the “greater good”.
I do it because i enjoy it, love it even.
When my time came as a 19yr old Cadet rapidly approaching my 20th birthday, the OC invited me into his office and suggested i apply as Staff. I was chuffed with that offer and immediately took it
(the culture at that Squadron was you had to be “invited” by the OC if you wanted to transition from Cadet to Staff - it might have been policy at the time, this was many moons ago now, but not everyone who aged out became Staff). At the time the ATC had made up over 30% of my life, and the most formative years, i loved being a Cadet and saw no reason why that would change as Staff.
i loved that I was in a better place to make things happen, and not just with my Squadron having the freedom to join Wing teams etc, even more so once I was back in uniform after a brief period as CI.
I did, and always have done, everything that I personally enjoy - shooting, radio, supporting getting in the air, and RIAT.
Fieldcraft while a topic i enjoyed as a Cadet (which was basically a Squadron night exercise) it was never something i have enjoyed as Staff, and while i have AT quals and experience, DofE was something i have shied away from too.
i am a volunteer and am in it for my own selfish reasons - which yes, does end up “giving something back” by making opportunities happen and created new ones that i never had as a Cadet myself.
the ATC has been a massive part of my life, two thirds of it - I have been to weddings, funerals, and numerous birthdays of fellow CFAVs - a third of guests at my own wedding were CFAVs.
i remain a CFAV not through guilt or moral obligation that without me i’m letting the Cadets down, but because i still enjoy it. I still have enough love, passion and enthusiasm to turn up and deliver a lesson, share my knowledge and experience and is a platform where my skills are welcomed.
yes the organisation has changed massively in my time, and yes the admin is often a bore and indeed a chore but i still leave a parade night feeling like I have made a difference, impact and was useful…and that it what I enjoy.