Moving from CCF to ATC. Any advice?

Cadets Ask the Staff
1

Hi all!

I’m Sgt Stealey, and I am currently in the process of moving from my CCF unit to my local ATC unit. This is because the CCF wasn’t offering enough opportunities and it lacked structure. So:

  1. if you have done the jump, what was the major differences that I should prepare for?
  2. How will ATC differ from CCF?
  3. How can I generally prepare for the change?

TIA

2

Don’t be upset if they query your relatively high rank. You will have achieved this younger in the CCF (max age 18) than the ATC (max age very nearly 20!) and probably with fewer qualifications. They may even ask you to drop down to Cpl for a while (especially if they have too many SNCOs at the moment).
Depending on your CCF (especially if it wasn’t a very active one) you may not be very good at drill, or may have learned some Army drill by mistake, so be prepared to re-learn some of that, if so.
And they will all be SO KEEN! Seriously, that part may be a bit of a culture shock. They are very impressed by rank (trust me, I’m a Wg Cdr and it causes mass panic if I turn up, which occasionally I do!) and you may well find officers are a much more remote, office-bound species than you are used to. (Maybe not - it does depend a bit on the unit.)
Good luck - let us know how you get on.
[CCF officer here!]

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Generally the ATC love a salute much more than CCF. :grinning:

But on a serious note you can expect similar activities but with the added bonus of parade nights being longer, twice a week rather than once and not limited to term time. There should be more opportunities for weekend activities.
Despite the best efforts of some CCF staff the uniform standards are generally higher in the ATC.
Because if the extra time you may find a greater degree of classification/academic content rather than having to self teach the higher levels.
(Also CCF staff but former ATC CI)

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4

Expect some joking about CCF Cadets/staff etc. There is a stereotype that CCF have poor standards etc and are just made up of the middle and upper class (neither true in my experience (but I’m sure there are for both sides but can be annoying)).

Above points all valid, depending on where the CCF was based, the facilities may be very different - if you are used to sports fields, lots of classrooms, weapons etc then you will likely find it a change.

In my experience, there are more project type activities, so things like aeromodelling. Also more aircraft recce, sports and social activities. Also, for camps and activities off squadron, many will be made up of people from across the Wing (area) so you will get to know more people, rather than just those at your Sqn.

Edit - general life tips like don’t assume to know everything, be polite etc., all apply.

5

Don’t expect to automatically keep the same rank. Even ATC to ATC don’t always retain the same rank, sometimes down to the way the squadron deals with transfers and sometimes down to sizing and structure.

I know of one cadet who attends both CCF and ATC, which is also an option for you, who is Flight Sergeant at their CCF but a Cpl on their ATC sqn.

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