Officers are allowed to wear MTP backed rank slides but SNCOs have to wear blue rank slides with MTP. As a SNCO fieldcraft instructor can we not have MTP backed rank slides as they are less conspicious when out in the field. Justwondering on thoughts from other wings.
Same rank insignia for an officer, as in colours etc, on an MTP backed slide. Whereas SNCO ones use subdued colours - I.e. not same
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Officerâs MTP rank slides are normal blue braid on MTP. You could conceivably have âMTP backedâ slides⌠But theyâd be normal blue rank slides on MTP backing. Handy for making the things more durable, but theyâre not going to be any less conspicuous.
Subdued rank slides are a no-go.
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Officer here⌠The requirement for Officers to wear backed slides, comes from the small nature of the braid. Plt Off and Fg Off had to have backing, Flt Lt and above did not. This is probably a hangover from this time, and how they could get the new styling âRAF Air Cadetsâ on the rank slide.
I would be supportive of SNCOs wearing them IN THE FIELD, as you are teaching them about camouflage, with a massive blue aiming mark on your chest.
However, youâll get some that will continue to wear them around barracks/sqns. The idea of blue is to show we are part of the RAF Family, as the general public will see MTP/DPM and think âArmyâ
However, ultimatelyâŚitâs not my decision, itâs in the dress manual
This convo happens annually and the answer is always no it wont change
As said above, Officer rank insignia is already on blue backing as it is a light blue band on a dark blue backing.
In the past some over-zealous NCOs use to try to enforce that officers couldnât wear the back insignia. As a Plt off I did upset a few FSs when pointing them out as wrong & putting them back in the box.
The sub due rank backing for officers is what isnât permitted & as said above wonât change.
Interestingly also illustrated/discussed before.
https://forum.aircadetcentral.net/t/blue-rank-slides-unless-youre-an-air-cdre/7586?
Who do you want to be less conspicuous from?
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The enemy
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It is perfectly acceptable to remove rank slides during any demos.
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Since when were HQAC seen âin the fieldâ? 
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In that sense, never. But in the wider world of the RAF and military, you wouldnât want a blue rank slide on a green uniform, as the contrast is a bit noticeable.
So would be good to use in training exercises.
We are not in the RAF or the military (which are the same thingâŚ), we have no place for subdued rank slides.
And, more to the point, even when you are in the various parts of the military, when you are in basic training you do wear things that clearly identify you as trainees. So a blue rank slide for some is appropriate.
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I believe in some sections of cadet field craft (particularly blank firing) directing staff with patrols have to wear hi vis jackets for H&S reasons.
A little blue patch on a rank slide, particularly at night will not be noticeable.
Throw in the pink rucksacks & the multi-coloured bobble hats and the stealth bit of cadet fieldcraft become a bit of a token aspect.
However the best/most annoying bit when I was a cadet doing all the fieldcraft bits was the the contingent photographer who would often take a photo of us whilst in ambush positions waiting for the patrol to come past.
I donât know which was more blinding - the trip flares or the Canon EOS flash system.
Anyhoo - we digress.
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To be fair, the Ukrainians have been cutting around with blue tape attached to their arms whilst fighting the RussiansâŚ
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Isnât that one of the rules contained within Pam 21? The reason, IIRC, is to allow safety staff to be easily identified, should there be be a need to (accidents, incidents etc). I donât believe itâs a cadet thing.
No requirement under CTR for anyone to be wearing hi-viz but I am aware of some training areas where the ECO and safety staff have to have hi-viz.
I have seen on SENTA when live fire exercises are going on the DS, safety supervisors etc all wear hi vis for identification purposes.
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Honestly buddyâŚ.does this just boil down to wanting to look ally on the training area and nothing to do with functionality? If itâs such an issue for demos etc, just remove your rank slide, easy stuff.
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If people need to see your rank slide to know who is in chargeâŚ
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