As relayed by my WC when we asked the same question;
“You stand down and close that night.”
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How does being in uniform make someone more liable? Especially as we are all civilians now!
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In the eyes of the organisation, or some such wording. They are the ones who manage the risk, they are the ones in the chain of command, they are the ones who are responsible for what happens on the unit.
Ergo, if one isn’t available to open the building and be responsible, the unit doesn’t open. (And there’s a second member of staff present - though this can be anybody, including CI and staff cadet)
Again, not my words, don’t shoot the messenger.
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Interesting development from the RC(N). My squadron will close on many occasions as i am the only uniformed member of staff.
I hope this is not part of a misguided push to try to get people to go into uniform.
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Forgot one part, edited in to add that the WC’s interpretation of the rule being suggested was that 2 members of staff must be present for the building to open. At least one would be uniformed to have the key, the other could be uniformed, CI or staff cadet.
Then lots of units won’t be opening on lots of occasions!! The bosses must be deluded if they think that there is a member of uniformed staff every time a unit is open!
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They either don’t know, or don’t care.
Or both.
Worth noting that in the same meeting that this was brought up, the WC in question said “CIs can’t be arsed”.
That he’s not a popular WC won’t surprise anyone…
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Has he considered a career in the senior leadership of 2FTS?
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It will do quite the opposite for myself, i am already leaning towards becoming a CI again and this may just give it the final nudge
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Sector officers are going to be on the road a lot then, but there are enough of them.
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This idea shows just how out of touch they are with what really goes on. Want to kill the organisation, crack with this crackpot idea.
I give keys to all staff and the CWC chairman and all will open up and the staff will run it.
Where does this BS around being in uniform being able to make you manage risk, come from? What a load of rubbish. So, CI one night and deemed lower than a snakes belly and only just about able to do things with severe and comprehensive instruction, and the next in uniform and able to do everything, how come?
Not being funny I know CIs I would trust more to look after cadets, better than some in uniform. You really do wish people at HQAC would stop and think before putting their misguided ramblings out there, as they invariably show they don’t have a scooby. Why is that just because someone has been an officer in the RAF, they can come into the ATC and think they know better than us?
There are nights I get in from work and had emails or texts from staff who can’t make it and I could stand down for the night. There are nights I really can’t face it after crap day, but I go. A local unit in the same predicament on the brink of closing, only helped after Wing put people in there. The problem is none of them live locally to the squadron.
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Giving excuses for mergers and disbandments in the future.
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So if a sqn had to stand down through no fault of the cadets, should we refund the parents if there is an ongoing case of no being able to parade regularly?
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Maybe try and draft the parents into help. It’s in their interest.
As a parent I would be demanding one in those circumstances.
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As a parent - and one who does the magical mystery tour of swimming/Brownies/Scouts of a Wednesday evening - I’d be more interested in consistency: if you don’t have the staff to do two nights take it down to one, I’d far rather have just Thursday nights as a solid than Monday and Thursdays as maybes, and it being 50/50 as to me finding out that they’ve been binned when I pull up to ditch the kids.
In my Sqn (still waiting for the ‘sod off’ email), if only uniforms could be key holders, and a uniform required to have a parade night, we’d be on for 5 nights a month. We simply don’t have uniformed staff who can be at the Sqn to open up 8 nights a month…
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Looking at some register stats.
This would pretty much finish 25 to 30 percent of all squadrons in my wing alone.
Based on the fact that this percentage of Sqns do not have a uniform presence on 3 out of 8 parade nights per month.
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That’d wreck a few empires. If it meant losing that many squadrons; lose Wings and Regions.
HQAC had better stop meddling and actually do something to support squadrons, or they will start hoping Tesco and B&Q need people. Lose operating sites and head offices soon become white elephants. As a board member said to a group of us 25 years ago, we need to keep you lot going, or we’re out of a job.
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Just caught up with this. My gast is totally flabbered. If CI cant hold keys then my will have cadets sat outside when the two uniformed staff are on courses, stuck in work or jusy late.
The say that an unpaid sgt is more liable that an unpaid CI is just preposterous.
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