MyRAFAC - Cadet mobile app for iOS and Android

AFAIK, that is not correct. It will have some similar functionality as cadet portal, but it isn’t just ‘a browser that can only access cadet portal’. It of course pulls data from the same place, but it can do things that cadet portal can’t, and it also can’t do some things that cadet portal can. For example the app will have a digital ID, and will properly show currencies (first aid, WHTs etc) whilst offline. Something that cadet portal can’t do. But it wont have access to the events. You will be able to see past training logs, but won’t be able to see future events, or what events you are signed up to do.

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How valid will the ID be though, as I doubt it would be foolproof or be as valid as a passport or driving license.

Well the RAF are planning to have the same as a replacement for the MOD90 so it will have to be.

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How will that work in the field?

Currently any digital ID system is not as valid as a passport. Not in the UK anyway. The government over the last couple of years has been looking into how this can be done. Systems like MyRAFAC seem like the way this is going. As Daws has said, this isn’t just going to be for us. Think of us as the guinea pigs for a much wider MOD project looking into the use of digital IDs. No, it won’t act like a passport. But it will allow unescorted access to military establishments in the same way that a MOD 90 currently does. (ie you still need to have a reason to be there!)

Although I have mixed feelings on the idea of having both cadet portal, and the MyRAFAC app, I really see this ID system as a good idea. Currently cadets don’t have a proper ID. People seem to think that a 3822 is, but it really isn’t. It has a photo stuck in the front with a glue stick and details all filled in by hand. This will be a proper ID, compared to that at least.

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How will it work when your phone is dead! LOL

I can see Guardrooms having a wide range of chargers in them!

If you really want to be in the organisation then you’ll make sure you buy a phone with long battery life and a couple of portable power banks. Just as squadrons will make sure that they have sufficient laptops and a good enough internet connection for all their cadets to be on at once.

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I was thinking more of in tactical or secure situations where phones are not permitted due to SIGINT & other security concerns.

What will the ID be for those occasions where you can’t carry electronic devices.

The only thing I can think of as I type this is some sort of sub dermal microchip like we do with cats & dogs that can then be read with a scanner.

IET - Personal Chips get under your skin

Think we may be a few years away though not to mention the ethics of microchipping children.

Dog tags.

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Don’t worry - we’ll still find them - just like we did with all those Strava hotspot maps in the middle of deserts? :wink:

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I think the developers have taken the tagline from Cadet Portal. It will have more features added to it as time goes on but you are correct Cadet Portal isn’t going anywhere.

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That is incorrect. This is a native app with specific features developed in app designed to support alongside Cadet Portal.

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What about all those disadvantaged cadets who don’t have a smart phone and can’t afford one. Will they still keep their paper 3822A? Because I thought the cadet portal team said they were never going to make an app for that very reason?

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Oops! That should have been “native”… updated now!

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The cadet portal team haven’t developed the app, it has been developed by the RAF Appivate team. The primary reason for not developing an app originally was a lack of resource to do so. Our most requested feature from cadets has been an app. The organisation is aware that there is a percentage of cadets that don’t have access to devices, we’ve been collecting data on this as part of the beta and user research sessions to see how this aligns to national statistics provided by Ofcom. Keeping the paper 3822 isn’t the solution though as the records within it can’t be audited and it isn’t an accredited form of ID.

Discussed at length mutiple times in many places - this isn’t an overlooked or neglected scenario. Here’s a mention from earlier in this thread:

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My cadet career lasted 7 years, in which time I visited an active RAF station weekly.

I can count on one hand the number of times I was asked for ID.

Point being, do cadets really need an ID at all…?

How many times were you asked for haribo though? :wink:

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I can count on no hands how many times I was IDed anywhere in cadets. As it’s easier to make yourself look older, compared to making yourself look like 15 to try to pass for a cadet. And a cadet is going to be taken into a RAF base by a member of adult staff who does have an ID, so you’d hope the staff know who their cadets are and not letting anyone in the car/couch.