New CFAV

Hi all

I have been thinking about joining RAFAC as a volunteer for a few years and last spoke to RAFAC about joining in 2018. I arranged a visit to a Sqn via Facebook and met with a Sector Commander there. I was keen to get started but was told that, until the paperwork was completed, I wasn’t allowed to attend the Sqn. I was permitted to attend in order to complete the paperwork and was then told that I would not be able to visit the Sqn again until my DBS came through, which was likely to “take at least 3 months”.

On both nights we discussed roles within the organisation and the ‘differences’ between CI, NCO and Commissioned Officer. I have experience of managing up to 1000 volunteers and young people and so going into uniform seemed like the natural place for me, however, I was told that it would be 12-18 months before I was permitted to apply for NCO or Commissioned Officer (this despite being told by the OC Sqn and a Sgt that they were so short of uniformed staff and as a result the Sector Commander had to shut one Sqn and a second was on its knees).

During the months I had to sit at home, unable to get involved in Sqn activity and not even being able to complete online learning, I lost interest and frustratingly it appeared so did RAFAC as no-one has ever contacted me. My interest returned during the pandemic and I contacted RAFAC again but never received a reply. I assumed the pandemic was causing mayhem and so I have left it alone until the last couple of weeks when I re-visited the RAFAC website. I note that the website now states:

‘New volunteers can join as civilian instructors or non-commissioned officers and if they wish they can apply to become a commissioned officer and graduate from the RAF Air Cadets Training Academy at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire.’

With the above in mind, does that mean I can now join and go into uniform or can local ‘restrictions’ still apply?

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t about wearing a uniform (I wear one at work for the Emergency Services), it is about being in a position to utilise my existing skills for the benefit of the cadets. I know I would need to learn about RAFAC but I could still bring planning, leadership and management skills as well as my ability to teach cadets. From what the Sector Commander said, I won’t be able to lead or manage volunteers as a CI and whilst I know I wouldn’t be doing that straight away in uniform, at least i’d be on the path to doing so.

Any advice would be welcome.

Welcome!

Yes you can apply for direct entry into uniform. More common for Adult Sgts than for officers and more common for those with previous military experience but it can be done.

If your local Sqn is not helping try to track down your Wing OC, who might be able to prod people or steer you towards another unit.

We now have an online process called Join which is faster, so it might be worth starting a new app via that.

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I don’t think that’s necessarily true either.

I was the training officer on my squadron as a CI for several years and my OC was very much hands off so I did a lot of managing (maybe coordinating) other volunteers.

There is a benefit to starting off as a CI as it’ll give you a better idea of what the organisation is really like and allow you to identify areas of interest without the time commitment required of uniformed staff.

You would be as a CI too if you had an interest in that direction. I can’t speak for other Wings but mine runs pre-uniform courses for CIs that are interested to help prep them for the application process and so on.

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Your post should be sent up the chain of command as an example of how bad our organisation is at bringing new staff onboard. You have had a really poor experience there. Now that OCs send DBS’s direct it should take no more than 8 weeks if sent straight away. The BPSS should be straight forward given your job.

Thanks for sticking with us, I hope someone sees this and kicks everyone in to action.

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I can really sympathise with you, I first made contact in July 2018 and it was September last year my appointment was finally approved/confirmed. It was a bit of a bad time with forms changing version numbers in H2 2018 and early 2019 and at times seemed impossible to get all the ducks in a row but got there eventually and then the pandemic hit just as my SC was submitted.

Well done for still having the interest and good luck with the rest of your process which will hopefully be a lot smoother!

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I’m going to assume that the squadron you spoke to is your most local…

It also sounds like the OC is being unnecessarily obstructive…

My understanding is that you can’t be counted as a member of staff for staff / cadet ratios, nor can you be left alone with cadets - until you’ve completed AVIP and DBS checks…

Unfortunately, the unit OC was only following RAFAC Policy.
ACP20, our Personnel Regulations, states for direct entry SNCO’s:

PI301 Para 5. Unless the applicant is already on the squadron in an authorised and cleared capacity eg. civilian instructor, he is not to attend parade nights or perform any duty until in receipt of a BPSS and DBS/PVG clearance at which point an applicant may attend sqn parade nights only under close supervision pending formal appointment by HQ RAF Air Cadets (Personnel).

The need for “close supervision” after reciept of a DBS clearance seems unnecessary but hey, dem’s the rules.

Yeah, it was my closest Sqn and my next nearest was the Sqn that was being closed down. I did say I could be flexible about location when I spoke with the Sector Commander.

It makes perfect sense to me that I wouldn’t count for staff/cadet ratios and despite my day job, it still seems sensible to me that I wouldn’t be left alone with cadets. I guess for me, I was thinking that I could attend the Sqn and be supervised until the necessary checks were done so that I could get involved to some extent, even if it was to observe lessons, prep rooms before cadets turned up etc.

Hey ho, as @Ex-Everything said, maybe the CoC will be reading this and can consider how things happen for new volunteers in the future.

Fastest way in would be registered civ Com then…

Probationary period under supervision…

Registered CivCom requires all the same base-level checks as any CFAV role. It wouldn’t be a quicker way in.

*With the potential exception that with DBS checks for all CivCom now, and those being temporarily outsourced via the online system one might find that ones DBS comes through more rapidly. But one still has to wait for the BPSS.