If you were a new squadron commander, what sort of things would you expect to see in a handbook?
I appreciate that lots of you might give the advice of “don’t do it”, but I’m actually looking for helpful advice please. The aim is to have a guide for all new sqn commanders to have with them which they can refer to when they need to know things or want to prepare for taking over command.
Get your thinking caps on!
Some years ago, a wise old man by the name of Oz produced an excellent handbook for the newly appointed squadron commander. There were 100 pointers and, whilst I didn’t agree with all of them, most of them were pretty much spot on.
It makes a cracking starting point… I shall now try to find it…
Lush. This was in my mind, but I was thinking additionally and in terms of subjects too.
What do you wish you’d known before you took over that hindsight has taught you?
The best bit of advice I would give is get to know your unit and cadets before making wholesale changes, that said once you do know them make your changes wholesale. No half measures or you get captured by the system!
The most important thing is a good staff team.
If you don’t have one, don’t worry too much about the cadets as there’s always plenty of potential recruits out there. But decent, hardworking and knowledgeable staff (even better if they’re qualified) are worth their weight in gold. You can’t run a squadron by yourself.
Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt!
Staff Team First
As others have said, sort out a decent staff team and the rest of the Sqn will follow. Only really start recruiting hard once you get a decent team in place who know what they are doing.
Get rid of dead wood who are going to cause problems through inaction or being disruptive through TORs and associated monitoring.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
Don’t start from scratch on Orders, HS&E and all that stuff - someone will have already done it and will share electronic versions - pinch with pride.
Get Qualifications
So you can deliver activities yourself - particularly important if you are pretty much on your own initially. Don’t try and do all activities, focus on something and then blossom out from there.
CivComm
Meet with your Chair off-Sqn, take them for a pint and explain what your vision is. If you can get them on board straight away and make it clear what you need from the committee, it will save you no end of grief.
Use Technology
To help you make things more efficient.
Have a clear out
Chuck the junk away from the Sqn that hasn’t been used for months/years.
Get a skip and fill it.
Make your mark
Sort out noticeboards which useful, colourful and interesting content.
Ask the cadets
What they want - do a Cadet Council and get them to think about what they want out of their ATC experience.
Organise a camp
For the Sqn and the Sqn only - get them on an RAF station as a group to get them to bond as a group. Easy enough to achieve if you establish a working relationship with your friendly ACLO.
Meet supporting organisations
Go and talk to Headteachers, local authorities and anyone else who can help you. You will be amazed what people will do to help if you ask e.g. waste collections, recruiting, exposure, funding etc
Write funding applications
Or delegate it to get money for the stuff you need to achieve your objectives
Set objectives
Annually - top level, things you want to achieve that year.
Go in strong and relax when they prove they deserve it
Classic OIC/OSC mantra - go in hard and be disciplined and they will respect your strength. Ease back once you have established your regime.
Get Wing Staff to do something
Locally, to support you - get them to the unit regularly, make them ask you how you are doing, what your challenges are and what your plans for the future of the unit are. Have a laminated list of questions for them to ask you when they sit down in your office to do a howgozit.
Know Bader
If you don’t understand Bader, you will struggle.
Assign Adjutant, Training Officer and SNCO IC Drill Discip
And delegate as much as you can to leave you to get on with the bigger things.
Find a way to action track
Something like producteev.com will help you to stay on track for the miriad of stuff coming your way - I can’t cope without it and you can access it from anything with an internet connection.
Think thats about it for now…
Speak to the staff and find out they can realisitically do when taking their day jobs and other interests into account and what they want to do in the Corps.
Look at the accounts for the last 3 years and see what was raised and spent and set your own targets accordingly. The Committee volunteer to do this just like we do.
See if there are gaps in regular cadets’ activities in terms of involvement at Wing events.
Don’t do something as a ‘crowd pleaser’ or promise things that aren’t going to be easily done or repeated.
Realise what the expectations are on you. It’s one thing to be a sqn officer but another completely, being a Sqn Cdr.
Restrict looking at emails etc to at most every other day and don’t link Bader to your phone as you need down time, if not burn out is enevitable, even if you able to delegate.
Hi there,
File doesnt seem to be here? Link takesyou to a login page… Any Ideas?
Many thanks
A
It’s on the ACC Drive, under Guidance and Help.
Cheers
DJ
Many thanks. I found it shortly after posting… Still getting used to different layout as its been some time since using the site.