Nightly Duties

Adult Staff The Staff Mess
1

I’m re-writing the duties for the duty cadet and Duty NCOs and I am looking for some more inspiration. The current re-write was prompted after the old system (which we’d had for years) was changed by one of the Sgt ATCs, and now he’s left we can’t find either the original or the new one.

We currently have the duty cadet making tea at break, the duty NCO (Cpls & Sgts) forming up the first and last parades, selling tuck and taking the paper register and the duty FS/CWO putting the register on bader. (They have very, very limited SMS accounts.) At the end of the night the duty cadet secures the building, the duty NCO then checks it, (and of course the staff check the doors it again on our way out.)

So… What do you do?

2

That’s pretty similar to ours, except our adjutant (me) updates SMS. Duty NCO is tasked with getting cadets to whichever classroom or area they need to be in before lessons or activities start. Also collection of consent forms etc is the task of duty NCO before first parade.

3

again pretty similar to the above except

JNCOs look after first parade (1 x flt commander, 1 x register)
SNCOs look after final parade

this is to give the JNCOs chance to take a parade and also to allow the SNCOs to prep classrooms as per instructors instructions (set up laptop and projector, pull out rucksac from stores with a sleeping bag, roll mat and trangia (IET lesson) or set up the flight sim (principles for flight) etc etc)

4

Not necessarily nightly duties as such but we use a Duty NCO log form each night.

(I can’t upload it)

5

similarly, we have a Duty NCO log for each parade night, but making tea isn’t on it - we are old enough (and some ugly enough!) to make our own.

6

Our duty NCO is responsible for:
[ul]
[li]* Unlocking the footpath gate and most rooms[/li]
[li]* Setting the heating and ventilation[/li]
[li]* Checking that staff have been offered drinks[/li]
[li]* Making sure that the classrooms and training areas have been prepared by stores staff before first parade or before the end of break (if the instructor has put in a ticket)[/li]
[li]* Maintaining the headcount and room plan on the board[/li]
[li]* Timekeeping, including training sessions, parades, breaks and canteen[/li]
[li]* Turning off electricals, heating, closing windows, locking rooms and locking the footpath gate[/li]
[/ul]
A copy of this checklist is completed every night, and signed by the duty NCO, then kept for a while in case there are any problems (usually windows being left open, which is why a staff member checks them visually before locking the compound)

7

[quote=“jacques” post=575]Our duty NCO is responsible for:
[ul]
[li]* Checking that staff have been offered drinks[/li]
[/ul]
[/quote]

This gets on my nerves. If you want a drink, bloody well make it - don’t get the cadets to do it. But then we do operate in one of the rare squadrons where hot drinks are hardly ever drunk in an evening.

8

Indeed. I think it will be one of the first things I change when I become OC (When hell freezes over!)

9

We have a rotor of flights (Alpha-Delta) which change every week - therefore 2 parade nights. We have a whiteboard in one of the rooms to record this.

Duty JNCO’s will do ‘BARDA’ and the SNCO’s do form ups for first/final parade. This is represented by wearing a sash.

The Duty Flight is first to receive break whereas they have to do Duty after final parade. This is when each cadet will check a room of the building and sort accordingly for things like, bins, windows open, lights off, carpet.

10

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11

Do what?

12

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Love this!

13

one assumes the Duty NCO is responsible for filling in the nightly register on the BADER SMS system?

14

[quote=“redowling” post=582][quote=“jacques” post=575]Our duty NCO is responsible for:
[ul]
[li]* Checking that staff have been offered drinks[/li]
[/ul]
[/quote]

This gets on my nerves. If you want a drink, bloody well make it - don’t get the cadets to do it. But then we do operate in one of the rare squadrons where hot drinks are hardly ever drunk in an evening.[/quote]

This has been done for years on our Squadron. It is tied in with the tuck shop the Cadets run as part of their volunteering section for DofE. It also helps the Cadets gain some confidence, as believe it or not, the majority of our new Cadets haven’t done anything like this at home before joining us.

15

I’m considering the BHT (Brew Handling Test) as frankly some of the brews I get from cadets (mainly SNCOs) are grim…

…Perhaps I should make my own!?

16

one assumes the Duty NCO is responsible for filling in the nightly register on the BADER SMS system?[/quote]

One assumes that they would have taught the cadets and staff who Douglas Bader was and thus avoiding any embarrassing misspellings later.

17

I tend to avoid cadets making tea/coffee… not because I don’t think its right… but because in the main they make bloody awful tea/coffee!

18

I was only too happy to make hot drinks for the staff when I was a cadet; I considered it courtesy, especially to any visiting staff/civilians.

Whether they actually tasted any good is another thing, I didn’t and still don’t drink tea so have no idea!

19

I sincerely hope and pray all you bullies who force children to make you brews are getting your mugs rimmed to an inch of their life.

20

For us the Duty cadets/NCOs do
Registers
Parade State board
Get cadets in the right place (both sessions)
Canteen including making drinks during break for staff etc, purely as there isn’t enough room in the ‘kitchen’ for cadets selling things and have staff faffing around with kettles.
Organise the clean up
Get squadron ready for final parade.

On the tea/coffee making debate, doesn’t this come under “training useful in service/civilian life”. They’ll get nowhere when they start work if they can’t make tea/coffee. New starter = tea boy/girl and go-for.