With Remembrance Sunday imminently and weather looking like freezing rain I need some guidance on waterproofs.
Before anyone is obtuse, cadets will be in jumpers and if at all needed coats. If it gets too bad then they dont parade. Safety first.
Let’s hope it doesnt come to that.
So, I’m actually being selfish and asking for me.
Sqn Cdr, marching in the parade can I if it is raining…
Wear waterproof with Number 1s?
Or
If not, is it a massive no no to simply take the number 1 jacket off, put on blues jumper and wear water proof over the top.
Returning to number 1s for the church part.
Thoughts, solutions please.
I have no desire to get cold, soaked and ill.
Again just in case none read at the top. I will be looking after the cadets with jumpers and waterproofs first.
I may be a hard man, but… my cadets are only on parade for about 30 minutes max (that’s the guard of honour - the others only 20). Even if it’s raining (currently forecast here is good if cold) that isn’t a long time for them to be in the rain; they can change immediately after the parade. My wet weather plan for Remembrance Sunday is - we get wet. Of course, that includes the staff.
Personally I’ve never worn waterproofs on parade in 25 years.
My thought process is simply that it’s only a bit of rain for a couple of hours at most and I can dry off and warm up afterwards.
My rule of thumb for the cadets would be: If I’m ever contemplating wearing a waterproof myself then we shouldn’t be parading.
On our parade now the entire length of the march has been cut down from 1mile to about 300mts, which is a bit helpful when If it’s raining.
Although the original was much better!!
When the cadets turn we ensure their jackets are marked with their name and they march on wearing their jackets. A few moments before they march off they quickly pass the jackets back to CIs who
Put them into big IKEA shopping bags. As we are the last to march off we get the biggest applause from the crowd and as the cadets are not wearing the hated FWJs they are marching a lot better.
As soon as they stop and fall out the CIs are there with the jackets.
as some cadets have told me over the years they are a bit damp but they are still “buzzing” from the crowd so they don’t matter.
I’ve removed several posts on here that were trolling and against out AUP.
Please, if you want to engage in discussion and use this forum, go and read it and the start acting like a responsible adult not some teenage internet hardman.
Talking of uniformity, personally I hate the white belts over No2 uniform because they hardly ever look neat (and if you’ve not got a perfectly flat stomach it emphasises things - I would look horrendous in them), but if you’re going to do it then put everyone in them. [Faces blanked out by me - the wrong posting them on Facebook didn’t bit I don’t trust them on the whole permission for photos thing. Was also annoyed they put up a photo of them formed up ready to march off, with one cadet standing out for not having a belt AND being on his phone. Do we not have people at Wing to check the photos before posting them?]
About a mile, what on earth for?
Our one used to be around ¾ mile but has come down drastically to about 250 yds about 6/7 years ago, as it was effectively a march for the sake of a march, which in the cold / wet made for a miserable experience, coming and or going. I raised it at a branch meeting and the only reason we did the mile or so was because we always had, but the old boys had not been doing it for several years. Now it’s a couple of hundred yards those who feel able, do it now, but not when it’s raining.
