I have made a similar offer, so worth enquiring.
It also displays a level of proactivity and maturity to be adjusting your commitments accordingly and working with the CoC to keep them informed.
Seeing this from one of my potential NCOs would leave me very confident that if they were unable to deliver on something, for whatever reason, they would proactively seek a workaround and not wait until it was too late.
@DontCallMeSir @JoeBloggs and everyone else
Thanks for your messages. It was originally about promotions as thatās the thread title but thatās not the reason Iām thinking of leaving . I think sadly unless when talking to the boss something drastically changes then I feel like the best option is to go.
Itās a tough one because I truly love being part of the cadet community and Iāll really miss all of the cadets themselves who have been nothing short of amazing, and Iām so grateful for the support and kindness theyāve all shown me.
The decision has been influenced by some challenges Iāve faced with how Iāve been made to feel like Iām not valued in the way I should be.
I it has been a really tough decision to make and Iāve been thinking about it 24/7 for days, and it is really sad for me but the only way to escape the negatives is by leaving.
I donāt quite know how long I will be around for but unless something drastically changes, it will most likely be in the next week or 2.
I donāt want anyone to think Iām being bitter and throwing my dolly out the pram because I didnāt get promoted , but rather because Iāve been made to feel like Iām below everyone else .
Just keep going, life is like this. Colleagues getting promoted at work even though you feel you deserve it etc. Its just how the world works. Itll happen one day just keep approaching it with enthusiasm and passion. Even though it might feel like its through gritted teeth.
Also, being promoted is over rated, milk the organisation for the friends, experience and opportunities.
I would suggest you ask for feedback though on what next steps/learnings need to take place in order for you to be in the hat next time around.
What @AlexCorbin says above.
Really good advice and definitely ask for feedback. It really isnāt all about promotion either.
One negative thing about the military is that we attach our sense of self worth to the rank on our shoulders and we take people who add immense value where they are and take them further and further from the job theyāre passionate about in the name of advancement.
I can tell you that the one aspect of my cadet career that really didnāt leave an impression (save for the fact it will have helped me unlock a couple of opportunities) was the rank I wore.
The friends, almost all the opportunities available to you, the quals etc ā rank is the bit no one will care about.
If you donāt ask, you will not know the reason, it shouldnāt be down to attendance alone however, although given one of your parade nights is a Friday, I imagine you are there most Fridayās and using the weekends for studying. Although I appreciate some of the comments above about making time for study leave etc there will be some āold timersā that might not be on the same page. Although I agree education should be a priority, especially if you have an early Wednesday morning exam in your case however a Tuesday night break can be good for focusing on something different if not. As realistically being honest, as I was there when I was a cadet, what extra learning are you going to gain between 18:30-21:30 on a Tuesday that couldnāt be factored into the weekend/other mid week nights or free periods at school.
I also feel that a lot of cadets and I always have this chat with my cadets, put too much pressure on being a Cdt NCO, yes there is some organisational tasks however there is no expectation to do these outside of the Sqn (CWO maybe slightly different), and if you were promoted to a CPL and given a task, any associated project work related to that would be done when you were at cadets. Remember it is a hobby not a job.
Although the organisation is fantastic way to develop, by leaving (your choice or not) as I would say to a cadet in my squadron, if you leave now what personal opportunities will you miss out on. Do not under any circumstances use the leaving cadets as a threat (for a better term) as there are many other cadets on the Squadron and it would be simply accepted as its a shame but ok. If you want to better yourself as an individual do not run, politely find time to speak with the OC and ask what you can do to become a CPL and also ask how close/why you didnāt get selected this time.
Itās amazing how many OCās donāt know the names of many cadets or see what they do as they do all their admin at the Sqn and nothing in their spare time (whatās that many might say) donāt be a keyboard warrior and be afraid to say to your OC in a polite way, I have done X,Y,Z however just wanting to know what I need to do to become a CPL. Your OC might say, these guys did a Wing NCO course or a Silver Leadership course or it might be as something as simple as that.
As an officer, I have always made time to be on 1st parade (as well as finals obviously), regardless if the OC is busy so cadets can see a staff member that cares, I observe a lot of drill, activities, presentations and projects to provide feedback to the OC (I dedicate an extra night for admin tasks as well as other evenings and weekends on top of the parade nights) it is a 7 day operation, we operate very tightly within our NCO limits, sometimes it does mean only 2 CPL spots are available, however when a SGT or F/SGT leaves for Uni or ages out or we are successful in pushing a F/SGT to CWO it allows the pyramid to be filled upwards. If you just leave you will never know/
Itās been many moons since I was a Cadet, but there were times where I was overlooked for promotion.
I kept at it and by the time my Cadet career was done, I out-ranked everyone.
I learned that you need only to run your own race and with time, good things come your way.
It was an important life lesson for me, I carried the same attitude forward into my Adult life and things turned out pretty well 