Well the announcement has. What about leaving till Friday’s messaging 
The annoucment just says it’s coming, doesn’t actually release the policy.
It will also be in the Friday messaging at some point.
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Hopefully it will make empire building hard and create a standardised national approach to FCI training
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Then why are we doing it?
Forgive my skepticism, & I await to see the syllabus but basic field craft (hand signals, cam & concealment, bivvies & patrols, how not to be seen etc) should be common across the three services.
I appreciate that Sqn level blue & bronze may only be ACF 1 star but we should follow at least the common multi-service basis.
I think my concern stem from the fact that if we were offered help with field craft by an ACF instructor the ATC would make them redo the instructor qual - equivalent to making a paramedic do blue first aid before letting them assist. This will be most noticed in the CCF where the cadets (& the staff!) of the different sections will be easily able to compare notes.
I’m sure a lot of work has gone in at HQ level to allow field craft to be delivered in the ATC & it is appreciated but if it not been designed with an inter-operability mindset I don’t think it will work.
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No, we do a small amount of their syllabus, that doesn’t mean that what we do isn’t from the same source material for lesson plans.
Our lessons are from the same PAM, we just don’t do all of them (barely getting out of chapter 1). Therefore our syllabus will not “follow” theirs.
Unless there’s been any drastic upheaval, I don’t expect that to change (so that’s what I expect to see from the new policy).
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Giminion has hit the nail on the head.
Our different DDH structure also means risk appetite is very different and we need to account for that in policy.
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Finally.
Now it means that cadets at 123 Sqn who complete a set level are going to be the same as those cadets at 456 Sqn…
For some sqns, fieldcraft is completing lessons 1-20-odd, with an exercise…for others, its putting cam cream on, and cooking a dinner on a stove.
Progression is key, and i now know if a cadet is at Blue level, they have completed X to Y on the syllabus…
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You’ve already mixed parts of Blue and Bronze there, Sir!
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I forgive you
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The policy, this year.
Considering it was rumoured for launch last year, I won’t be holding my breath.
More sensibly, I’d like to see basic lessons not need a pointless course to deliver locally.
Shelters, kit packing, cam cream: I shouldn’t need to give up a weekend to be able to deliver that on squadron.
Also, clear direction on who can conduct exercises. There’s confusion here at the moment about what one needs to have done to be able to act as ECO.
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Please please please
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Corrected!
The old policy is causing the confusion, new policy should clear that up.
The slow down has been getting the policy past command board, that’s now done.
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Thank you. Griminion is my dour, northern cousin.
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The ability to carry over instructor “quals” from previous regimes.
I love fieldcraft as a subject. I think it’s an amazing medium to deliver many desirable sort skills. But I’ve lost count of the different courses that I’ve had to attend in order to deliver it. All with roughly the same content.
I’m not sure I can be bothered to do another one, especially if there is a possibility of reduced VA for attendance.
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This.
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don’t make us do another course to deliver elements of it, especially if it’s super basic like putting on cam cream.
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get rid of the ridiculous TOPL requirements for using a local wood and 12 cadets.
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separate out the weapon element and allow us to do it without being an SAAI or having a WHT.
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- Isn’t in our control I’m afraid.
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@pEp has it by the vitals.
Tying fieldcraft to weapons handling has killed FC, it’s simply too difficult to deliver for no purpose - its effect has been the same as adding gliders to the F-35 maintenance program and then being surprised when they never left the ground.
Cadets are not being trained to go to to Catterick or Brecon - it doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be accessible, reasonably effective, and as has been mentioned, it’s a medium to teach and develop other skills and qualities, not an end in itself.
Will the new FC syllabus include battle exercises? When will CFAVs be able to go on MQual courses. Can MQual be delivered locally my SATTs? Will FC have same priority as blues activities? Some wings look down on those of us who like FC and shooting.