100% this!! By all means brief Rg & Wg FCOs - but reliance on the CoC to pass this stuff on has proven (consistently) unreliable. Do a Teams and a follow-up FAQ. Let’s have 1 version of Truth from the top - rather than multiple interpretations of the Truth…
It could also let those of us who’ve been messed around for 15 years - of being on/off FC registers and jumping through hoops - to decide whether or not it’s something we want to come back to.
There is an open FAQ on the fieldcraft portal people will see and questions from the briefs will be added on to that.
There are no plans for an open brief at the moment, I doubt that’s going to change for various reasons.
Has the organisation dropped the “how to guide” format?
I think the problem with that is whatever HQ decide is the ‘truth’ the Regions can play the DDH card to ‘enhance’ the truth.
Ain’t that the truth.
Policy reads to me like an FTI(R) can’t use DTE to deliver Blue, is that right?
Correct, the qualification is limited in its nature and there is nothing in the teachings to train them on the required admin or processes required to use DTE.
So, let me get this straight…
I can book my local DTE site for a Sqn camp, and run first aid training, leadership, sports, drill.
But I can’t teach basic Fieldcraft whilst I’m there. Not because I don’t know the subject, because the new regime allows me to teach it on the squadron. Just because of the location?
Yeah, that seems bizarre. I’ve led DofE training on DTE, and I’ve not had any training as such specifically for it being a DTE area? Other than the whole thing around it being a range and safety briefing about spent ammunition. But that’s the case for anything you run on DTE, not just Fieldcraft.
Yep basically.
We can always review it at a later date but the idea is Blue is taught on unit before the cadets even go to DTE.
Maybe when we see more details on how the CASP is adopted that is added in to blue as another module and DIO understand that.
We can get access to DTE?!?!?!?!!
Good idea in principle but in practise not viable.
The facilities at Sqn means that I have car parks & classrooms to teach fieldcraft. The local park is a five minute walk away but I don’t think that counts for use & if we were to use local school fields that would technically be a deployed exercise.
I imagine a lot of London/urban sqns will be in the same situation.
I think what has been done, whilst well meaning, has added a bureaucratic blocker that’s nots needed.
One of the issues with that is many Squadrons a) don’t have. Suitable training venues and b) would want to bolt this badge onto something else. I used to regularly run multi-activity camps on DTE and this is 100% something I would’ve looked to include on my programme.
Have you looked at the lessons?
Out of those the only one which may be challenging to teach is the basha. The rest could all be done with very minimal space and facilities.
Surely 3, 8C, 9, 11 and 18 would all need decent outside space?
Night training is designed as an indoor lesson.
Cooking does need to be outdoors (due to the carbon monoxide risk of cooking indoors) but the space required isn’t massive.
As an aside, are we meant to transition to the new list of lessons immediately, or if we’ve started a programme do we carry on?
Annex A to the IBN gives loads of transition details, and is pretty clear. TL;DR though is you can carry on as is until 31 Aug 2024. From 1 Sep, you must use the new policy.
Remember it’s only FTI(R)'s that are limited to Unit Extended Unit Footprint.
Get your FTI then you can run your Blue training wherever you like.
I’ve not had sight of the IBN yet, not been checking SharePoint last couple of days!
