Are radio headsets allowed on exercises and camps such as riat thanks in advance
I am sure it will depend very much upon the specifics of the event, the activities, whether there is an associated risk from the equipment, what radio kit is in use, the design of the headset and so on.
I know of nothing that prohibits them. I have seen cadets taking part in exercises with some sort of basic headset on them, varing from 1-ear earpieces on mobile radios to headsets on base stations. Cadets with access to PRR kit wear them, as will those flying in many sorts of light aircraft.
Ask the staff involved in the exercise.
RIAT has a dedicated radio team using equipment provided for the camp.
Unless you have been accepted for the radio communication team you are not permitted to use radios at the camp (or in fact anywhere near RAF Fairford).
If you are a selected for the radio team you will be provided with radios.
Ok i just used riat for example
a falsehood. if only because if it were the Radio team would only be able to talk to itself.
At RIAT, and any other large event, the radios are central kit and will be issued out.
to take RIAT as the example each flight is given a radio and the Flight Staff will identify a radio operator (a Cadet) - there are in excess of 100 radio Stations across the ATC networks. the NCS operators certainly do use headsets.
those on the ground (the flights) might have a “D-Ring” earpiece and certainly the Staff in the noiser environments get first dibs on the limited supply.
this is also true for the Fieldcraft exercises we run in the Wing.
it is Wing supplied Radios and these typically do not come with headsets at best a “D-ring”.
to be worthy of using a headset you’d have to be on the NCS team and only if the kit was available. if you wanted to attend with your own headset you’d need to have your own radio which was tuned to the correct frequencies - for RIAT this is not as straightforward as Uniform 1 or Victor 2 frequencies
There are pictures of Cadets wearing headsets in the Radio badge slides and instructors’ notes.
Can’t see any problem if you use common sense: don’t share in-the-ear type headsets, check kit before use, keep the volume down. We brief our Cadets on safe use of radio headsets in case they are provided with one on an activity or exercise.