My Step Son has been a cadet since the start of 2022, however following his first DofE expedition his RAF Form 3822 has been through a hot wash and now is not legible.
He has spoken to his CO at his unit, who has advised that these are no longer being produced and he will just have to make do with what he has.
Can anyone confirm this is the case?
Due to him being on the autism spectrum this has caused him some distress as he feels like he has let himself and the core down.
Please could someone help out me out in making this right for a young man that just wants to do his best?
RAFAC are moving over to a phone app called âMyRAFACâ. This will have all the records and details that would have traditionally gone into the 3822.
This hasnt launched yet but isnt far away and some units do not have 3822 books or are unable to order them to be able to hand out.
As a cadet I must have gone through about 5 3822s either through washing them or by getting myself soaking wet on fieldcraft excersises etc and soaking them too, he has by no means let the corps down (if he had, I think Iâd have been âdishonourably dischargedâ by now lol)! The corps is currently in the process of taking the 3822 out of service and introducing an app which will effectively do the same thing and give cadets access to military establishments like RAF bases for activities, which is why 3822s are no longer issued. I hope this helps, and I hope the lad enjoyed his DofE exped!
Thank you all for your responses, they have been most helpful.
I will relay these messages to him.
Btw he enjoyed his DofE, he was made Team Leader which suited him as he was able to delegate tasks to those that had more experience in certain areas and show his skills
How many cadets are actually disappointed about this?
Weâve been hearing many voices saying (or typing) similar things⌠âThe cadets like their 3822 as a souvenirâ; âThey want something tangible they can holdâ, or similar sentiment.
Do they? Or are the staff making an assumption based upon our own previous attachment to those old books?
I never once accidentally put my 3822 through the wash. Nor did the majority of my colleagues.
Yet, as a staff member, Iâve lost count of the number of ruined 3822s Iâve had to replace over the past 20-odd years.
Iâm not actually convinced that the majority of cadets are as enamoured with them as we think. They certainly donât seem to be treated with the same care that we used to.
I think this is the case. The historian in me generally hates this move to electronic storage that then gets deleted rather than hard copy documents that can be found years later. I took great care of my 3822 and ROS book and still have them, but as you say these days cadets donât seem to have the same attachment to physical documents
Quite a few cadets on my squadron have said that they want to keep theirs as a souvenir, but the conversation was between cadet NCOs who do lots of activities and like to look back through them. Honestly I donât think newer cadets who will never have a 3822 will really care because theyâll have never known it any other way
I think the move to digital forms of identifications scare some people that donât understand the technology and with the rapid change in the ability to track mobile phones, you could identify someone that has this application installed and their location, which could lead to that person being compromised (like a cadet not wearing their uniforms in public as it makes them a target)
With regards to young people not treating their 3822 with the care and respect that you did, I think this might be a slightly bold statement to apply to all cadets who have one damaged, as certain scenarios are unavoidable - I wonât mention your comment to my autistic step son as he would be mortified that someone would think this of him (as it wasnât his fault it went in the wash)
Identification cards and electronic records of achievements would definitely be the way forward
