Thoughts?
My thoughts are [Censored], and if I were to expand on that, then it may cause the feelings police to clutch their pearls, so I will end by saying [Censored] [Censored] and hope that helps.
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Very strange - & alarming.
Whilst a Flt cdr at DIOT, if there were any awkward answers (or indeed, questions) during discussions or presentations, it was up to staff to facilitate the direction of the topic towards the appropriate conclusion. Even if this was uncomfortable to some at the time, it was a learning point for the (perhaps immature or uneducated officer cadet) - & always involved their peers.
âBloggs, why did you focus on that point?â
âSmiff, I noticed you rolled your eyes when Bloggs made his comment - what are your thoughts?
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My first thought is.. itâs the Mail, so a healthy pinch of salt is needed. It says he was âkicked off the officer-training course, pending an investigationâ and doesnât provide any more details.
I donât think simply confusing Islam and extreme Islamism is going to result in a suspension from IOT, so thereâs likely more to this, and the cadet is just being investigated not âkicked offâ.
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A man on the ground says this is exactly as reported 
âOn the groundâ meaning in the room when it happened and with access to the cadetâs records of any previous similar incidents? Thereâs too little in the report to draw any conclusions about the individual.
Chris Parry does make a valid point that Islam is completely different from extreme Islamism and the two shouldnât be equated.
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He also said, âHow are young people expected to develop critical thinking around these complex issues if they are shut down in this way?
âThis is the fault of a system that is training its young people but not allowing them to express themselves and develop their thoughts.â
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My thoughts are that if they have truly been benched from this single thing in isolation, very concerning.
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It was exceptionally unusual to can an officer cadet due one event - it would have been a âtop levelâ occurrence such as a flagrant breach of integrity.
Otherwise, it tended to be a build-up of circumstances, such as weak leadership or being a selfish team member. This would have to have been documented & debriefed.
My case work was always bomb proof. Iâd heard stories of flt cdrs writing one thing, but not âaccuratelyâ debriefing some cadets. So, I went to a local stationery store & had a stamp made up - âCertified I have read & understood.â
All my reports on cadets had this on - they read it, signed it, then we went through it. For top awards (nominee for the sword / best overseas student) to the bad (recourse sqn or cessation of trg), all 100% backed up!
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Itâs all good and well for a Retired officer from a different time to say these things, but the truth is the RAF have given themselves only 24 weeks to turn Civvies and into profesional officers, and we donât know anything about this OCdt, is he a fresh out of college 18 YO? Was he weeks away from graduating into the real Air Force?
Chris Parry also goes onto say
âIf this cadet had answered âthe far-Rightâ I doubt he would have been suspended.â
Which irks me, as the âFar Rightâ is one of the actual threats to this nations security with Russian sympathisers, and town smashing bigots. the propper equivelance would be the Conservative party.
If the OCdt made a mistake during the Q&A segment, and his presentation was on Islamic Extremism rather than the âdangers of Islamâ then thats a genuine mistake, but if this OCdt genuinly held the belief that Muslims are a danger to the UK then that calls for a prevent referal not a comission
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Sorry, who said this? Are you quoting a certain retired Navy officer? Parry? The one thatâs incredibly misogynistic, racists and antisemitic? If this is a quote from Parry be really careful who you quote for support. This guy was hard line enough to get kicked out of Reform UK for being such a horrible person.
Note that pretty much all articles are quoting Parry as some sort of fantastic source. Heâs really not. He hold some disgusting points of view that, as I say, weâre bad enough to get him removed from Reform.
We do not know what was actually said or done. We have one disgruntled guy whoâs said what has happened. But nothing to confirm it either way, or how extreme what was said was. Weâre all pretty good at bending the truth when something hasnât gone our way and we retell the stroy to others.
And letâs assume whatâs being reported is accurate:
You canât go around accusing whole religions of being a threat. Islamic extremism is a threat. So is far right extremism. And so is far left extremism. But that doesnât mean anyone can go and start making sweeping statements that a whole religion is a threat. Thatâs completely unexaptable. Or that anyone on a certain side of politics is a threat.
Theses kind of generalisations are whatâs tearing people apart. Itâs not healthy.
What was actually said has not been confirmed by anyone, so take that for what it is. I think whatâs quoted is bad enough, but the chap could have said anything.
And theyâve done a whole piece based around comments from the Ret Rear Admir, Parry. Using him as a point of knowledge.
This is the same chap who was a Reform UK candidate for mayor. But then told David Lammy he should âgo home to the Carribianâ. Lammy was born in London. Also referred to a group of Jews as Islamists on horseback. And actually got suspended from Reform UK. So, take his comments and feedback about the situation with a massive grain of salt.
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As someone who was brave (read: foolish) enough to try and do a presentation on IOT on the âdoctrineâ of al Qaeda in front of the then Dean, Joel Hayward (a subject matter expert!) I strongly believe thereâs a lot more to this story than the Daily Express cares to admit.
Dr Hayward was an absolute gent, incidentally, although hearing âyouâre a smart guy, reallyâ in a lilting Kiwi accent still sends shivers down my spine.
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There are people who hold the genuine belief that Islam itself is the threat to Western civilisation, due to factors including very aggressive proselytisation and treatment of non-believers, âpopulation replacementâ (including high levels of immigration to Western countries, higher reproduction rates than the settled population, âbringing their large families overâ, etc.), and beliefs that are incompatible with liberal democratic values (treatment of women, homosexuals, etc.)
However, if this was just a case of the Off Cdt expressing genuinely held beliefs, explaining them rationally, and responding appropriately to them being challenged, Iâm sure this wouldnât have resulted in suspension.
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I canât believe Iâm agreeing with you! (Caveat - second paragraph) 
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A genuinely held belief can still be such rampant bigotry or racism that it should exclude someone from serving in the Armed Forces. If those views are expressed or acted on RISE applies (and disciplinary procedures if needed).
But I do agree with your second paragraph about the Off Cdtâs suspension.
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Just edited my own response 
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Yes, theyâre usually called âReform candidatesâ and should be treated with the level of disdain reserved for shoes when youâve trodden in something nasty, and wonderment at how they manage to stand up and breathe and the same time when their solitary braincell is working overtime.
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Just because a belief is genuinely held doesnât mean I have to respect it in the slightest.
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Suspect (hope) there is more to this than the Mail story. Lots of my Army friends sent it to me gleefully.
I did contact one of my ex-cadets to check it wasnât him (though to be fair heâs well past IOT now, just finished EFT, but just to be sure!)
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There always is with the Mail, they saw another oportunity to bad mouth the RAF for being âtoo wokeâ again and took the word of an OCdt who has clear motive to lie and a retired Admiral
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