RAFAC/CCF (RAF) Rank Abbreviation Glossary

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Uniformed Staff Ranks:

Adult Instructor Commissioned Officer Ranks: To be Saluted

Junior COs

  • O/Cdt - Officer Cadet :arrow_right: (Note: This rank only is not to be saluted.)

  • A/Plt Off - Acting Pilot Officer

  • Plt Off - Pilot Officer

  • Fg Off - Flying Officer

  • Flt Lt - Flight Lieutenant

Senior COs

  • Sqn Ldr - Squadron Leader

  • Wg Cdr - Wing Commander

  • Gp Capt - Group Captain

Air Officer’s (Rank only held by a current serving or retired RAF officer.)

  • Air Cdre - Air Commodore

Adult Instructor Non-Commissioned Officer Ranks: Not to be Saluted

Senior NCOs

Groundcrew

  • A/Sgt - Acting Sergeant

  • Sgt - Sergeant

  • FS - Flight Sergeant

  • WO - Warrant Officer (ATC only)

Aircrew

(Adult NCO instructors served in the RAF as Aircrew only, Distinguished by a Gold RAF Eagle between the chevrons or Gold crown, or the Royal Warrant with an RAF Gold Eagle surrounded by Silver laurel leaves.)

(1 * SEE THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE GLOSSARY. )

  • SAcr - Sergeant Aircrew

  • FSAcr - Flight Sergeant Aircrew

  • MAcr - Master Aircrew

Service Instructors:

  • Members that are serving in the RAF either as a Regular or Reserve. They will wear the uniform to their unit and ranks junior to NCO. They are to be addressed as “Staff”.

Cadet Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Ranks: Not to be Saluted

Junior NCOs

  • J Cdt - Junior Cadet

  • Cdt - Cadet

  • Cdt LCpl - Cadet Lance Corporal (CCF ONLY)

  • Cdt Cpl - Cadet Corporal

Senior NCOs

  • Cdt Sgt - Cadet Sergeant

  • Cdt FS - Cadet Flight Sergeant

  • CWO - Cadet Warrant Officer

Non-Uniformed Staff Not to be Saluted

  • CI - Civillian Instructor
  • Pardre/Chaplain

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aircrew pic
Master Aircrew, Flight Sergeant Aircrew, and Sergeant are referred to as normal ranks like Warrant Officer, Flight Sergeant, and Sergeant. But abbreviated to MAcr (as an example) to distinguish them from Aircrew and Groundcrew. In 2020, these ranks were granted use to be used in the RAFAC.

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Useful addition! :slight_smile:

Also thank you for getting FS right. It’s a pet-peeve when people write Flt Sgt or F/Sgt or similar.

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Wrong Wrong Wrong!!! I’ll deal with you later!!!

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TOP TIP
NEVER SALUTE AT A NCO!

Just for your safety.

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Correct me what I got wrong so I can edit it on here to make you happy.

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I think you mean Junior Officers, the same with the Senior, as you have already subtitled this section being for Commissioned Officers.

Acting Pilot Officer is actually APO.

Group Captain isn’t an Air Officer Rank, and there is a RAFAC one now as the Senior Volunteer Advisor.

Why is this ATC only, while the CCF don’t currently have volunteer NCOs they do have TEST SNCOs and Service Instructors in this rank.

This is just Sgt & FS, the Aircrew is obvious on the rank slide.

This isn’t a thing and MAcr is equivalent to WO

Do you mean non uniformed?

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Among some other edits,

Acting sergeants don’t exist. They are appointed as a full sergeant, the white tabs only signify they have not attended RAFAC Command & Leadership School — their probation is (at least) one year from appointment regardless.

If anything, all ranks after Fg Off up to and including Wg Cdr are actually acting ranks iaw AP1919A.

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So what about Acting Sgt would that be ASgt?

It is still classed as an Air Officer rank

It’s it is not official, it’s not going in, when it does I will change it. Service Instructors are named “Staff”.

Not many cadets know what an Sgt, WO Aircrew… rank looks like.

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That doesn’t chance the fact that a Sergeant Aircrew is still referred to as - just - “Sergeant”.

Also, minor pet peeve. But none of your apostrophes are correct. It’s not “NCO’s”, it’s just “NCOs”.

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Obviously, it is still refed as Sgt, but I stand to my ground, Not many cadets know what an Aircrew rank is or looks like.
Why? Because I painfully witnessed an FS salute at a WO “Aircrew” not knowing or seeing it Bless 'em.

Are you a full-time English teacher? :rofl:

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Why “stand to your ground” if it’s demonstrably wrong and you know it?

You’ve listed ranks and their abbreviations and then included things that are neither official ranks nor abbreviations, so if this is supposed to be a guide to help people, it’s not going to work.

I don’t have to be an English teacher to understand grammar.

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Nope group captain is specifically not an air rank. Uniform regs makes that clear and why they only have one set of scrambled egg.

Senior officers are group capt to Sqn Ldr.

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It is not a guide, it’s a glossary. Things change over time, but if you so wish you can edit it if you want.

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It’s ok to stand by your original intent, what you put up is laudable.

It’s just when it’s not right you have to tweak it.

APO / APltOff is one that’s bounced around & seems a cadetism (due to Petty Officer being PO) the former is the generally accepted term as the correct term which I disagree with but until I get evidence to illustrate otherwise I have to accept that APO is the term used.

It’s not a big drama, but just one of those cadet world quirks

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Where in the regs does it say, it seems that I don’t have an updated version.

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AP1358 RAF uniform regulations, not the C (cadet) version

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You need to put your phone on Charge. :joy:
But thanks. :smile:

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No need to be rude to someone who is trying to help you

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This rank does not exist in RAFAC or CCF.

It does exist in the UAS and RAF, however they are not commissioned and hence not saluted.

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Service Instructors can be of any rank in any of the three services (and in at least one example I know of, of a NATO armed force). If they are SAC equivalent or below then they will be addressed as ‘Staff’, however NCOs will be addressed by their rank. WOs and Commissioned Officers will be addressed as ‘Ma’am’ or ‘Sir’.

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