Ok, so just had another email from region stating we should co congratulate someone on being appointed into another regional volunteer role.
This is a duplication of a wing role.
Furthermore, what exactly is the point of having regional HQs?
What do they add?
In my view.
The 6 regional HQs can be closed. Save the running costs.
The staff redistributed to WHQs to work at the coal face.
Regional comps can be got rid of and instead each wing sends teams to compete once a year at a Corps competition.
34 wings so would be no bigger than a wing field/activity day.
TSAs can work from home and then travel around doing their stuff.
RCs not needed. Unsure what exactly they do now. If we need project managers, which is all they seem to be now, then move the jobs to HQAC.
The financial savings can be used to fund an extra admin e2 or e1 per WHQ to assist Sqns with the admin burden.
If anyone has a genuine reason for keeping the regional structure and the overheads I would love to know!
I have to be honest I’ve rarely seen much point in subject area RSOs. The only one I’ve ever had any interaction with in my Region is the DofE officer who ran some courses I’ve attended.
The RATTO in a neighbouring Region has also been super helpful running NGB courses and opening them up to everyone to attend.
There are certain things that I can see need a regional role (or there are clear benefits) to support and manage wing SMEs due to complexity and or frequency of those activities/their authorisation, but that’s not one of them.
to Echo @MRAR’s comments about subject matters…
I concentrate my efforts in Radio and Shooting.
neither of which (Regional appointments) make any influence in how I push the PTT or squeeze the trigger.
I am not sure what they do.
Regional Sports officer seems to put together half a dozen (football, netball, rugby, hockey, Swimming and X-Country…is that it?) events together in the year to then determine who goes forward for the National level competition.
does this require a whole CFAV to organise 6 events in the year??? does that fill a 12 hour/month expectation??
The others just seem to be posts for the sake of it, with RATTOs used to cover the rear end of WATTOs…
I am sure there is more to it, but for those of us (me) on the coal face I can’t see/don’t see what it is they are doing which is making my volunteer life easier, or the Cadet experience more fullfulling/enjoyable
What I truly believe is that by restoring power and training resources to wing level, rather than constantly bleeding it off to sustain a regional structure we could offer more opportunities to cadets.
I think we are kidding ourselves by thinking that a regional position trains x number of staff and so that helps xx cadets.
Now we have portal, all staff courses for example can be opened up across wing boundaries. So there is no need for regional sme to sit at region, they can be a watto or whatever and still be great.
Tbf my Wing’s Sports Officer seems to have manic levels of energy - he’s really pushed sports in the Wing, arranged events beyond standard inter-squadron stuff, pushed Sports Leaders courses for cadets (and secured grants to subsidise them), etc.
He’s also a squadron commander of a fairly large squadron.
So long as each sme at wing level is held to account, it would work.
Besides, all the regional staff would trickle back down and add to wing staff levels.
It’s amazing how many people in SW alone are tagged on to regional HQ.
HQAC will never get rid of regions while the RC is the DDH. Will HQAC become the DDH? Probably not. WexO not paid enough to be DDH. So where does that leave us.? RHQs will stay.
Next question if RHQs are going to stay do we need WHQ dotted around the country especially where most of the work is done on line?