What is everyone’s understanding on what this role is and what it entails?
as in Sector WO?
much like a Sqn WO…to guide, mentor, lead, and manage the SNCOs in the Sector.
assist with personal development, deal with issues which arise, help answer questions and queries and correct faults
so we have Sector WO’s to ‘look after’ Sqn SNCO’s who can’t/won’t do their jobs properly, Wing WO’s to ‘look after’ Sector WO’s who can’t/won’t do their jobs properly, Regional WO’s to ‘look after’ WWO’s who can’t/won’t do their jobs properly, and a Corps WO, and half a dozen other WO’s who are more subject specialists, to look after the RWO’s who can’t/won’t do their jobs properly?
two points: firstly would it not just be easier to train, and have the existing CoC requiring, people to do their @#&$£*€ jobs properly? and secondly may i congratulate HQAC on the efficacy of their staff recruiting campaign which has produced such excellent results that the ACO can afford to take so many of, presumably, the ACO’s most experienced and competant WO’s out of the Sqadrons without negatively effecting the cadet experience.
[quote=“angus” post=24369]so we have Sector WO’s to ‘look after’ Sqn SNCO’s who can’t/won’t do their jobs properly,
yada yada yada[/quote]
You have specialists who offer assistance and guidance to squadrons who may need it for a variety of reasons. Some may lack the skills and experience, or have too few staff to cover all of the bases effectively. Others may simply be stuck in their ways. Is it that different from sharing RCOs? DofE Assessors? First Aid trainers?
What proportion of of squadrons across the ATC do you think has one or more ATC-authorised DIs on their strength?
Sector WO/SNCOs could also carry out pre-ATF standards checks on behalf of the WWO if new staff are unable to get to a centralised course in a reasonable timeframe, spreading the load and helping to develop new staff.
Better? Yes.
Easier? Probably not.
I suppose by this you mean a Corps-wide system of quality initial and refresher training with regular, centralised standards checks to counter skills fade and to update everybody on changes? Coupled with responsible staff at all levels who accept and follow the regulations and guidance issued by HQAC? That is probably beyond what can be achieved in this organisation.
If you are simply talking about a system where training is devolved down to wings who engage specialists to assist squadrons in an effort to maintain and police those same standards, then that is precisely what we are trying to do here.
WWO and RWO are established posts intended for dedicated personnel. Sector WO/SNCO is not and is likely to be a secondary duty for those so inclined. Fewer squadrons are being deprived than you suggest 
This also enhances the cadet experience: I am sure nobody wants to be the scruffy bag of crud who turns up to wing events to be scowled at by the better-trained or whose drill seems to have been invented by someone with no clue,
Indeed - I’ve never come across a sector WO (or SNCO) who has it as their only duty - they’re generally just the most senior/experienced SNCO/WO in the sector who can spare a bit of extra time to help out on sector duties.
this is the case with us.
it happens to be our WO who at most spends one night a month with another Sqn…
I think they are a waste of time, in our wing they were the only ones who applied for the role.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
I’ve got plenty of time for the Sector WOs in my Wing and think the Wing WO chose well.
My Sqn WO is also the sector WO. He has been a WO for +20 years and has a good working relationship with the Wing and Regional WO.
He visits other Sqns at the request of the Wing WO for various tasks/reasons. The usual is a bit of mentoring/development/check up of potential adult NCOs, occasionally he is involved in something more discipline related. I think he might attend the odd AFI if the Wing WO can’t make it too.
Maybe one or two nights a month he won’t be parading at the Sqn because he is on a visit but it is very much a secondary task.
^^^^we could be talking about the same man based on that post Pamela!
My opinion is that it is a sound idea poorly executed - as with so many things.
Like so many things it depends on how the allotted man/woman takes to and treats the role.
I’ve never seen our area SNCO, but then speaking to their sqn cdr their shift pattern means that they are only at the sqn one week in three. So it seems their sqn duties will always over-shadow any other duty which is as it should be.
Do we need them? IMO not really, they seem to be a role that has been invented with the semi-formalisation of area/sector format in Wings. I don’t understand why the subdivision of Wings was semi-formalised. I still work with the same staff from different squadrons that I always have, because we know each other and the skills etc we share work well. When we have area meetings no more than two squadrons have the same weekends free due to events and activities we are all committed to and have been as such the grand scheme of sector activities has never happened. Even at staff level it hasn’t worked. We still have the meetings to tick a box, but it’s a good excuse to have a chinese or curry and bloody good moan about the Wing/Corps which comes with a gathering of like-minded sqn cdrs.