When giving the command “squad number” after the cadets number off, does the last one say the rank of the person taking parade? There’s been an ongoing debate at my sqn after some other NCOs got back from a camp saying that you aren’t meant to.
AP818 makes no mention of it, but ACP19 confirms that you do.
Highest rank of the person in the vicinity.
If you have a member of staff in the room who’s actively doing something else then ignore them but if they are instructing/supervising then their rank as appropriate.
Ignore ACP19 as it hasn’t existed for years! AP818 makes zero reference to it and so ultimately there is no right or wrong answer as it stands.
So my theory on it is, as long as whatever is said is done with confidence it doesn’t really have a major impact. I would tend to go with the rank of the NCO I/C - or if on competition, the rank of the chief judge normally.
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none, just the number and certainly not “last man”
Last man, shut the gate?
ATF teach that you call the rank (or “sir”) of the highest rank who happens to be hanging around in the vicinity, or at least they did when I was last there - they tend to be fickle. This seems like nonsense to me and appears to have no evidential basis.
Personally I recommend that the last person just calls their number and appends no suffix, but if they really must add something then it seems logical to add the rank/sir depending on the person who actually gave the command to number!
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I was at Cranwell for Summer Camp and the Officer Cadets were doing drill - they called ‘Last Man FS’…
its not the 818
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Halton teach number, last man, then highest rank on the parade…
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Seems odd not to respond to the person who gave the order. Like calling names on parade - ‘Yes, Corporal’ even if there’s a FS floating around.
But if everybody is individually responding, should it not be “1 corporal”, “2 corporal”, “3 corporal” etc. ?
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I was told that each person says their number and then the last man says the rank of the person giving the commands.
E.g. “…11,12,13 corporal!” I a corporal was taking the parade, even if there is a FS on parade
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Last man? Very sexist
We have been told we have to say “last officer” when numbering off at work now. Never heard it said outside training, even the females shout “last man”.
As for this I have always known the last person to shout the rank of the highest person on the parade square. So at a Drill Comp generally “15 Sir” it has however been 10 years since I stopped caring about minor things like drill.
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We know it is the last number because they have stopped counting (and you’ve seen the end person shouting it!)
There is really no need to anything other than the number.
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Officer Cadets… there’s your problem…
Very true.
Did you just assume my gender?
I prefer the pronoun attack helicopter.
Although. Man, Woman. woMAN.
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There’s your answer then. Follow 818 and for the love of God please throw ACP19 away.
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Whilst on parade I prefer to identify as non binary and will demand to be considered this way and further demand to not have binary people flaunting their preference around me
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Being on parade is ableist.
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