Hi all I’m a SNCO looking at going to apply for a commission- any hints and tips
Dont go to the dark side!
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First tip- be sure it’s what you want to do and it’s for the right reasons.
Why are you thinking of defecting?
When you say SNCO, how long for, rank attained, experience gained, quals, etc?
Replied to your PM. Sounds like you’ve plenty of good experience under your belt.
What sort of hints and tips are you looking for - Board, OASC, OIC, personal transition and managing relationships… ?
Alex obviously we don’t know each other so don’t take this personally as i recon you were joking…
When I transferred from SNCO to commission all the utterly useless and self absorbed SNCOs said that and the other comment was “obviously I couldn’t hack it as a SNCO do all the work” to me. It was saddening to hear such guff from people who had been found lacking in everyway yet they belittled everyone else with their silly comments.
I think that is one of the things that we need to seriously get rid of is the “NCOs do all the work mentality”.
Be open and honest with your cadet career when interviewed and make sure you have a really good reason for the move and understand the step up your making
Yeah i was joking…i contemplated it a couple of years ago! I think that mentallity you talk about is an RAF mentallity many try to emulate in the RAFAC which isnt necessairly true.
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I solved this mentality… I have no SNCOs…
Pushed out the WO & FS in my thrust for power…
One moved away for work and the other fell out of love and found a new hobby. Hoping to move some of my CIs to SNCO.
I could always transfer and rain on your parade 
You shall be known as Darth Corbin, Lord of the Drill Square…
Back to topic…
What can you do as an Officer you can’t as an SNCO, what can you can you do as an SNCO you can’t do as an Officer?
You’ll stop doing Drill, and take a step back on the Dress/Discipline sides. Depending on your Sqn set up you would need to look further forward looking at the next 6 months rather than 6 nights.
Being an officer, would put you in a better position to take over a squadron as OC if that’s what you want to do.
I transitioned from SNCO to Officer, mainly because I found myself in the position of OIC on two separate occasions and after the second with no replacement in sight I had put so much time and effort into making the Squadron a success that I did not want to loose it.
That being said, the route to officer took just over 18 months to complete with various interviews/OASC/CFC coming in and delaying it. Then the subsequent OIC & SCC it was effectively 2 years.
You do need to ask yourself:
Can you make the commitment (especially if you want to be OC)?
Will it make a great difference to what you are already doing?
If your you want my notes for OASC and the materials I used to get through it feel free to message me.
That certainly wasn’t in evidence during my time in the RAF, although I can only speak for the Regiment in my day. It’s often joked about, yes but I didn’t see any of it. Broadly speaking, it was:
Officers - manage
NCO’s - supervise
Airman - do
If RAFAC SNCO\WO’s complain that ‘they do all the work and officers don’t’ then they are truly misguided. That said, I’ve often been of the opinion that the divide between RAFAC Officers and NCO’s was largely of the NCO’s own making, perpetuated by the attitude at the top of their cadre.
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Which is caused by the delusion amongst some of them that they are grizzled RSM’s rather than Drill Manual obsessed loons?
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I have done it, a lot will depend on how long you have been a SNCO and where you got to in the CoC - It took a year for me just to get commission and then a further 5 months to get onto OIC which while the course was enjoyable having been in the system for 24 yrs + a lot of the course was stale for me personally. Do I regret it? No, but I do struggle with getting out of the WO mode at times - even on my OIC I was told I need to learn to be a bit more “warm & fluffy” said somewhat tongue in cheek as I knew all the ATF staff very well.
hope that helps?