Every London Underground Station has an AED, they not show up on the registers and I would expect ot to be very hot and miss if they were willing to let you use one for someone not on the Station.
Sorry for delay in reply - was on camp!
Really sorry we’re losing you - sounds like you’ve had a particularly bad combo of people all seeming a bit rigid/cautious/uncaring. Just having a discussion with my WingCo about exactly this mix of being uniformed+volunteer!
Sorry if this has already been said, but thanks for all you’ve done!
Always encouraged Cadets in direction of Nijmegen if it’s looked like their thing, and losing it was one of my first sorrows of lockdown. Hope you can still do it somehow!
Can see “mitigate delegate” becoming a mocked-up badge in various places 
Many thanks, I will indeed - but I would be the first to say it’s not the same as doing it as part of a team.
We had one of the most successful, popular & well regarded civvy teams - in addition to our Military Team.
Our set up was exceptional and was growing in popularity.
Because of a variety of personal circumstances affecting a number of thr staff on the team, combined with the rigid / blinkered mind set of those involved - and a lack of understanding… things are the way they are.
As you and all senior staff MUST be aware - getting adults involved as staff is of paramount importance - pretty sure RAFAC is meant to be in the midst of a staff recruitment drive.
Add to that - getting staff to volunteer for arduous physical activity, that requires a long term, regular commitment to provide the training to cadets - then, top it off with needing those staff to sacrifice at least a week of their annual leave (for those that actually GET annual leave) to participate at Nijmegen - not to mention the risk of picking up an injury that could impact their civvy lives…. Oh - and the cherry on the top… to be prepared to put together a training program of activities and coaching - and lead a team…
I had the tremendous privilege to walk, train and lead with some exceptional staff, whom I would consider very dear friends - and to whom I will remain fiercely loyal (hence not naming names, as it would cause them great embarrassment) - but loyalty is a byproduct of great leadership - hence why I felt so let down at the way I was treated - and why, when I explained I felt let down - and was ignored… I was left with no alternative.
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Firstly, I’m sorry (but not surprised) to see you leave. You are another committed CFAV leaving the organisation because of bureaucracy! Someone above you has decided to throw all toys out of their pram and, once again, it’s the hard worker that feels the brunt of those toys.
As a Paramedic, I wanted to weigh-in on some of this. I almost agree with the AED thing. It’s not been very well thought out and it needs much more backbone but an AED provision should be made where at all possible. I’ve dealt with 2 people under 25 in cardiac arrest - it doesn’t happen often but it happened twice in the space of 6 months… what does need to happen is that an AED needs to be made available to you. If it can’t be then you should be aware of where the nearest public access defib is and, if its within a sensible distance, consider who you may have cool-headed enough to go get it. I encourage all CFAVs and Cadets I work with to identify their local defib, wherever they are (Inc away from ATC duty) because not all Ambulance trusts have a list of every single defib, even if it is public access. What I would say is that high quality CPR has been clinically proven to be the most important part of the process so if an AED is too far away then log it and leave it. Everyone calm enough does 2 minutes of CPR each until help arrives and THAT is how you save a life.
As for the stretcher, unless that casualty is in danger in their location (falling objects, explosions etc) then they should not be moved. Moving them may endanger the mover but almost may cause legal issues in that, if they were to die, you’d be getting some stern Police grilling about why you moved them from the original locus.
The aerial hospital view thing is just laughable. I cannot comprehend why anyone would even think of that. What excuse did they give for needing that?
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Absolutely! Couldn’t agree more!
What’s more - I entirely agree with the suggestion that staff should be aware of where the nearest devices are - especially if there’s any chance that you are near a device.
I was actually advocating for the provision of AED units for certain activities, including Road Marching, where we COULD be in a scenario, where one could be needed, and we might be in a rural area…
But - what I was against, was the way that the policy was being rushed, without discussion or consultation with anyone involved - but moreover, not being prepared to listen when someone has identified a series of issues.
And - just as you said - the ONLY circumstances where a casualty might warrant being moved - is, as you say, there’s an immediate threat to life!
…”because it says so… there could be staff unfamiliar with the area, who might not recognise the building…!”
My response was - “until we can book self-drive helicopters via White Fleet - any approach to a hospital is going to be either by Ambulance / Air Ambulance in which case the crews REALLY ought to know what the hospital look like…! Any transport by our vehicles would be by road, in which case, I’ve yet to find a hospital that isn’t extremely well sign posted from all major junctions…
Failing that, Prat Nav / Google Maps or What 3 Words have been proven time and again in urban areas - which is where in pretty sure most hospitals are located…
Coming late to this thread and reading by what has been said above, Wouldn’t it be more cost effective and saved more lives to buy resussy Annie’s of every sqn and train all cadets in CPR and have regular refresher training rather than buying AEDs? Especially when AED only work on some heart conditions and early and effective CPR is proven to have very good outcomes.
As one who has an AT and RM I would be very reticent to have to carry an AED around with me. They are not an insignificant size or weight. Where would we stop, make cadets on DofE carry one just in case?
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The unfortunate thing we see constantly is that the people making the rules or having the ideas, are not the ones having to do. As a result practicality goes out the window.
As for CPR training fine, but how far does it go?
On the point of the road marching, if it’s your thing and the possibility to do it independently is there, do it and if cadets want to do it this way crack on, you can only see not having to worry about some cadet paperwork and CFAV seat warmers as a positive.
Road marching independently is worlds apart from the team aspect you get in cadets.
I wouldn’t want to do Nijmegen alone. I probably could, but I can’t imagine anything more dull.
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Having done it as an individual I was never alone but I know what you mean. Much less faff as an individual, you can march faster and none of those pesky cadets to worry about but I did miss the little darlings sometimes.
As one who has an AT and RM I would be very reticent to have to carry an AED around with me. They are not an insignificant size or weight. Where would we stop, make cadets on DofE carry one just in case?
Well- let’s put it another way…
For starters - during training. personally I think that there HAS to be a support vehicle - as opposed the idea proposed under the new EASP requirements to pre-identify Emergency Rendezvous Points - of places to head toward - instead the support vehicle should always trail the team, moving to a staging point from which in can then chase the team, from behind them, to guarantee that they don’t overshoot them. The only time the support vehicle would then “go ahead” would be to “meet” the team after going through a non - road section such as a canal towpath. The AED could easily be carried by the support vehicle, along with the “team first aid kit”.
- but, bare in mind that any males between 19 and 50 and going Military, is required to carry the 10kg deadweight… this can comprise the person’s bag etc, but could reasonably also include an AED…
Being pragmatic, there’s no need for each staff member to carry a “team” level first aid kit - so, weight savings could be achieved by the person carrying the AED, to only have to carry their own kit… let other staff carry the paperwork and first aid supplies etc…
As for D of E… This was outside of my involvement - but… I believe that there IS an expectation that an AED should be carried by the staff on support cover…
But you’ll also find that there are quite a few activities being earmarked for provision…
Well… funny you should mention it…
As per ACRoMaTI… there’s a civvy provider called the BDWF - British Dutch Walking Fellowship… they’re based in and around Swindon, but have members up and down the country - who in turn participate at Cosford, Waendel and Lyneham as well as other events.
I’ve made friends with a number of those involved at these events and plan to go independently with them…. What’s more - my darling wife… who is also quite happy with a bit of a walk, has said that she’s happily come along with me next year, provided the event is on…
(For those of you with partners who have expressed an interest in tagging along… this is sort of how the conversation went…
“Oh no - does that mean you’re not going next year? What a shame - you were really looking forward to it…!”
“Yes dear, I was”
“But I can do it independently, by myself, or our son might come and join me…”
“Well - if he doesn’t want to - I’ll come if you like?!”
“That would be great, I’d love that, I can show you what all the fuss is about…”
- son says he doesn’t want to (for a reason I’ll mention shortly…)
“Ok then hon - then that’s settled, I’ll walk with you… after all, it’s only 40k a day…”
“Erm - actually, because I won’t be in a team - before of my age it will be 50k…”
“50!!!”
Now oddly enough, there has t been much more said on the matter…
On a slightly more serious note - BDWF were heavily recommended in the ACROMATI - for any Wings wanting to go Civvy as opposed Military…. having seen their set up first hand - it is brilliant!
Out of interest, how heavy is an AED? Less than 10kg?
Anywhere from around 1.5kg to 4kg plus - but the average is around 2 - 2.5kg
Needless to say, a suitable amount of research needs to be put in to finding an “appropriate” device for your needs / budget
I was suggesting being a team outside the Air Cadets, ie a civilian team. If the problem is being created by one or more on the inside, going outside eliminates the problem and means you are able to do what you want to do.
At least that’ll count towards the 10kg of dead weight 
#silverlining