Ahh well today I learnt.
I’ve seen 99% of ACF CFAVs in their No2s on parade in the 6 different locations I’ve been on parade
There has been a lot of issues with No 2 dress this year. About 2 weeks before the parade a message was put out saying that only officers and LL cadets would be allowed to wear it, causing much dismay and muttering amongst the NCOs and cadets. I have no idea why they are being so obstinate when it comes to No2 dress. In the end, we ended up with Officers or CFAV NCOs being able to wear it if doing something like laying a wreath and not marching with cadets, and cadets being able to wear it if carrying a banner or standard (not sure if that last bit was national?).
All ACF CFAVs are allowed to wear medals in MTP on Remembrance parades only. I totally forgot about my medal and it is still in the drawer, unmounted.
On the mix of dress note, there is precedence for certain members of a parade to be in a “higher” order of dress than the main body.
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Which is the way we do it, but certainly the ACF unit I paraded with the staff seemed to be of the opinion that the difference was more pronounced for them than for us. (Although the next detachment over were the same as us, wit staff in No2’s and Cadets in MTP).
Our local ACF haven’t paraded anyone in 2s for years - all MTP. Probably trying to blend in to the few sporadic hedges that line the route to hide their drill. They’ve had the same opportunity as us this year to practice, yet the standard was worlds apart (goes back to the attitude comment from another thread, I suspect).
Can’t recall accurately what they did when the cadets had OGs pre MTP though.
Local Rifles paraded in mixed - there were 2s and MTP mixed within and without the main formation. Looked really odd - they weren’t even grouped.
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Local sea cadets were in a mix of No1s & No4s. ACF all in MTP as were the CCF, who have apparently been told that no CFAV regardless of rank were to wear No 2s (they are also not being issued no 2s either)
However I can see in the future the ATC going the ACF route & having No1s as optional private purchase similar to less dress.
Interesting we seem to be the only cadet force that has the poppy on the right & not the left.
At the end of the day the main questions is does it look smart, do the members of the public think it looks smart? Is it compliant to the dress regulations as the majority of cadets & adult staff understand it (not just dress regs Nerds & rules lawyers).
If yes then crack on.
The main air cadet website has got a “tips for parades” & includes nonsense such as “making sure your buttons all the right way up”.
Whilst meaning well if this attitude is overly enforced due to the age of the young cadets it could lead to serious mental health issues & anxiety such as OCD. We need to walk a fine line between maintaining standards & remembering that the cadets are children who are still maturing.
but…Cadets don’t have buttons which have the “right way up” - except the 1% who are LL Cadets or in Band and permitted to wear No1s…
Not sure where your info on instructions given to the CCF(Army) came from but the CBN (Cadet Briefing Notice i.e. like our IBN) states
Wearing of uniform
The standard uniform for cadets and CFAVs is Combat Dress.
Cadets and CFAVs may wear No 2 Dress if in possession and authorised by their Commandant / Contingent Commander. Within a formed body of cadet personnel on parade there should not be a mix of orders of dress.
PS also confirms medals on MTP is allowed but only for Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day.
I get the in uniform.bit…
But in civvie also? What’s the point of that?
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Purely what the CCF officer & SSI told me direct so they may have misread it.
Always winds me up when anyone tries to regulate what you do off duty. That doesn’t just apply to RAFAC; employers sometimes try it on, too.
If it’s not illegal and doesn’t bring your employer/organisation into disrepute then they have no right to make rules about it.
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example - my school once disciplined a pupil for writing to the newspaper from his home address in the school holidays without permission. Absolutely outrageous, and were I then as senior as I am now, I’d have challenged it robustly on his behalf.
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Any actual examples of this.
I can find a 17 year old sea cadet. It’s rare but it does happen.
https://www.deeside.com/flintshire-sea-cadet-receives-bem-for-services-during-covid-19/
I know a recently ex cadet who got an MBE.
And this chap got a BEM for stuff he did while a cadet (though not for cadets stuff), but it wasn’t awarded until he’d joined the RAF.
My squadron had to resort to using Jeltex to cover up a multitude of sins. Our main problem is most of the existing cadets had outgrown their uniform during the lockdowns and despite placing an order ages ago to fix this, less than 1/3rd of it has yet been delivered. Nobody without a valid uniform wore a beret, and we restricted banner and wreath laying to those who did have a presentable uniform.
i.e. we had to adapt as best we can and ensure we were there to observe the remembrance as our priority.
Even I as an officer do not have serviceable No. 1 uniform (delivered completely wrong in size and has still not be resolved) so I went with the GPJ to match the rest of the squadron reasonably well. We also declined to do a march past, as we are currently 70% new cadets who were not ready to do this.
And we still received plenty of thanks from the public and organisations there. Which is the important thing. Did we appear in social media? Almost certainly - you can’t stop it. I’ve seen a couple of parents’ pictures and they are fine - you actually have to look closely to spot the odd pair of dark school trousers instead of issue ones.
On the day the main issue ended up being when the sun came out part way through the service and it was actually really too warm for Jeltex - but, as planned, the CIs/parents “on standby” managed to remove the couple of cadets who felt the heat before it became a faint.
Would I do this again? Yep. One of the things you are selected for as officer is to make decisions when options are limited. I did that, and it went fine.
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Thinking about this: I think the important thing here is:
- Maintain the highest possible standards for our own cadets. But possible means just that.
- Accept that others may have very good reasons why they can’t meet those standards. The organisation isn’t perfect and supply is always a challenge, let alone over the last 2 years.
- Assume others are doing their best
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AKA…
COMMON SENSE.
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But I accept… it isnt very common.