My thoughts.
We should all make New Year’s Resolutions to get off our a**es and take the time to write people up. It’s all well and good making comments on here about who gets what and why we don’t do as well as the other cadet organisations, but can we honestly say to ourselves ‘I made every effort to get x or y recognised for the work they do’? I don’t think I can.
Which is it lads?[/quote]
Sorry Prune, don’t get what you’re asking here? Both statements are correct! We were discussing earlier the merits of Civil vs Military lists and the comment that some organisations do very well in the Civil side.[/quote]
Sorry about that old bean, hazards of reading on your phone whilst someones driving a bit sharp. I’m with you now.
[quote=“cygnus maximus” post=14627]My thoughts.
We should all make New Year’s Resolutions to get off our a**es and take the time to write people up. It’s all well and good making comments on here about who gets what and why we don’t do as well as the other cadet organisations, but can we honestly say to ourselves ‘I made every effort to get x or y recognised for the work they do’? I don’t think I can.[/quote]
This is a good suggestion. Does anyone have the extract from the Honours guide which can be shared?
I hard-copied some example citations a few years ago when I was still in the Mob but I have just moved house and so I’m not sure where they are. I’ll try to find them and post them on here when I do.
It would be interesting to know how many are put forward, and why they get the knock back? Then when writing up you know the things to avoid. You can write all you want but unless you know the positive triggers, it’s flying blind.
I can’t imagine the chap who got it was the only one submitted and the fact that only one gets through suggests tokenism, as I can’t believe for one moment any others nominated aren’t equally worthy. I would suggest anyone with say 15-20 years continuous service in the CF would be worthy of the recognition, given what some are dished out for.
Does anyone know what the regulars who get them do to be deemed sufficiently worthy, is it for secondary duties/community work, or, effectively just doing their job?
Is it not called the Cadet Forces Medal?
Now thats a question and a half and it could take all year to answer that one! In summary, someone bothers to write them up and it could be for a plethora of reasons. Some you may and others you may not agree with.
[quote=“glass half empty 2” post=14633]It would be interesting to know how many are put forward, and why they get the knock back? Then when writing up you know the things to avoid. You can write all you want but unless you know the positive triggers, it’s flying blind.
I can’t imagine the chap who got it was the only one submitted and the fact that only one gets through suggests tokenism, as I can’t believe for one moment any others nominated aren’t equally worthy. I would suggest anyone with say 15-20 years continuous service in the CF would be worthy of the recognition, given what some are dished out for.
Does anyone know what the regulars who get them do to be deemed sufficiently worthy, is it for secondary duties/community work, or, effectively just doing their job?[/quote]
No-one will be able to answer that first statement as submissions are “Restricted - Honours” so it makes it impossible to learn. Examples of “potentially” worthy submissions created by those who see them most would be beneficial to the first applicant.
The CF are in a bit of a paradox, because all the feedback suggests they need to have gone beyond the average service input when compared to their colleagues. This is really more of a statement if this was in fact our main paid employment, but as we know in the main it isn’t the case. Often in the civil list the person getting the award has done something “in addition” or “extra support to the community” where all those in the CF are already doing that. Clearly not every person can pick up an award as we would need around 2-3 thousand a year (new, not initial issue), so we come back to the statement, “beyond the average service when compared to their colleages” to try and set people apart.
What to do, what to do?
In fact ACP3 itself opens by saying
[quote]OBJECT OF HONOURS AND AWARDS
ACP3 further explains
[quote]CITATION WRITING
a. A candidate must have distinguished himself among his fellows not only by long service, hard work or inspired leadership but also by proven achievements.
b. Simple honest expressions are more effective than resounding empty phrases. The originating officer is to clearly convey his reasons for the recommendation and his conviction that the honour is fully merited.
c. Length of Citation. Narrative citations are to be concise but adequate supporting and illustrative details should be included. Particular note should be taken of the maximum words permitted for each type of award.
[/quote]
It interesting finishes with
[quote]GENERAL NOTES ON CIVILIAN STATE AND NON-STATE AWARDS
Contenders for both civilian State and Non-State awards are in direct competition with civilians from all other walks of life unlike members of the Armed Forces who compete against each other within the Military Division of each list.
Individuals nominated for awards should be of irreproachable character and conduct and will be judged, primarily, on the quality and length of service. However, this should not preclude the consideration of a candidate who has produced an outstanding performance on a special project or in particularly arduous or hazardous conditions.
Sponsors should note that as it is rare for a first submission to be successful it is important that long serving candidates have sufficient remaining service to allow for at least 3 submissions before retirement. One-off valedictory submissions are rarely successful.
Finally, when considering recommendations for the award of the MBE it is important that those who formerly would have been eligible for the BEM are not overlooked. Therefore, when assessing an individual’s contribution it is necessary to measure it against the standard expected of the grade/appointment, rather than against a single standard applied to all grades/appointments eligible for the award of the MBE. With this in mind, sponsors are requested to ensure that all those from the old style BEM ranks who merit consideration, are put forward.
[/quote]
My underlining
[quote]The man behind the all-important shift of David Cameron’s parting from right to left has been awarded an MBE.
The prime minister faced fresh accusations of cronyism after it was revealed that his hairdresser, Lino Carbosiero, who was responsible for the change in style that saw the leader mocked in the Commons in 2010, appeared on the New Year Honours List last week.
The celebrity stylist – and former X Factor style director – was handed the prestigious honour for his “services to hairdressing”.
“I was shocked and panicked,” Carbosiero told the Evening Standard. “I didn’t expect the letter so I thought I hadn’t paid my tax.”
He has been Cameron’s hairdresser for three years, allegedly bagging the Downing Street job under the orders of Cameron’s wife Samantha.
Carbosiero charges £90 a time for a men’s haircut and £150 for a woman’s. He counts Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna, Lily Allen and Zara Phillips among his other high-profile clients.
His secret? He’s probably very good at cutting hair. Plus, his ability not to relay any sensitive information he hears from the chair goes some way to helping keep his diary overflowing with celebrity appointments, too.
“[The clients] have to trust you. I have been in situations where people have talked about things and I’ve not blinked an eyelid,” he says. “I don’t blab and I’m respected for it.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time a hairdresser has been honoured. The Queen gave her own stylist Ian Carmichael a royal nod in 2012, while the Duchess of Cornwall’s hairdresser Jo Hansford received an MBE in 2009.
But the news does come a week after a succession of senior Conservatives and supporters of the party were recognised in the New Year Honours list.
The roll call of awards for serving the nation included senior aides to the late Baroness Thatcher, long-serving MPs, Tory stalwarts in the Prime Minister’s Oxfordshire heartland, two Tory donors and a public relations chief who has holidayed with Mr Cameron.
It also featured the star of The Apprentice, Karren Brady, who is appointed CBE for services to entrepreneurship and encouraging women in business. She is being wooed by the Tories to become a MP in 2015 or to stand as Mayor of London the following year.
Labour MP John Mann said: “It’s inappropriate to use the honours system for political patronage. That’s what’s happening – everyone can see that. It is demeaning for David Cameron to use his position as Prime Minister like this.”
The row threatened to overshadow a shift in the distribution of the awards, which saw the number of women receiving a gong outnumber men for the first time in the modern era of the honours system, which began in 1917 with the advent of the OBE. Of the 1,195 people named in the list, 51 per cent are women, compared to 40 years ago when the figure was just 17 per cent. As recently as 2004, the number of women receiving honours stood at barely a third of the total.
Other surprises in the list included the Queen’s gynaecologist, who came out of retirement to deliver Prince George in July 2013. And DJ Pete Tong, who was given an MBE.[/quote]
…have now retired …and got it today 