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As a sqn Padre, he should have known! I was in No1s.

Padres in the RAFAC don’t have honorary ranks as far as I know, although I have never met one higher than Wg so perhaps some do.

you’d have a field day with the 15 academic post-nominal characters I can put after my name (but use none of them in RAFAC email signatures)

When the commission changed form RAF VR to CFAV commissions I know a few people who left. I hear a lot Of people talking about medals
And clasps.

I have heard that new officers at some point will not be getting No1 dress. For me I as an SNCO does a medal fuss me. Nope. Do I own No 1s nope. I don’t see the need to wear them. I’m not in the RAF. I get issued a shirt tie and jumper, if it rains I wear a gel tex. it bothers a lot of people that I don’t have a set of No 1s. I think a lot of people take it a bit to serious and see themselves as members of the RAF.

As for CIs. I was one for a few years. I decided to go into uniform because I wanted to. Nothing has changed from when I was a CI. Except it takes me
Longer to get ready.

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Which area are you in?

Not wishing to be pedantic (although it probably appears that I’m being so!) but the RAFVR was a separate Air Force of the Crown to the RAF. A space between ‘RAF’ and ‘VR’ would indicate to some that that it would be a Volunteer Reserve Branch of the RAF., which it isn’t.

Re: No.1 uniform, as you know there are occasions when officers have to wear it. I attended a presentation ceremony several years ago and went up to receive my certificate in No.2’s. Thereafter followed a rather loud debrief by the RC and I only made his apoplexy worse when I told him I’d given my No.1’s away (to another officer) as soon as I’d received them.

I still haven’t got another set.

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I hope that can wait until after I do OiC at the end of this year and get mine. I thought it was a bit odd that at initial kitting you get the gloves, but there you go.

Each to their own! I quite like how they look and was looking forward to owning a set.

I think it comes down to money. The review will highlight it more. I can see them doing away with Dark blue shirts. Maybe go the way of the navy and have those issues. Who knows.m we will wait and see.

Do you mean you think cadets will only ever wear 2A/2B?

I think that’s inevitable, unless the RAF goes to an RAF PCS for the Techs eventually 2C kit will die out.

I can’t see us moving to RAF PCS because of how much it would cost. I can see them doing away with dark blue shirts and cadets wearing wedgewood shirts as the norm, however last time this was asked as a question on BADER, RC North quickly responded and said there was no known issues with dark blue supply.

I don’t see us moving to RAF PCS due to cost, but likewise I can’t see them manufacturing dark blue shirts just for us.

One day they will run out and then I think we will go to either RAF PCS for everything or Wedgwood for everything.

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If we allow Cadets the shirt sleeved wedgwood so it can be worn without a tie, where is the issue? I never liked the working blue shirt anyway.

Out of interest, why not? Just as scaled for cadets, or in the RAF too?

but, RAFAC is larger than the RAF, and even in the RAF only a small subset get issued with working blues - I would guess the ACO has been the most numerous users of 2C for a long time

I don’t doubt it, but eventually someone will say “why are we spending al this money on a. Cadet specific uniform” probably when either a contract is due to expire or a manufacturer goes bust/loses its MOD approved status and they have to find another one.

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you could say the same thing about brassards, or Staff Cdt rank slides, or badges…

Maybe that will one day be the next ‘project’ make your own brassard/rank slide/badges :joy::joy:

Get rid of the brassard and badges…
Just a thought.
Instant admin and cost reduction. It’s all virtual on CP now anyway.
Plus brassards look gopping anyway.

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Why not just give the cadets the short sleeve light blue shirt like uniformed staff and ditch the no neckware no jumper rule, which is lunacy anyway. Et Voila. Problem solved, looks better too.

Edit to say it then works perfectly with @Paracetamol point :

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Dark blue shirts only came to Air Cadets in the late 70s/early 80s, I know I was there. This was the same time jumpers came in and non wooly trousers.
Before that we did everything in one colour shirt and one uniform BD, no fannying around like we do now. Get dirty or dusty, brush it down and crack on. We are far too prissy now.

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