I am a teacher and hoping to get involved with my local sqn. I was a cadet when I was younger and want to be able to give back/get involved. Sadly a medical condition prevented me from joining the RAF, but I’d love to get my av-geek fix via the ATC.
I am wondering if there are any other teachers on here who are CI/Uniformed staff? I would love to be a SNCO, however noticed some people mentioning that courses are usually in term time. Do you know if any Wings tend to run courses in school holidays for adults at all?
Welcome to the forum and hopefully to the RAFAC. I’m not a teacher but have been on a Sqn with a teacher as one of the uniformed staff and they had no problems with booking courses outside of term time.
Everyone I’ve met in the RAFAC is conscious of the pressures on teachers during term time and have always been happy to work round that.
Thank you for your response, that is great to hear!
I am fortunate to be at a school with extended holidays so hopefully can fit some camps in. Luckily I only have myself to worry about so wanting to get stuck in!
Side note question… how long on average do sqn’s like adults to be CI’s before going for a uniformed role? The drill, lessons, shooting aspect obviously appeals to me and were the things I loved doing when I was in cadets, but I want to be realistic in how quickly I could get to that point… I scored the highest in my wing history for the JNCO course and would say that I am very switched on from a leadership perspective - not that I am tooting my own horn
Teachers, yes, no issues as long as you can organise yourself / available time - most teachers / TAs seem to have that as a built-in “skill set” anyway.
Going into uniform- how long is a piece of string? Some sqns would welcome you with open arms but possibly with an expectation to become uniformed in the shortest time possible.
Pragmatically, I would suggest that you take your time; the “rosy tinted glasses” experiences that you had as a cadet may seem very different as a member of staff. In reality, there are not many activities that you cannot do as a CI (drill being an exemption of course), & there is no set hrs requirement for required attendance. Find your feet & see how things seem - it will be a while before some cses get back into full swing (shooting for example).
It will also be a while before you could actually attend / be productive - the staff application process is far too long-winded - so start this off sooner rather than later.
Great thank you, it’s good to know I don’t have to necessarily spend a year or 2 as a CI first. I’m heading to the sqn next Tuesday so hopefully can get the ball rolling asap!
I would echo what Mike said, go back as a CI first and find your feet. Will also give you time to find what uniformed route you think would be best rather than going in with SNCO set in your head. Whilst you may have been a fantastic Cadet NCO understanding the roles and differences may mean you would be more suited/get more from a commission
Paperwork process is slow and a number of steps to get through drag it out, I was a CI previously and left about 15 years ago, there was a lot more involved now.
Due to changes in form versions, changes to processes and covid I finally collected my uniform this week after 32 months from initial contact with the organisation. They will run through it all but don’t expect things to be as quick as you may be used to.
We have a number of teachers/staff from the eduacation sector at my unit and they don’t have a problem with courses outside of term time and most other staff I’ve met are respectful and aware so try not to take spaces on those courses.
I would love nothing more than being able to go for commission, but sadly my medical condition prevents me from doing so - hence not being able to join the RAF in the first place.
That is good to know, I’m thinking id the process is that long, then it may even be worth expressing that interest in uniform and getting the ball rolling, being a CI up until that point anyway.
Glad to hear other educators haven’t found issues, fingers crossed the same at my wing!
I’d further this to add that actually on all the courses they made very reasonable adaptations and concessions to accommodate medical conditions and disabilities throughout the process.
For example, on the hangar exercises for OASC they quickly made adaptations to a few of the more demanding exercises to make them achievable by a member of our group that had a medical issue.
I was very impressed at how professional and how well handled it was.
There was a commission change from VRT to CFC (Volunteer Reserve Training to Cadet Forces Commission) - but even under VRT I don’t believe the medical rules applied.
Your diabetes will not be a barrier to entry. There are plenty of staff with it and many more medical issues.
On the other hand, as an OC I do get a little nervous when someone turns up at my door and wants to jump straight into uniform.
Get your feet in the door, find your place and see where the organisation takes you. I’ve seen far far too many staff join, jump straight into uniform and then leave because that path wasn’t right for them.
I was involved in discussions about it about 5-6 years ago, but it was dropped again. Basically they wanted fewer fat people in uniform but not to discriminate on any other medical grounds. I see what they were trying to achieve but I don’t think it was achievable.
the problems of being torn between trying not / not allowed to discriminate vs some voices in our parent service trying to insist on standards I guess?
