The Beginning of the End - The Capitulation of SW Region

[AMW]

Sir, respectfully one of the reasons these tensions are flared anonymously is because of the issues staff face when they do go directly to seniors. We’re no longer VR(T), but treated as though we are and still have a serious military “chain of command”, rather than a volunteer management structure.

Also, if I may, I’m aware and acknowledge that your role comes with the need to make difficult, often unpopular decisions. In that way it is analogous to many SCS roles across government (I believe 2* is loosely equal to SCS2) who have to make such decisions… I do not envy your position in this regard.

I just hope you have equally weighted and considered the risk of us not doing these things. I won’t go into detail here as I think other staff have made their views clear on this, as have plenty of cadets, staff and community partners hitting up my inbox recently.

I fully support you in taking the decisions you will need to, and managing perm staff as best you deem fit, I just ask it is done with courtesy to volunteers - and with appropriate warning when events are removed and/or cancelled. Failure to give us this warning can wreck community relationships and really annoy CFAV - as I think these recent incidents have shown.

[JoeBloggs]

@Cab

Safety of our children has to come first

We all agree with that. 100% of the time.

The annoyance comes when we as CFAV are doing everything in our power to make sure that is the case, and then get no top end support for that. This pause seems to have happened because of a lack of assurance, but we see no assurance coming from the civil service. Certainly not at the wing/region level.

If I am going to run a ‘risky’ activity, like a multi-day paddling event, I’ll discuss it with my WATTO, a CFAV, then we might discuss that with the RATTO, another CFAV. It can safely be approved and assured at that level. The only other person who might get involved would be the TSA, who as far as I know, is FTRS, not civil service.

So it really begs the question what assurance is being given by the civil service element of the organisation, and why, when they threaten to strike, (as it sounds like has been the case) do we have to pause 1 6th of our organisation and blame it on potential lack of assurance.

If there is a major safeguarding incident, this now goes direct to the HQ safeguarding team. So that shouldn’t add any workload. The only real workload I see is all the claims/froms etc that are required to run a large number of off squadron activities. But SW region already had an effective ban on that already.

This pause really doesn’t make sense. If all regions were on the edge of failure and one needed to be paused that would make sense. But why can’t this workload be shared out amongst other CS staff across the org?

You say we can ask you questions directly, but that just isn’t the case. We seem to get in trouble of questioning anything just by going even 1 step above the chain. Frankly the only senior member of staff who will actually listen to direct questions is RC North, Gp Capt Leeming who is a credit to the org. But bar him, this idea of ‘email me if you have problems, don’t do it anonymously’ doesn’t work.

[WhiskeyNovember]

@Cab

There’s no shambles here, by the way

Quite correct actually.

It’s an omnishambles caused by the wrong people for the jobs holding all the cards.

[papa_november]

Sitting on both sides of the RAFAC/CS fence, I fully appreciate the pressures placed upon CS across the board and how resourse and headcount controls are somewhat screwing the best intentioned pers as others find that they can no longer take the pressures. I think that there is a contingent in here that are all to ready to metaphorically bash anyone who sits in the CS regardless of the background situation or role.

The more that I hear snippets of the background of the stop/pause in SWR, the more that I sympathise. However, could it have been handled better, quite probably with hindsight (and possibly with foresight); however it was handled, and what ever the reason, I think that the pers making the call would have been in the wrong.

[DofE4all]

There is a shambles, maybe the decisions made have been correct but we don’t know because nothing is ever communicated to CFAVS. If we raise questions through the chain of command then we get non-answers that would make a politician blush. If we take things higher up the chain we get threatened with being kicked out. I’ve lost good staff because of this so don’t want to email you directly.

Maybe it’s not your fault that communications from HQRAFAC are terrible, but you say it’s ultimately your signature.

You also need to remember that we’re not military personnel and that’s a choice made by MOD and senior officers when you removed the commissions. You can’t tell us that we’re civilians but then expect volunteers to accept orders without question, especially when they appear irrational/kneejerk in the absence of any credible explanation.

Managing civilian volunteers is a different skill to managing military personnel or civilian employees and somewhere towards the top of the RAFAC chain that skill is missing. I can’t say if that’s you, CRAFAC or a layer below him but it needs sorting before I lose more staff.

[Piper]

@Cab

Please don’t take snippets from what I wrote in order to advance a misplaced argument.

The snippet of what you wrote was that we are not in shambles.

Clearly, the whole of SW is in complete shambles. It has a lack of permanent staff to run a normal service. And is having strict shackles placed around it during a prime training period.

The organisation as a whole is binning off key courses due to cost, is restricting activity expense through a CACE process which serves to stifle headline activity, and places more unreasonable expectation on its volunteers who are overworked and regularly complain that this is no longer a hobby to serve the youth; but a relentless second job done despite the organisation for the sake of our young people.

Get yourself down to a few local squadrons, speak to the OCs, the cadets and the parents. Realise the complete shambles we are in, then do something to fix it.

A few words on a forum aren’t going to placate a tired, angry, and totally fed up grass roots volunteer.

Do it or go extinct. In my wing we have staff leaving in droves an no-one to replace them. You might be alright but any one after just might not have a job left.

What a legacy that would be.

[WhiskeyNovember]

@Cab

There’s no shambles here

And there are no tanks in Baghdad.

[Rusty]

@Cab

Write to me directly and without anonymity and I will answer any questions you wish.

Sir I hope you can respect why many members of this Forum take advantage of the anonymity granted to us, as it sure many will have an experience of being handed down a bollocking for following the wrong meme page, or liking the wrong post. I for one had one handed down to me for Disagreeing with a member of HQ staff on Facebook.

our CoC, is not fond of criticism and feedback from below in a private manner, and punitive of it in the public domain, leaving this Forum as a place to share information and opinions.

However, it goes without saying that you would have garnered the admiration of many Staff and Cadets for actually choosing to discuss with us, rather than hide behind the media team like our current CAC

[kitkat]

Sir (assuming its actually you) - I see the main issues with this stop is;

1. Events already approved being pulled. That shows a distinct lack of trust for those approvers at Sqn (Self approval), Wing and Region. If the approvals were good to go, why are they now not? I could understand new approvals at Wing or Region which “should” be 6 weeks anyway.

2. Lack of clear management - at a ground level we are often the last to hear - days if not weeks after HQAC have sent out the information - a good example is the Vehicle Marshalling, there was a gap of 5 days for SW region to have that information at Sqn level, hence why there was a large amount of anger around it. On the marshalling, its a very broad NO - rather than specifics… for example many Families Days ask cadets to be at the side of the on station roads in Hi-Viz pointing where cars need to go and then the car parking part is covered by the RAFP (as it should be), but now its blanket no… I see (many years of supporting families days) the risk/mitigated risk and consequently residual risk as minimal, the cadets are not stood in front of cars, they are not controlling cars, they are not on the public roads… they are simply pointing cars to follow the road to the car park…

3. Stop notices are great when balanced and appropriate - Cold weather (snow) stop as in the past should be an easy call for the volunteers to make, BUT history says some won’t, but for the overseas in Gib and Cyprus to be told STOP for the same reasons seems somewhat out of proportion (yes I know is snows in Cyprus in Trodos etc).

Hope that helps from the ground pov?

[Cab]

…it really is me!

We’ll never ever do enough communication but bear with us, there is a lot going on.

At a macro level, I am doing all I can to balance task against resource. My motivation for doing so is to look after those who work for 22 Group where we all have the right to enjoy what we do and not, as some people describe it, ‘continue to thrash ourselves’. By doing so, we play the long game and ensure our organisations have longevity because people feel valued and are doing the right amount of work.

Where there is an imbalance, we must reduce the task. This is why the Cmdt is reviewing the breadth of activities being undertaken as a Corps, at wing level and at sqn level.

When there is a concern that a lack of resource could affect safety, I must take action especially when it involves the safety of children. I hate having to reduce activities but sometimes I have to make the difficult decisions and have the courage to do so no matter how unpopular. Safety of children is a no fail mission. If a short pause is required to ensure and assure safe practices then so be it. Hard but the right call. And there is no risk aversion here just a lot of hard working people of all ranks and backgrounds, mil and civ, trying to do the right thing in challenging circumstances.

Meanwhile, we have added two new VGSs, opened more activity centres, supported RIAT with almost 700 Cadets in epically good new tents, have distributed huge amounts of new synthetic trg capability and will see the first Air Cadet Pilot Scholars take to the sky shortly…and that will include a solo (to be clear for those who like to play with words…that will be a cadet in a Tutor by themselves).

Not perfect but 100% people trying to do their best.

[JoeBloggs]

@Cab

and that will include a solo (to be clear for those who like to play with words…that will be a cadet in a Tutor by themselves).

This is awesome to hear confirmed!

[Priestp]

That’s a good update and thanks. But what none of us can understand and no solid explanation has been given is why cancel already approved, fully staffed Wing and Squadron events? What has a shortfall of staff at Region got to do with a Bronze DofE exped at Squadron level from a safety perspective?

[mprentice1]

@Cab

first Air Cadet Pilot Scholars take to the sky shortly…and that will include a solo (to be clear for those who like to play with words…that will be a cadet in a Tutor by themselves).

People have been interpreting words because there’s been no internal announcement of the new ACPS, nor the new Space BTEC or anything.

[JoeBloggs]

The space BTEC was mentioned in the weekly brief, but yeah, nothing on ACPS other than the interview video on Facebook!

[Eeh_Bah_Gum]

@Cab Thank you for being open and honest. More two way discussion than we’ve had for a long time

My concern lies with the comments made by @Priestp on fully staffed and approved Wing and squadron activities. Why are SW Region getting involved and stopping these events and similarly, what is a Region’s input into activities that ACTO 10 states can be approved at a lower level? BTW I’m not in SW Region, but worried that this approach will become the norm across the organisation.

The way I see it, which could be wrong, it that a Region approves activities where the risk to life is deemed to be higher, using their SMEs to review, and question the activity where required, any applications that hit a threshold. But has SW Region set a lower threshold to other Regions.

Wing and Region SMEs are usually CFAVs, why has SW Region gone out to stop their volunteers from doing their work. I totally understand the whole PS thing, reduced resources, CS recruitment ‘pause’ and all that.

[Virgil]

@Cab

We’ll never ever do enough communication but bear with us, there is a lot going on.

Sir if I may, your CFAV cadre have vast untapped high level professional skills in comms, change management, project management, volunteer management, leadership, marketing, risk etc.

Until now any request for those skills has come in the form of defined new primary roles that take CFAV’s away from delivering the Cadet Experience at the Sqn/Section level. This is a blocker for many pers as they won’t have joined the Org to volunteer those skills on a full, volunteer-time basis.

If however, HQRAFAC were to create a CFAV talent pool and ask for those skills to be given to them on a project-by-project basis they might find many of their problems solved.

A not insignificant part of the low CFAV morale is born out of professionals seeing things that fall into their professional realm being done poorly and frustration at not being able to do something about it.

We are CFAV’s, but before that we are a diverse group of professionals. Help us to help you.

[POAG]

Been a lurker, now joining in.

I packed up and left last year. I was a cadet, then UAS, then RAF regular, then - after a few years away from blue - back in as a CI and then officer for 5 years. At least count I was asked 3x to be an OC, but the distances involved were prohibitive. I did everything that could have been asked of me and more.

Last year, I left.

And this past year has been utter bliss. No stress, no squabbles, no random nonsense politics, no utter drivel from those on high who have absolutely no idea what goes on twice a week in those huts.

And now I come back and see this mess…

Everybody, I know your hearts are in the right place and you want to do best by the kids. But honestly, the best you can do is leave. En masse. Don’t let it be a slow lingering death. Just cut the thing off at the head and be done with it.

[pEp]

@Cab

Write to me directly and without anonymity and I will answer any questions you wish. There’s no shambles here, by the way. What you see is a very professional balance of task against resource…and it is enormously difficult for all of us involved. We do not have the human resource we would wish to have to oversee and assure all the things we would aspire to achieve. It hurts but not as much as how we might hurt as organisation if we hurt one of our children whilst conducting activities. I look forward to your direct email. I am not that hard to find.

This is probably going to be quite a lengthy reply, so apologies in advance.

Firstly, thank you for coming here and being accountable and visible. It takes a lot, and is not something main paid staff involved in the organisation either choose or are allowed to do, and especially not when there is a lot of criticism and toxicity around the decisions you’ve made, so kudos to you.

Next, as others have said we are unlikely to email you directly for lots of reasons, primarily because of the repercussions to ourselves or our units if we do and this is found out by our chain of command, many of whom do not share your openness and transparency. People have had disciplinaries, been forced to sign quasi-behavioural contracts or been otherwise hampered if they have dared question someone inside the organisation and above them, let alone someone outside of it. It is also slightly ironic that you’re posting “anonymously” on an internet forum to tell us to email you directly, when you could equally have sent an all RAFAC email addressing our concerns, or even an all SW region email doing the same. That isn’t to say you’re not welcome here to speak with us, I do genuinely appreciate it and it’s great, but it does sort of highlight the very comms problem you address in a later post especially when the head of the organisation has been conspicuous by his absence and the person in charge of the region in question could only be bothered to send a small paragraph in a wider email - neither of them have opened up to us like you have, and for that I’m grateful.

None of us are taking away from the fact that you, the commandant, the regional commandants have to make decisions based on risk, or perceived risk, and take action to make it as tolerable as possible. The issues we have as far as I can tell are these:

1. Staffing in SW hasn’t changed since the COS left, and activities were not stopped at that point. So, either we have been operating unsafely since that date, or we will not be unsafe in August. It can’t be both, so which is it?

2. Paid staff have little input in to the running of the majority of our activities, excepting where VA, mileage, travel hire or defence estate is used. This has been effectively banned in SW region anyway, so nearly all activities are created, reviewed, approved, run and (in theory at least) audited by volunteers. How does the lack of some paid staff account for us then banning that process? If there is a link telling us how and why will help at least a little remove the vitriol and disconnect we see there.

3. How can it be fair or right that 1/6th of the organisation in terms of geography (but probably most as the distribution of squadrons, CFAV and cadets will likely be higher) be stood down for a month whilst others aren’t? Why haven’t other regions been told to assist? I am aware that North Region is sparing 1 member of staff to cover, but logically you have LaSER who operate the very same model just implemented in South West and so should be au fait with the workings, are they so busy they can’t help?

4. Given that since at least March we’ve already been told to curtail activities, then a complete ban in August with no end in sight, surely you can understand our anger and frustration?

5. Why has there been no mention of subscription payments being paused at the same time? Would you accept paying for an activity that can’t provide you what it advertises?

6. Why has no attempt been made to communicate this directly to cadets and parents, but instead it’s been left to squadron staff to be the bearer of bad news? It doesn’t scream RISE to me, it feels like pulling the pin then running away.

7. I’m not sure you realise quite how bad staff morale is across the organisation but specifically in South West Region. We have, over the past 10 years:

8. Lost access to gliding - both VGS being shut, airframe types being scrapped, pilots losing currency, then things like Upavon not being cleared for use, the MOD sites being made harder to get in to.

9. Lost access to provide aviation to cadets from external providers - ACTO 35. Then get fobbed off with rubbish responses when we do ask about it, as you’ve published above, by anonymous “HQ sources”. Made all the more galling by watching army and sea cadets doing what should be our USP, but we can’t.

10. Lost our BTEC in aviation studies, with promises of jam tomorrow when a replacement appears at some point

11. Been mandated to completed 6 hours of hot or cold injury training that has no scientific relationship to cadets, and been suspended if we don’t do it.

12. Lost all access to shooting opportunities on squadron level, with losses of armoury hubs and weapons and in some cases haven’t even had the weapons delivered to us because of RAF ineptitude and mismanagement.

13. Lost the commissions that tied us to the organisation

14. Lost the ability to conduct car parking as a form of fundraising, with no notice and no reasoning, embarrassing us in front of the community and again watching the army cadets pick up where we have left off

15. Spent years over complicating a drone policy that will make things harder and harder to do

16. told we can’t use local parks to do some sports without completing lengthy TOPL forms, getting permissions from local authorities, signing waivers and having someone in a building miles away audit this to check everything is rosy.

17. Lost access to using tented accommodation as accommodation with no solution offered, no recompense offered and no consideration for the work we do to pay for them.

18. had a botched process for over 18s promised, under delivered, then ignored for months, then a random policy notice come out that raises more questions than it answers.

19. Lost the entire ACPS process because of no due-diligence being conducted for a period so long cadets left before they could complete it.

20. Nearly all fieldcraft stopped - partly because of not being able to use defence estate, partly because of qualification requirements, partly because of the need for TOPL.

21. We have regular IT issues and no dedicated IT Helpdesk for an organisation of our size. We have a tiny number of paid staff working their asses off to help and supplemented by volunteers, but if you report any issue it could be months before you get it fixed

22. We have had people in Holland stopped walking cause it was hot in the UK, but this applied to everyone but RIAT. Weeks earlier the commandant told us to do what is right, not what is easy, then ignored himself.

23. We’ve had all activities cancelled across the whole organisation because it got a bit windy in Bristol. Even indoor ones. Even those in different countries.

24. We’ve gained loads of cadets since covid, but haemorrhaged staff in that period with no national recruitment campaign because, as the commandant said “we have enough staff just not in the right places”, totally missing the volunteer aspect of what we do.

25. We have policy thrust upon us without any consideration of who we are or what we do, that is often impracticable or inappropriate, poorly proof read and poorly thought out only to be rescinded or changed when it is considered

26. We’ve had wings and CCFs move boundaries to align with RFCAs, only for 1 year later RFCAs to no longer be relevant to us causing upheaval, stress, extra work all for nothing and hampering CCFs inordinately.

27. We’ve had an attempt as disbanding civilian committees that has been poorly thought out, poorly executed and left a bad feeling amongst staff and trustees with little thoughts to the practicalities.

28. We’ve had all sporting competitions cancelled.

29. We’ve had ACLC cancelled

30. We’ve had people have to chase and beg to get any medal they’re entitled to.

31. We have policy announced on social media with messages like “speak to your sqn staff”, but they have more information than we do - see the ACPS scheme as a recent example.

32. We see HQAC level events regularly not following the same approval processes as we do, like being approved before the event.

33. We had a Space course promised 5 years ago, only for an announcement made on Facebook last week with no details and changing the course that existed

34. We’ve had a rebrand that no one asked for

35. We’ve had Cyber thrust upon us to make us relevant for the RAF, but no actual content to make us a leader in the field.

36. We’ve had officers capped at Fg Off and the removal of time served for no discernible benefit.

37. We were entirely forgotten as part of ASTRA, then had it applied to us and forgotten about. You can see the whole page of ideas just left festering. This is at least the 3rd iteration by a different name of a promise to modernise the organisation.

38. We’ve been made to complete mandatory health and safety checks that we aren’t qualified for and whilst in most cases the RFCA literally pays someone to do, like inspecting fire doors, testing fire alarms, reporting building faults (which they aren’t fixed or if they are, they’re done to such a poor standard it breaks again)

39. We’ve had shooting qualifications pulled with no reasoning, wasting time and energy and goodwill.

40. We’ve been treated as 2nd class citizens, ordered around, treated as serving personnel in the main by people who are paid significant amounts of money but have no experience of either youth organisations or volunteers, and who show as much.

41. We’ve had regional boards to commission moved from evenings and weekends to during the day, forcing us to take time off work to attend them in someone paid’s working hours.

42. We can’t get uniform to clothe our cadets, and when we do it’s poor quality or faulty.

43. We’ve had “mandatory” admin orders forced upon us which require us to consider where a helicopter might land, consider being gay a safeguarding issue, demand us to find the nearest AED or not have things approved.

44. We’re forced to undertake a catastrophic bleeding first aid module for all shooting, even air rifle.

45. We’ve had an attempt to stop us having/using squadron owned vehicles, at the same time as a ban/making it harder to hire MOD white fleet/Clarity vehicles because of cost. To the point that we’re refused to even be allowed to the use the MOD discount when ordering new SOVs.

46. We’ve had health and safety training given to us to give to cadets, and then criticised if we don’t run it.

47. We’ve had attempts to only allow specific individuals to use flight simulators because they need to be “qualified”.

48. We’ve had the opportunity to meet in person stopped, and demanded that we use Teams to save money.

49. We’ve had a new TRF forced upon us, which wasn’t proofed and so displays a penis on it. We also weren’t given enough of them.

50. We’ve had bans on anyone drinking alcohol in front of cadets, which even includes parents and guests at dining in nights.

51. We had a completely useless learning system that wasn’t fit for purpose, forcing us to make work arounds until it was finally scrapped.

52. We had the commandant announce his departure on LinkedIn, before telling even his paid staff let alone the people he’s supposed to be leading.

53. We’ve had extra admin created in the form of CACE forms, which are vague, unclear and not suited to any of our activities. This actually creates work for the people which are apparently overworked already.

I am exhausted writing that, so credit to anyone who can read it. I might come back and add to it later, but for now hopefully that gives you an indication of how and why we feel so disheartened at this organisation at the moment.

I roughly spend 35 hours a month supporting my squadron just on parade nights and admin during the week, not including any weekend activities (when we’re allowed to do them). I make no apologies for being passionate and I would dearly love to support the organisation to be better, but the opportunities to do that aren’t there and my patience has worn out.

[Eeh_Bah_Gum]

@pEp

It is also slightly ironic that you’re posting “anonymously” on an internet forum

But he is known as ‘Cab’ across the RAF and on his social media, so not anonymous

[Chief_Tech]

@POAG

Everybody, I know your hearts are in the right place and you want to do best by the kids. But honestly, the best you can do is leave. En masse. Don’t let it be a slow lingering death. Just cut the thing off at the head and be done with it.

Going to challenge this - this is not the best thing people can do.

Every volunteer is different, volunteering for different reasons & are in different circumstances.

Add into that things change - people grow up, move house or job, get married, have kids get bored - there’s no one size fits all.

Volunteers in general are can do & proactive but they get sapped by negativity. I don’t mean we shouldn’t be critical but there is no need to be mood hoovers.

People at all levels, volunteers & paid staff are trying to make things work. It’s just there’s very little cross communication & ranks/hierarchy getting in the way of succeeding.

We can get the ATC back up to speed but it’s going to be tough as volunteer world is stretched everywhere scouts, military cadets, St John’s. Low land SAR, police specials etc

There needs to be a way to drain the swamp & get the toxicity out so we can move forward together but it’s going to need change & a culture shift in the ATC.

It’s great that @Cab has come on here to challenge some of the misunderstanding & hopefully has gained an insight into the weird world that is volunteering but we are only going to succeed if we’re are honest with each other, non judgemental with each other and work together with volunteers & paid staff mutually supporting each other.

We need to stop “playing the game” & do what’s right rather than what’s easy.

So no leaving is not the best thing we could do as it won’t help the organisation unless the person is becoming a blocker & it’s time to put out to pasture.