I hear such great things, I just can’t wait to get started next year… 
We do do good stuff too. Best to view ACC as somewhere between a wiki, group therapy sessions and a trade union.
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I’ve always found that if I focus just on what we deliver at a squadron (and sometimes, sector) level then I view the Corps in a positive light.
Things get blurrier and darker the higher up the rungs you view items.
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From a cadet perspective, this seems to make little sense; I can only imagine that either highly benelovent or power-hungry cadets would choose to become staff at 18, thus forfeiting any opportunities to attend cadet courses, and that most would therefore stay as cadets.
I may be a little confused, but, as others have said, this appears to only further convolute an already convoluted situation.
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Disagree - having polled my staff cadets about this months ago it was the more highly competent ones that wanted to go the adult staff route as you’re not treated like a child any more.
It was the less able one who was wanting to retain the rank & uniform of a staff cadet than take on the responsibilities of the adult staff role.
Just to caveat though one significant difference is that the one who would become CI drove & had their own car where as the one who wanting to stay a cadet did not.
There are some financial recompense options for staff cadets who become CFAVs
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For me I think it’ll get really uncomfortable having a younger adult with staff responsibilities and treatments over an older staff cadet.
I don’t think I’d want a mix, if only because I wouldn’t want an even worse system of tiered treatment.
Nothing creates strong team bonds like telling your 19yo CWO they can’t come to the pub, but the 18yo cdt sgt turned CFAV can.
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Your right & I think this is a stop gap of transitioning to no staff cadets.
The policy also avoids annoying those cadets who want to stay as a cadet till they are 20 as that is what they were promised.
There are some in the organisation that still want to return to the days when CWOs could stay till they were 23 & resist any change to move away from this.
Give it 5 years & no cadet remembering the before time & thinking the system being silly, the option to stay until 20 as a cadet will be scrapped.
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I don’t think it will, the option to jack at 20 and become staff rather than remaining a cadet for 2 more years didn’t cause loads of CWO’s to bin it off at 20 in the old days so I don’t see why it would cause the then to do so at 18 now.
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I don’t think it will cause any to jack it in, but there will be less resistance to it as the idea of becoming CFAV at 18 will be in place.
Incidentally I think there has always been the option to become a CI at 18 if on a VGS.
Did they not eliminate CGI’s when they introduced the SNCO ranks?
They might have done - not sure. Might have been no new ones could be appointed.
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Or maybe they want to be treated like an adult since they are one…
I do think this two tier system is going to be a blank show…
Question: do you need to be 20 to apply for a CFC? Is this CFAV vs. Staff Cadet dilemma actually between being a SNCO or Staff Cadet.
Imagine the situation on a station where you theoretically have an 18 year old Pilot Officer (my understanding is this is possible in the regulars but presumably rare).
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Not sure how easily that could happen. IIRC, their application for SC (now a requirement) can’t start until their 18th birthday, so there would have to be a period outside of uniformed service.
What would happen if a cadet decided to go the staff route but then changed their mind? Could they theoretically resume cadet service at their old rank?
As a uniformed organisation, there shouldn’t be any mandated periods out of uniformed service.
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Definitely happens.
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You do already get 18/19 year old Pilot Officers. I had one a few years ago, our senior cadet took a gap year and came back as staff. CCF has always allowed it, to allow parity across all sections, otherwise Army and RN sections would get the young staff carrying on after ageing out
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You get that in “real life” too.
Sure, probably only in training, but it does happen.
What doesn’t really happen is 20yo Sergeants.
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Not even for Sergeant Aircrew?
By the time they’re through the training pipeline they’ll be closer to 23/24. There might be the odd one or two who squeak through younger, but they’ll be rare.
And there were definitely guys on my IOT who were right at the lower end of the age bracket, and going for a branch that had a minimal phase 2 course, so they’d be APO / Pilot Officers while just turning 19.
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Or Air Traffic Control
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