Lol.
Hqrafac dont manage. Or cope.
They couldnt manage their way out of a paper bag.
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Couldn’t agree more.
Any reason why the commandant needs to be an Air Commodore, in practice?
You risk getting the backwash from the RAF, anyone going places would be commanding something punchy, not a youth group. Anyone with sellable skills would be long gone by this rank and making 3x as much working for BAE, consulting for NATO etc… The taken pool of group captains, who aren’t already accounted for, is tiny.
Current one’s bio says ‘ A return to MOD followed, this time in focussed on strategic finance and military capability planning. Appointed Air Officer A4 in September 2019, he had responsibility for many of the Engineering and Logistics Branches and Trades, over 2500 types of airfield and engineering equipment, the full range of RAF Logistics capabilities, Photography and the RAF’s Music Services.’ That’s lovely, and I’m sure impressive to that trade, but what on earth has it got to do with the practicalities running a voluntary youth organisation?
Why limit ourselves to military at all, hundreds of people in the private sector would be head and shoulders above the limited talent available in the service. You’d never get a private company filling its entire board of directors from within, it’d be a car crash. You can give them an honorary ‘rank’ if you need to, all that is is something for the kids to look up to and salute anyway.
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answer is here:
which is exactly what he is doing right now - reducing budgets and the planned events in 2024
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Right - lets have some fairness here and not just tin foil hat ranting!!
In the old days CRAFAC (or equivalent) was predominantly a ‘retirement’ post for people to see out their last 3 years - 3 years not being long enough to deliver anything so each new person had their plan but very few ever got delivered.
Since the move to FTRS post holders the Commandants have applied and been accepted for the posts - I do not believe that anyone in the job is not there for the right reasons - success is another issue.
Since CRAFAC reports to AOC 22Gp, the fact that they are an experienced Senior Officer used to dealing within this type of organisation gives them the ability to ‘fight our corner’ - an external appointee would take several years just to learn the ropes - that is why many people who join the paid ranks of this organisation at all levels from outside don’t tend to last very long.
At the end of the day I am sure CRAFAC is doing the best he can with the tools and budgets he has.
However, as stated by others, Comms, information sharing and bringing the cfav organisation with him is a very different skillset outside the military to within, and perhaps is an area where urilising those with an external skillset would be beneficial
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Because those with the talent in the Private Sector are far more expensive than an Air Commodore.
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Ah. Checkmate 
What do we want to pay for I guess. At the moment the salary is that of an Air Commodore, for no other reason than it just is.
What do charities pay their execs, what’s the head of the scouts on etc?
Those are the places I’d be looking at to headhunt a leader if i was doing it.
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based on this Salary survey: charity chief executives' pay sorted alphabetically | Society | SocietyGuardian.co.uk
it ranges between £45k (Association for International Cancer Research) to £205k (Royal Opera House Covent Garden)
Scout jobs are available here Jobs | Scouts and show one role ( Deputy Chief Volunteering Officer) at £73.5K
the Executive Director Of Operations looks to be paid £116-120k (The Scout Association Role Description – Executive Director of Operations) and reports to the Cheif Executive
For reference Air Commodore pay is in the regionof £120k
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Many at HQAC will also be used to having someone more senior that THEY say “yes” to without questioning.
Disruptive thinking is yet to truly be embraced within the RAFAC despite being an initiative in the RAF for a few years now.
In light of the Cadet forces report, and considering we are now well into a programme of aligning our training with “what the RAF wants” (I would also like to know if there are stats on ex cadet personnel, particularly in NCO and Commission ranks, as I only have anecdotes), it’s hard to see any evidence that CRAFAC is actually fighting our corner while rolling out changes that result in “more for less”.
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Bit of back of envelop maths here but:
Taking the £19m figure and 40k cadets, as rough starting point, that is £475 a year or £40 a month, a fair subsidy.
I think most units charge about £10-15 a month so going up to £50/m would likely be unaffordable (and out of line with other youth activities).
A chunk of that cost is gliding which is a USP (and woudn’t be free in, say, the Scouts). And IIRC AEF is not in ‘our’ budget.
Also are there costs that are higher because they are MOD linked, such as IT?
However £19m is fairly small change for the RAF and also sum that could potentially be met all or in part by industry?
As an aside the Scouts have badges sponsored. One of the sponsors is the RAF…
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I know Matt, and he’s s thoroughly good and competent bloke. So overqualified for us…
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So VA has now been agreed for this AT one… but the comments on this thread certainly highlights lack of comms and the possible pitfalls…
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Why the U-turn?
pushed up the chain 
What was the reason they declined, and what comments did they give for the approval?
no idea… just what I have been told
To clarify, I’m suggesting less support overall from the RAF, examples being both the budget trimming but also the operational requirements producing a lack of AEF, then consider too the wider MOD where we now have fewer DTE sites due to usage by asylum seekers.
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This.
Has anyone seen anything in writing, in policy, an IBN or similar about VA this year? I’m getting asked to commit to various weekends and camps this year, which is fair enough for the organisers to ask, but being told on the grapevine that VA is very unlikely.
I’m assuming that we won’t get any at all, then if there is some available, I can get more involved later in the year. Apart from the extra leave I get for cadet activities, it could be a quiet cadet year for me. There are plenty of non-cadet activities to do with my time instead, of course.
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Ive seen Admin Orders where its now stating VA isnt guranteed
IIRC the Comdt said it was going to be reviewed, therefore I’m assuming at some point in the next FY, so we get told sometime around Sep after summer camp F80s have been submitted!!
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