I posted here a while back, at a point in life when things felt relatively settled and I was seriously considering returning to volunteer with my old squadron. One of the main things that gave me pause at the time, however, was the amount of negativity I encountered while trying to get myself up to date with the current state of the ATC, and it led me to wonder whether the ACF might ultimately be a better fit for the time and energy I’d realistically be able to offer in my late 40s.
As it turned out, life rather got in the way anyway — multiple house moves and career changes meant the idea had to go on hold for a few years.
I’ve now reached a point where I feel ready to revisit it properly, and a recent trip down memory lane recalling summer camp at Rudloe Manor reminded me just how much I valued my cadet experiences growing up.
A few weeks ago I submitted a declaration of interest to my local squadron and I’m currently waiting to hear back. In the meantime, I thought I’d ask those currently involved:
How are things feeling at the moment for volunteers?
Is this generally seen as a positive time to get involved?
What should someone returning after a long time away realistically expect?
I still see some of the same frustrations and complaints that were being discussed when I first looked into this back in 2023, but I’m trying to get a balanced sense of where things actually stand today from people actively involved.
I’m certainly not expecting perfection — every organisation has its issues — but I’d be interested to hear whether the general feeling now is one of optimism and rebuilding, or whether many of the same challenges remain.
At this very moment in time there is a lot going on that may be seen as negative. Just take a look through the forum and see notes about building closures etc.
Personally I think the new Commandant is a lot more positive than the old and some of the general negativity in the organisation has drifted away in to a more positive culture.
As you say… no organisation is perfect and when you are just starting out you probably won’t even notice some of the issues as you can turn up and just help where possible.
Fwiw on the negativity side, I’m not aware of an Army Cadet Central or Sea Cadet Central equivalent to this site.
A lot of the frustrations you see from us probably exist in our pongo and pirate counterparts, ours are just a little more public, as ACC is by definition a public forum.
Personally, I’d contact your local Sqn by phone and say you had made contact and not heard anything, and see if they can chase it up etc.
This forum shows the ups and downs of what’s happening outside the doors of our Sqns around the country.
Having been a CI for years now, at a Sqn level, we are doing good things for our cadets. As long as they keep turning up and we provide them with activities, then that’s all that matters to me. We can push out activities for cadets to attend, but then it might get a bit messy with low numbers of cadets and/or staff turning up, which results in activities not going ahead.
But on a Sqn level, we are doing all we can to keep them engaged. So it’s well worth signing up to get your CI armband
I started 2026 with optimism and by March didn’t have a building, so I’m a bit soured.
Also, I’m in a position where I get lot less contact and instructional time than I used to, which is the best bit.
Ultimately, there’s still a very rewarding side to being a CFAV, which is a lot easier to experience and hold onto with a narrower remit where you just deal with your part and let others worry about the macro.
Expressions of interest from potential CFAV don’t go to the Squadron. They go to a Wing level point of contact. So it can take a while to work its way through.
Suggest emailing the OC at the Squadron (oc.Squadronnumber@rafac.mod.gov.uk) and say you’ve filled in the form and you’d like an initial chat. Worth copying the adjutant (adj. - rest as above) too.
The key is to not judge today’s organisation by what you recall of a bygone era.
As a former cadet and service helper who now runs my childhood unit, I still see an absolutely fantastic organisation, though it can look quite different (badges are everywhere). If you find your interest, you can achieve a lot for your cadets and have a great time by finding other CFAV with shared interests in the local area. We’re giving cadets amazing opportunities that really do open up careers that could otherwise have been closed to them.
Absolutely join and throw yourself into it. If you think it could be better, be that local change and help your local volunteers develop the offer.
It’s true that there’s a lot of negativity here, but this is often where you find some of your most engaged and passionate volunteers. It’s not an accurate measure of organisational atmospherics, although certainly valid issues are raised here.
I’m part of a growing and thriving squadron, and I’m seeing some really positive development in the cadets - I genuinely get the feeling that we’re making a positive difference to their lives.
A lot of the issues we we’re seeing a couple of years ago have died down. In fact, a couple of months back I was thinking how quiet it had been on the forum, because what was here was routine and/or positive.
My caveat is that we haven’t been affected at all by the building problems down south.
The joining process is still a pain. It’s better than it was, but it’s still a lot of back and forth to get the various vetting and clearances sorted.
It’ll likely take between 1 and 3 months, based on recent experiences. This is somewhat down to you, somewhat to your squadron, somewhat to your wing/pers pillar, and somewhat luck.
The world is different.
If you come in expecting what you had many years ago, you’ll be disappointed.
If you come in with an open mind, you’ll see the massive opportunity that is available to cadets now.
The experience is different. With some exceptions (notably flying), I think the cadet experience is better now than it was for me, largely because of the wide range of activity and (largely) equal access.
Thanks all for the thoughtful replies, they’ve genuinely been helpful and reassuring to read.
I think one of the key takeaways for me is that, while there clearly are macro-level frustrations, what really matters to me personally is what life is actually like at squadron level and whether cadets are still getting meaningful experiences. It’s encouraging to hear that that side of things still seems very much alive and well.
You also make a very fair point regarding the nature of the forum itself. Places like this can create quite a concentrated impression of negativity. I suspect I perhaps fell into that trap somewhat when comparing organisations a few years ago.
One of my biggest concerns previously, based on some of the responses at that time, was the impression from some that they had become little more than ‘babysitters’ — I recall a lot of complaints about squadron paralysis-by-paperwork.
A lot of the replies here have reassured me though that there is still a lot one can contribute.
In any case, I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond and provide some perspective. It’s certainly helped reinforce my feeling that it’s worth pursuing properly.
Without sounding overly pessimistic the electrical issue is rolling round the Org thru the various Regions and Wings so just because you’ve not been caught up with yet doesn’t mean you won’t be.
We’ve had Squadrons having had full refurbishments and still being closed due to missing electrical certificates.
You can’t write it….
There are others with serious electrical problems as well
Hopefully you’ll be aok but unlikely OCs would have had sight of these certs ever…
