Not you, the. 
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He writes like another former poster on here - Teacher.
He got his in his hands and had a right go at people, too.
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Gentlemen,
As an observer, I wonder if commentators have examined to Royal Warrants under which commissions are awarded? These are they:
THE 1990 ROYAL WARRANT
WHEREAS His late Majesty King George the Sixth by Warrant dated 5 February 1941, as revised and amended by Warrants dated 30 September 1944, 12 November 1946, 23 June 1947 and 9 August 1968, was pleased to make provision for the establishment and organisation of the corps to be entitled the Air Training Corps and other matters and things relating thereto.
AND WHEREAS We deem it expedient to make further provision regarding the Air Training Corps.
OUR WILL AND PLEASURE is that notwithstanding anything contained in the Warrant dated 5 February 1941, as subsequently amended, the Regulations in the Schedule to this Our Warrant shall be regulations governing the Air Training Corps and shall be the sole and standing authority on the matters whereof they treat. Given at our Court at St James’s this nineteenth day of February 1990, in the thirty-ninth year of Our Reign.
(Signed By Her Majesty’s Command and the Secretary of State for Defence, The
Rt Hon Tom King)
SCHEDULE TO THE ROYAL WARRANT
REGULATIONS
- Objects. The objects of the Corps shall be:
a. To promote and encourage among young people a practical interest
in aviation and the Royal Air Force;
b. To provide training which will be useful both in Service and in civilian
life;
c. To foster the spirit of adventure and to develop the qualities of leadership and good citizenship.
-
Composition. The Corps shall comprise squadrons and flights formed on a school or local basis and known as school or local squadrons or flights.
-
Formation of Units. Units of the Corps shall be formed under such condition as to approval and otherwise as may be directed by Our Defence Council.
-
Commissioning of Officers. Officers appointed to the Corps shall hold commissions as officers in the Training Branch of Our Air Force Volunteer Reserve and shall be governed by the Regulations prescribed for that Reserve, in so far as the same are applicable to them and subject to such modification as Our Defence Council may direct.
-
Tenure of Commissions. Officers appointed to the Corps shall continue to hold commissions only so long as they shall continue to serve as officers in the Corps, such commission being terminated when Our Defence Council shall decide that the services of the said officers are no longer required, or when the said officers shall be no longer actively employed within the Corps.
-
Financial Benefits. Members of the Corps shall not be entitled to any pay, allowance and other benefits except as may be expressly provided in regulations made by Our Defence Council.
-
Defence Council Regulations. It shall be competent for Our Defence Council, subject to the conditions stated in this Our Warrant, to make regulations as to the constitution, organisation, training, discipline, conditions of service and of efficiency, allowances and grants, and all other matters affecting the Corps.
THE CADET FORCES COMMISSION
WHEREAS OUR Cadet Forces, being the Volunteer Cadet Corps, the Sea Cadet Corps, the Combined Cadet Force, the Army Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps, are uniformed voluntary youth organisations.
WHEREAS WE were pleased by Our Warrant dated 22nd March 2017 to make provision in relation to a new Cadet Forces commission to be issued to every person appointed as an officer in one of Our Cadet Forces.
WHEREAS WE deem it expedient to make fresh provision regarding such matters.
AND WHEREAS it is therefore necessary to amend the Regulations in the Schedule to Our Warrant dated 19th February 1990 that made provision for officers appointed to the Air Training Corps to hold commissions as officers in the Training Branch of Our Air Force Volunteer Reserve and with respect to the tenure of such commissions.
OUR WILL AND PLEASURE is that the Regulations set out in Schedule 1 to this Our Warrant, governing the appointment and commissioning of officers in Our Cadet Forces, shall be established and obeyed as the sole authority on the matters therein treated, and that Our Warrant dated 22nd March 2017 is revoked.
OUR FURTHER WILL AND PLEASURE is that there shall be issued to every person (other than a person appointed as a chaplain or to an honorary rank) appointed as an officer in one of Our Cadet Forces after the coming into force of this Our Warrant, a Cadet Forces commission under Her Majesty’s Royal Sign Manual in the form set out in Part 1 of Schedule 2 to this Our Warrant.
OUR FURTHER WILL AND PLEASURE is that there shall be issued to every person appointed as a chaplain in the Sea Cadet Corps or the Army Cadet Force after the coming into force of this Our Warrant, a Cadet Forces commission under Her Majesty’s Royal Sign Manual in the form set out in Part 2 of Schedule 2 to this Our Warrant.
OUR FURTHER WILL AND PLEASURE is that there shall be issued to every person appointed to an honorary rank in one of Our Cadet Forces after the coming into force of this Our Warrant, a Cadet Forces commission under Her Majesty’s Royal Sign Manual in the form set out in Part 3 of Schedule 2 to this Our Warrant.
OUR FURTHER WILL AND PLEASURE is that Our Warrant dated 19th February 1990 that made further provision for the Air Training Corps shall be amended as set out in Schedule 3 to this Our Warrant.
OUR FURTHER WILL AND PLEASURE is that this Our Warrant shall come into force on 1st November 2017.
Given at Our Court at St. James’s this 26th day of October, Two Thousand and Seventeen, in the 66th year of Our Reign.
By Her Majesty’s Command.
Michael Fallon.
SCHEDULE 1
Regulations
Interpretation
- For the purpose of these Regulations, “the Cadet Forces” are—
(a) the Volunteer Cadet Corps, which comprises the Royal Navy
Volunteer Cadet Corps and the Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps;
(b) the Sea Cadet Corps;
© the Combined Cadet Force (“the CCF”), which comprises the CCF (Royal Navy), the CCF (Royal Marines), the CCF (Army) and the CCF (Royal Air Force);
(d) the Army Cadet Force; and
(e) the Air Training Corps.
Appointments and power to make regulations
2.(1) A person may be appointed as an officer in one of the Cadet Forces in accordance with regulations made by the Defence Council.
(2) Those regulations may also make provision for all other matters affecting such officers.
Delegation
3.(1) Any function of the Defence Council under these Regulations in relation to the Volunteer Cadet Corps, the Sea Cadet Corps, the CCF (Royal Navy) or the CCF (Royal Marines) may (subject to any direction of the Defence Council) be discharged by the Admiralty Board or such person authorised by them.
(2) Any function of the Defence Council under these Regulations in relation to the CCF (Army) or the Army Cadet Force may (subject to any direction of the Defence Council) be discharged by the Army Board or such person authorised by them.
(3) Any function of the Defence Council under these Regulations in relation to the CCF (Royal Air Force) or the Air Training Corps may (subject to any direction of the Defence Council) be discharged by the Air Force Board or such person authorised by them.
Countersigning Cadet Forces commissions
4.(1) A Cadet Forces commission issued to an officer appointed in the Volunteer Cadet Corps, the Sea Cadet Corps, the CCF (Royal Navy) or the CCF (Royal Marines) shall be countersigned by or on behalf of the Secretary of State and by one member of the Admiralty Board or a person authorised by that Board.
(2) A Cadet Forces commission issued to an officer appointed in the CCF (Army) or the Army Cadet Force shall be countersigned by or on behalf of the Secretary of State and by one member of the Army Board or a person authorised by that Board.
(3) A Cadet Forces commission issued to an officer appointed in the CCF (Royal Air Force) or the Air Training Corps shall be countersigned by or on behalf of the Secretary of State and by one member of the Air Force Board or a person authorised by that Board.
Notification
5.(1) The appointment of an officer in one of the Cadet Forces shall be notified by the Secretary of State in the London Gazette, or in such other manner as may be set out in regulations made by the Defence Council.
(2) An officer who receives a Cadet Forces commission in the form set out in Part 1 or 2 of Schedule 2 to this Warrant shall not be issued with a further commission on promotion, but such promotion when approved shall be notified by the Secretary of State in the London Gazette or in such other manner as may be set out in regulations made by the Defence Council.
SCHEDULE 2
Forms
Part 1
ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
To Our Trusty and well beloved [insert name] Greeting! We, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty, Leadership and good Conduct, do by these Presents Appoint you to be an officer in the [insert name of corps or cadet force] from the [ ] day of [month] [year]. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge your voluntary duties as such in the rank of [insert rank] or in such other rank as We may from time to time hereafter be pleased to promote or appoint you to, and lead the officers, adult instructors and cadets placed under your authority and use your best endeavours to keep them in good order. And We do hereby direct them to respect your authority as their superior officer, and you to observe and follow such instructions as from time to time you shall receive from any superior officer, in pursuance of the Trust hereby reposed in you.
Given at Our Court at St. James’s the ………………day of ……………in the ……………Year of Our Reign.
By Her Majesty’s Command.
Part 2
ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
To Our Trusty and well beloved [insert name] Greeting! We, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty, Piety and good Conduct, do by these Presents Appoint you to be a Chaplain to the [insert name of corps or cadet force] from the [ ] day of [month] [year]. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge your voluntary duties as such in the rank of [insert rank] or in such other rank as We may from time to time hereafter be pleased to promote or appoint you to. And you are to observe and follow such instructions as from time to time you shall receive from any superior officer, in pursuance of the Trust hereby reposed in you.
Given at Our Court at St. James’s the ………………day of ……… in the …………………Year of Our Reign.
By Her Majesty’s Command.
Part 3
ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
To Our Trusty and well beloved [insert name] Greeting! We, reposing Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty and good Conduct, do by these Presents Appoint you to the Honorary Rank of [insert rank] in the [insert name of corps or cadet force] from the [ ] day of [month] [year]. And We do hereby give and grant you full Power and Authority to have, hold, and enjoy your said Honorary Rank accordingly. And We do hereby direct the officers, adult instructors and cadets in [insert name of corps or cadet force] to acknowledge you as an Honorary [insert rank] as aforesaid.
Given at Our Court at St. James’s the ………………day of …… in the ……………Year of Our Reign.
By Her Majesty’s Command.
SCHEDULE 3
Amendment of Air Training Corps Warrant
- The Schedule to Our Warrant dated 19th February 1990, which made provision with respect to commissioning of officers appointed to the Air Training Corps and the tenure of such commissions, is amended as follows—
“8. From the 1st November 2017, regulations 4 and 5 shall cease to have effect, save that—
(a) an officer appointed to the Corps before that date shall continue to hold a commission as an officer in the Training Branch of Our Air Force Volunteer Reserves and be governed by the regulations prescribed under regulation 4; and (b) regulation 5 shall continue to apply to officers appointed to the Corps before that date.
- The power to make Defence Council regulations may, subject to any direction of the Defence Council, be discharged by the Air Force Board.”
Those are the regulations. Officers holding RAFVR(T) commissions retain them. Officers commissioned since the new warrant are appointed to RAFAC commissions. AEF Officers continue to hold or to be appointed to VR commissions, doubtless on issues relating to piloting HM’s aircraft, and not needing to hold civil licences.
So three comments:
- Hopefully holding a commission is motivated only by readiness to take more responsibility.
- RAFAC and RAFVR(T) commissions seem to be similarly worded, so what’s the issue?
- It is a pity that lapel badges are styled “RAFAC”, when the uniform reveals the commission to be in HM Royal Air Force. “AC” would have been sufficient to indicate the “Branch” to be “Air Cadets” (ATC or CCF).
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You’re a bit late to the party.
Agreed, but it seems that some correspondents can’t let it go! I find it hard to understand why the change was made, especially as “abuse” of procedures could have been met by regulations! Let’s put it to bed.
Maybe just maybe too many service complaints were going beyond HQAC and notice was being taken of this further up the CoC. FTRS sinecures have to be protected you know.
Give it a rest Bob!
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Sorry i was a bit unclear on the conversation about if a female cadet was to grow her hair and if it was to touch the collar would that be allowed??
It can not go past the bottom of the collar…if it does it must be trimmed or tied up.
Males and females have different standards regarding hair, Male hair of the head has to be “well cut” what ever that means and photos show above the collar. while female hair can be any length and either not below the bottom of the collar or up in a bun.
Even though this goes against anti discrimination policy of the RAFAC, we are mot allowed to treat boys and girls different it is still enforced.
I’m not sure what’s happened but this thread isn’t about hair…
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I didn’t read the whole thing so I wasn’t sure I just read about the hair part (yeah I know what the title says but you know when you search a phrase and it comes up with something said in a conversation that’s what I did)
With regards to pilots that are recruited into AEFs across the country, and perhaps that small cadre of offrs located at (was it? I forget) HQ 6FTS: I refer to those individuals who continue to serve in, and be commissioned into, the training branch of the RAFVR…
Do potential VRT Offrs continue to get put through the OASC selection process alongside candidates for RAFAC commissions? Or: do they now progress along a completely-different pathway? (perhaps a tougher initial filter at Cranwell followed by the UAS APO mini-ROIT?)
Do these VRT Offrs subsequently continue to do their OIC at the ATF @Cranwell? Or not at all?
Do these VRT Officers continue, on recruitment, to do the classic ‘ACO’/RAFAC entrance pathway of AVIP/USTC?
If any VRT Offrs (serving on AEFs) anywhere in the country also volunteer to serve as supernumaries on local ATC squadrons, do they actually now do so as Service Instructors?
Do VRT Offrs continue to accrue service towards the Cadet Forces Medal, or (since they continue to be classed as reservists) is this no longer the case? This is a puzzling one…in all sorts of ways
I’m aware that I could ask these questions formally via ‘Ask The Team’ portal, but rather than disturbing RC(N) I thought I’d ask the large/widespread/experienced membership of ACC first.
The entire ‘new’ system is rapidly approaching its 2nd birthday (yes, check that calendar) so everything must’ve become stable & established by now.
In your own time, at the target ahead, carry on…
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Answers to your Qs are in bold
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From the answers above, it sounds like this commission change may have been uneccessary and that simply reforming admin procedures may have had the same, if not better, desired effect. Money then could have been better spent elsewhere.
Heck what do I know.
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Now that hair is definitely not allowed - commission change or no.
Beard isn’t iaw with regulations either…
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Only took me 2 weeks to grow!
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I got one of those new scrolls back in 2017 I think. It’s still in its cardboard tube. Somewhere in the house. I retired in 2018 anyway and consider myself RAFVR(T) retired, not RAFAC. Although (please correct me if the status has changed) as far as I recall, under the new arrangements we do not have ‘Retired’ status.
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