the RAFVRT officers do not have any war time roll further more the regulations say if war is declared the ATC is to close and any weapons held are to be handed in at your local police station remembering to gat a receipt. If there was an attack on a RAf base when the ATC was present they would be told to round up the cadets and leave as soon as practical. They would not be given a job by the station commander.
I donāt really agree with that statement. If someone needs to know if Iām subject to military law, then my personnel records will reveal all. If things are that serious that my legal status is questioned, then I expect more rigorous checks than āah, strange brass thingies on your rank slide - itās straight to Colchester for you, my friend!ā. There is no need to differentiate between different types of cadet commission, in the same way there is no need for a branch identifier to be worn by regular officers.
In any case, VR(T) and VGS types will just remove the pins, as theyāre a FOD risk.
I donāt think anyone is pretending we are on active duty. For better or worse, we have been appointed as officers in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training) branch, and a lot of us take that privilege seriously. Until the shooting issues a couple of years ago, I didnāt really see the point of holding a ārealā commission. Then, as a VR(T) officer, I was able to move weapons and ammo, when even our parent station Armourers could not. Because of the VR(T) commission, our wing could still carry out shooting activities, and our cadets didnāt lose out. Now I see the point - and it isnāt so I can play dress up, and assure anyone who will listen that Iām actually in the RAFā¦
Can you imagineā¦!!! The last thing the guard force would need is a couple of VR(T) types rocking up to assist! 
Sorry. I didnāt mean pretend we are on active duty. I meant in the future we shouldnāt pretend to be VRT when on active (cadet) duty as we no longer would be such. It would be like a VRT F/O wearing his former RAF Sqn Ldr insignia on cadet duty. In both instances we can wear the retired rank on suitable occasions in a private capacity
Ah, I get you.
I completely agree with that view. I donāt see why anyone would want to retain their VRT pins once theyāve moved over to the new commission (except when attending an authorised event as VR(T) Retd.).
Not that I agree with the new commission, mind. I still think that weāve been lied to and sold mis-truths, so that Commandant Air Cadets can carry out a fait accompli, without anyone carrying out a legal challenge to the process. And donāt get me started on the fact that ACF officers will retain their commisions for at least a year. To paraphrase Orwell: āAll officers are equal, but some are more equal than othersā¦ā.
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So, does not holding a VR(T) commission mean that you cannot transport arms/ammo? Or does it just require a change to the rules/regs? After all just because your commission has changed doesnāt mean youāre any less a responsible person??
Needs a change to rules/regs and for everyone who will issue out arms and ammunition to get the message
To answer your question, neither.
As it stands, currently you do not have to be a VR(T) officer to move weapons and ammunition. So no changes to the rules required.
But, If you recall the issue from a couple of years ago, a blanket ban on non-service personnel moving weapons and ammunition was put into place, as a result of an external event.
Now, as well meaning as that ban was, it inadvertently stopped civilian armourers from moving weapons and ammo. It also stopped CIs and SNCO(ATC) staff from moving them as well. Our status as VR(T) mean that we were classed as service personnel, and so we could move weapons and ammo within the rules installed after the event. In my wing, some VR(T) officers volunteered to pick up ammo from our parent station and move weapons and ammo to and from ranges on parade nights. Which kept the wing shooting for the few months it took to sort the mess out. If armouries had not been civillianised, and the regular forces adversely effected, Iām betting that the order wouldnāt have been rescinded quite as quickly, if at all.
Iām not saying that we must remain VR(T) to shoot, but that our status as āreserve officersā has quite recently been the difference between an activity going ahead, or stopping completely for several months.
Now, an incident like this may never happen again. Or it might happen on November 2nd. All it takes is some one unthinkingly saying ācivilians canāt do [insert role/activity/responsibility of choice here]ā, and we will find another part of the RAFAC grinding to a halt.
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has anyone thought to put a picture of the rank slides on the CFC page on Bader so the RC North can see how gash these look?
If it means saving tens of thousands of pounds of cadet money, then yes, we should opt for the cheaper method rather than an ill fudged vanity exercise. Remember the only reason these ifentifiers are needed is because some head shed decided so with no rationale behind it.
But as with everything if theyād breathed in and out before jumping around like someone on illicit drugs, they would have come to the sensible conclusion they did in the end.
There was no more need to be VR(T) than there was to be in the Tufty Club.
Just like AT (years ago), FMS and now the commission change, it was badly handled, but then thatās what we have come to expect. If it was done any other way, with common sense applied, weād be in shock and wondering if weād woken up in an alternate universe.
Itās set in stone but it happens to be a rolling stoneā¦
I wish she would shut up a bit with her Facebook announcements and make proper factual informed announcements, I donāt need to know how many meetings she has had and how much work needs to be done, what I do want to see: a realistic timescale of issuing these and any information relating to moving from VR(T) to CFC so I can tell my staff whatās happening.
Instead all we see is a picture of roses followed be the
CAC groupies telling her how awesome she is or calling her mother hen!!! 
To get these slides out to wings and issued is going to be a major logistical issue, our WXo i think will want everyone to go to wing to sign for them before issuing thatās not going to get done overnight.
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Signing for something - that would be the sort of thing I will be waiting for before deciding whether to accept the offer of a RAFAC commission!
If they are cadets are is this a safeguarding issue?
If they are adults then it could also be a safeguarding issue as they are obviously vulnerable adults.
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My understanding is that 1st Nov is set in stone as long as the CFC actually happens on 1st Oct.
Why not just give everyone RAFAC pins for their rank sides.
Job done. No need for new slides or slides for different uniform.
One would have thought that option would have been much easier.
Hope the MAA is going to update the flying book for the CFCā¦ as it stands VRT is good to fly, WO/SNCOās depends on DA and how they read the bookā¦
you assume that 2000(?) sets of them exist, or would be cheaper to produce than slides, or would be quicker to produce than slides.
ācheapā and āquickā are the only two words that carry any weight in this situation. in a year the current solution may be revisited - and it ought to be, the slides look bloody awful - but they will, logistics going well, probably be in place for the current deadlines.
there is some icing on this cake - pins are gone. lots have people donāt like them because of how impractical they are, and the call for embroidered slides has been loud and clear since Jesusās dad was a cadet. now, at least, that has been settledā¦
Jumper slides are gopping, Look like they are more suited to working blue shirt. Wedgewood ones look as good as could be expected.
[quote=āScrounger, post:1132, topic:2647, full:trueā]Why not just give everyone RAFAC pins for their rank sides.
Job done. No need for new slides or slides for different uniform.
One would have thought that option would have been much easier.[/quote]
But that would be common sense, as we know ATC senior management and common sense are strangers to each otherā¦
Also why do that when you can make a total lash-up of reinventing the wheel.
People have wanted embroidered slides for years - many SATT/VGS types wear them despite being unauthorised due to the practicalities.
You canāt lose the embroidery, you could lose a pin.
We arenāt the RAF, we are Officers/SNCOs in the RAFAC - this says what we are and is a good move. The handling of the changeover and the distribution of slides is not being handled perfectly and does appear to be rushed following these last minute meetings that CAC has been attending.