Just curious as to a couple of things, a) what are your wings doing to support and b) what would you want to see from your wing during this lockdown?
Our wing are running a wing programme of activities and guest speakers for us but Sqns are left to run the main bulk of VPN activity themselves and we’re running out of ideas!
Rekon we all are.
No one could have possibly expected or planned for disruption of this length.
Just got to keep chins up
I’m not completely sure what my wing have done during any lockdown to be honest. I know some individual SMEs have run things that are easily transferred online like radio and cyber courses, and for a brief period when we could there was some shooting stuff rumoured to be happening.
But as far as I can tell it has mainly been left to squadrons. I don’t know of any wing led training sessions for staff or cadets in any areas, and as you say the emphasis has definitely been on us, which is disappointing.
I’d like to see any opportunities offered out that we can. Maybe we could teach staff how to conduct blue badge things? Maybe we could have a CPD session for AT? I’m certain we could have used the time to review admin processes and streamline it, or run best practice guidance for media and comms, or training officers. Running some preparation for uniformed service courses maybe? Train the trainer in certain bits? We could have trained people in being a Heartstrings instructor? I know I did some of the storekeeper shooting stuff back at the start.
It is a little disheartening to see how little our particular wing has put on to be honest.
I know exactly how much mine’s done: the square root of chuff all.
It’s an embarrassment and an insult, frankly. We’ve been busting our balls to come up with a varied and interesting programme for a virtual year, and have retained a good core of cadets, but we’re getting absolutely zero support from Wing staff.
If it wasn’t for the fact that “that’s not what we do”, I’d advocate for the entire bunch to be sacked and sent back to squadrons*.
(*Edit: I know there are many reasons why people might not have been able to focus in this past year and that’s completely fine. My argument is that if they knew they were unable to discharge their duties they should have resigned. They didn’t, because they like their position, rank and ‘power’ too much.)
Going off topic for a moment with people saying they running out of ideas…
What about asking cadets to see if they can trace any family member who served in WW1/2.
We did it a few years ago and each cadet gave a quick presentation on their family member(s) at the end of it.
The best bit for us was the sqn WOs great grand father was a great great uncle (or similar) to one of the cadets and they didn’t know about each other.
It would also give cadets a chance to call family etc break the boredom at home.
Note: We had a couple of cadets who couldn’t find any family who served but they either worked in the shipyards or Rolls Royce as reserved occupation so they spoke about that
seems to be the same answer throughout.
ours has excelled in one area - virtual talks Q&A sessions with “impressive” aviation people.
Some senior members of the RAF, be that actual heads of something, or station commanders, or fast jet pilots or Squadron leaders discussing the challenges of running etc
we’ve had i think two radio and cyber courses one each for the opposite ends of the wing (why eligibility was split geographically for a virtual course i am not sure…)
but other than that they (WExO and WgCo) kept patting us on the back for doing a great job.
would have been nice to have had a virtual “training day” but split out over weeks.
Each Wednesday evening (or perhaps every other week) a new Wing SME would have a two hour session, call it a workshop if you like:
The first half to explain how CFAVs can get involved in their topic. What they need to deliver X, be it AT, Shooting, First Aid, Media or whatever on the unit.
For some topics that is a clear get X qualification first, and so the time spent explain how to gain it, but media, drill, or STEM just ideas or tools on how to apply the topic to the Squadron training program.
then finish with on what CFAVs can do to support the Wing - Wing run courses etc then the a Q&A
it of course is mainly good for when we go back but at least the CFAVs (and O18s) could feel like they had some Wing engagement but some items could then lead to virtual workshops to train CFAVs
these same SMEs could also do a similiar “promotion” for their topic to the Cadets on a Wing scale (or sector if required) again split out over a series of weeks, but scheduled to be the same night so Cadets know to keep it free for a talk
the SME can identify what is available to the Cadets when we return, a lazy SME would just make it about the PTS and say this is what to achieve Blue/Bronze/Silver but it would be nice to be more inventive than that.
this could/would then lead on to some “training courses” where appropriate
but perhaps I am expecting too much. Wing SMEs are no different to me in terms of time they can commit. I haven’t been furloughed and going into work pretty much as normal so would these SMEs have the time/interest to put this together?
Sadly that’s largely the case for my Wing too. Many Wing staff don’t seem to have delivered anything since March last year, while some Sqns have been working really hard. I’m not getting too irritated about it because there could be lots of good reasons why.
What I’d like to see is a status report for the Wing. How many Sqns are still operating, how many have staff and cadets that are engaged, what’s the plan to reinvigorate the Wing? There won’t be any dates, but some concepts and direction would be helpful. At the moment it feels like the Sqn is isolates and largely unsupported.
I’m sorting some general sessions and will invite the Wing. Meet the wing staff, getting cadets to talk about IACE, JL and QAIC, I’m doing a general AT talk, that kind of thing. Presentation skills can be a nice way to spend an evening as the cadets come up with some good subjects.
Our Wing has done nothing since March 2020 other than a couple AVIP courses.
I would have liked to have seen our Wing provide Staff training days (although I understand not all training can be done virtually). There is so much available that can be done virtually but it seems that our Wing is waiting for us to return to F2F in the hope there is residential options to begin training again!!!
It’s a bit hit and miss here.
A couple of WSO have been “on it” from the get go.
Our Wing Bandmaster has been running virtual sessions, or Aviation Officer has run some good stuff, and our Cyber officer has run some bronze courses.
The rest of the WSOs didn’t really start trying to produce anything until after the schools went back, but for a number of reasons, take up from the cadets was very very poor, and they’ve given up now.
I asked for Wing lead sessions that we would be unable to run on the sqn - guest lectures, CFAV with interesting jobs, inter unit competitions etc
We’ve also had no staff training, no boards, but have had some dull and largely pointless OCs meetings where we were all berated for not working hard enough!
Interestingly, the ‘on it’ WSOs are relatively junior (the highest rank was a Flying Officer).
Yes.
Would kill for this.
Would make interesting reading.
My Wing was pretty active in the first lockdown with a wing training plan being delivered by staff from across the wing.
That petered out a bit in September and almost completely when squadrons started to return to F2F training.
Stuff is happening again now, but nowhere near on the same scale. Frankly I don’t blame anyone for that, everyone’s enthusiasm for virtual stuff has dwindled over the last month or two.
We’re getting really low uptake for squadron VPNs now and it does feel like the effort on our behalf does not justify the rewards. What I would like to see is the Wing coordinating squadrons so maybe one squadron a week ran a session for the whole Wing. This would make it more worthwhile for those staff running evenings and give everyone a bit of a break.
I heard that there was a VPN report in the training portal.
Can’t see one on the Training Hub. The last one to be uploaded to the Bader Hub was September 2020.
I think my cadets have done more above squadron level stuff with other wings that have offered to the region/corps than they have done with my own wing.
My OC Wg has been organising a fair few virtual talks but that stopped towards the end of 2020 when attendance was embarrassingly low. Other than that, absolutely nothing from any SME.
Any examples I could borrow?
I volunteered to pick up some STEM stuff on a sector/wing basis - mailed both Wing Training Officer and my Sector Commander. Didn’t even get a reply. Also found out that there had been a sector staff meeting with Wg Cdr in I hadn’t even been invited to. First thing my Wing could do is remember to include those of us who don’t have one of the standard email accounts and rely on their home emails.
(I was spending a little time as on officer on squadron without a named role when the lockdown hit)
Bit disillusioned with the whole thing to be honest.
Probably not, sorry.
They work in aviation, and have done some ‘behind the scenes’ talks and tours around their workplace, as well as guest speakers.
We’ve had regular sector meetings, but it’s just OC units or a representative of unavailable.
Wing have no easy access to personal emails unless view everyone’s personal sms record. If it was for everyone then the OC should be forwarding the invite.