Last year I applied to join the air cadets as an adult. My aim was to become a SNCO. I could have applied for a comission but I wanted to be at the coal face of cadetting, not a pen pusher and not a paperwork sifter. I certainly didnt want to be a civillian either. I believed (and still do) that the more the rings on an adults rank slide the bigger the gulf between.adults and cadets. That is all academic now though anyway.
From the outset I was plagued by unessercary anally retentive beaurocratic claptrap. RAFAC never supported me at any stage and when I tried to chase it up I was told off. It got to March of this year and I just cancelled my application. FYI I am very experienced and especially in fieldcraft, I have all my kit, all my own equipment and even access to H4855 radios if required but that didnt mean didly to RAFAC. As I said previously its now all academic.
Throughout I was treated shabilly.I was made to feel unappreciated, disrespected, and virtually belittled. I was prepared to jump through hoops within reason but I wasnt prepared to be treated like dirt on the bottom of RAFACâs shoe.
From my experience there is no wonder that recruitment and retention in the air cadets is problematic. I dont know what they do all day at Air Cadet HQ all day or whether their remit is to complecate and protract matters but its not for the benefit of people like me. Im just wondering how many other applicants have just walked away like me. I think RAFAC need to learn that we volunteer to help young people realise their potential and its not for the benefit and gratication of those adults who would never have cut it in the RAF. Sorry if this offends but its how I feel.
Given what you have so far posted on here and the general attitude shown, I do wonder if itâs maybe for the best youâve withdrawn your application?
Some things you have said have substance. But generally just appears to be massive generalisations. How can you say âI genuinely think there are far too many âofficersâ in all the cadet forces as well as the air cadets who love collecting more and more rings on their sleeves and who think they are iactually in the real RAF. Thsse people are totally detached from reality.â when you are not even a part of our organisation yet?
You say youâve done 26 years in the MOD. As what? âFYI I am very experienced and especially in fieldcraft, I have all my kit, all my own equipment and even access to H4855 radios if requiredâ this just screams red flags for me, I donât know whyâŚ
Having 1 year experience as SNCO or CI
Thanks but no
Every single one of us is a civillian, from the Brand new cadet, up to the Senior Volunteer advisor (Gp Capt RAFAC???), so wanting to join as an SNCO to be âMilitaryâ is absurd
edit: also donât â â â â â â â insult our CIs by diminishing their contributions, Theyâve given far more to the cadet experience than you ever could, primarily because Safeguarding wouldnât let you through the doorâŚ
hahahahha
No, that perception of officers is outdated massively, and puts into question whether or not you are Ex forces as you claimed
Welcome to RAFACâŚ
Been saying this for near on a month, any proof?
Have you done an FCI(R)/FCI Course because otherwise, no, youâre not.
The only ones who donât have to do the course is those who do it for a living, Army, RAF Regt, etc.
Cool.
I have a nerf gun, doesnât make me a SAAI does it
Welcome to RAFAC?
Look a anywhere on this site,
we winge Like a group of toddlers, but this whole saga seems quite absurd, especially as your experience seems uniqueâŚ
Well we do get these sort of Walts trying to join, but most donât stick around.
Some donât even get all the way in the door.
As anyone whoâs spent any time in the organisation as an Adult would know (you havenât so you wouldnât), the Safeguarding Team donât get involved in people joining unless something flags on the DBS process or a person is referred to them for giving off Noncey vibes.
But then anyone who had really tried to join the organisation would know that we donât have PIâs or A/PIâs for that matter, so you canât have tried to join as one.
Why donât you do us all a favour and head back under your bridge with the rest of the trolls.
Officers are at the coal face - the expectation now days is that they lead from the front - pilot mentality & all that old chap.
Welcome! This is unfortunately the norm although itâs getting betterâŚ
I doubt this was the case - not because I believe that youâve exaggerated your experience but because i think you are under the impression that hq cared - recruitment is by the local Sqn so itâs the local Sqn does the chasing not hq.
I think what we have is a mis-management of your expectations. The air cadets is not the armed forces & has a very different culture & priority of focus. Ex-servicemen who canât adapt to this mindset or try to treat it like phase 1 training fail quite quickly in frustration that a organisation they thought they would have a place for has no need for them.
previous rank carries very little status & the importance is what you can deliver now & how you do it not what youâve done in the past.
Take a beat, think about why you wanted to volunteer in the first place - think if the Air cadets can deliver that need why you want to volunteer, consider if another cadet force would be more effective for you such as the Police cadets or scouting & then go in with that reduced expectations will hopefully allow you to rebalance.
In short , ditch the pre-conceptions, adapt to the current reality on how the world works these days outside of the armed forces & then figure out what you want to do.
Youâve been in 4 different threads (including resurrecting 2, one of which the last post was 7 years ago) creating two of your own, spinning the same dits and gradually adding more and more details - some of which are problematic such as HQSG taking an interest in you. Other comments from you are problematic because theyâre loaded with condescension and prejudice/stereotyping.
At this point you are just trolling and stirring the pot and Iâm not letting that happen any more.
