Morning all,
One of our WSOs has recently been appointed the ‘Wing Security Officer’.
I was wondering if all wings now have one of these?
Also as nothing has been released about what their role actually entails does anyone know? Clearly security but what sort? Physical? Cyber?
This isn’t an established post, so I suspect is one of the 4 Rank Ranged to Sqn Ldr Generic Wing Staff Officer Roles… a case of finding a job for someone who had a legitimate WSO role but has been moved along so they can retain their rank…
Is your wing located in an area where you may have a higher security risk than Cornwall might, such as London / Birmingham / Manchester?
Does this WSO have a professional security background that puts them in a position to issue legitimate advice?
Dont get me started. This is something that is not considered in many cases, and whilst we are seen by some (many) as civvies and kids in uniform, there needs to be some recognition of the wider implications of security across the whole organisation.
There’s a very useful little book out there if needed 
. And how many know there is a Security WO and FS at HQRAFAC; not published is it.
Also what mandatory training and qualifications are required or is it just a stick on title. If the ‘security officer’ finds deficiencies in the security a) who will pay to rectify it, RFCA but certainly not the Squadron Civ Com and b) do they have the power to close a Squadron down until any problems are rectified. Oh dear I can see this as an excuse to force co-locations/mergers on Squadrons by the back door on the grounds of security.
I know of one Squadron that recently was broken into and had mini-buses stolen, security, non-existant really.
I’ve heard that a similar thing is happening with the intro of the L144s; being placed at joint ATC/ACF centre because they have (supposedly) better security. Interesting that this may not be the best placed locations for those units who actually shoot!
Funny old thing that, my old Squadron was moved out of an Army Reserve Centre because the ATC would not cough up their share of the money required for a refurbishment, whilst the ACF have done so. Forced into a shotgun co-location and I suspect with the conivence of staff officers, now the building has been burgled and vehicles and equipment stolen. Moving a Squadron out of a secure location to elsewhere seems stupid to me, but there was an agenda to increase the size of the CCF in the area.
Security will be used as a coverall for the latest round of Squadron cuts or mergers to happen.
Why might those areas be higher risk…? That could be seen as an awfully bigoted statement…
To be fair, I had to recently report a threat to an army unit, made via our Sqn facebook page. The FS was in touch with me directly within about 15 minutes of the WExO sending him an email, and gave me some good advice, plus his own personal mobile number should I need to call him for more advice.
Or a realistic assessment based on crime statistics.
Don’t feed the troll.
I would say the majority of our Wing is im fairly benign areas although there is one major urban area which could be construed as more dangerous but I doubt that’s the rationale.
Regardless, us out on the squadrons haven’t been provided any more information on what their specific role is so if it is intended as an advisory one they may not be going about it the right way…
Why not ask them?
Their role can only really encompass advice on things and maybe cyber.
Physical security is sorted by RFCA in co-ordination with the WHQ perm staff.
Arms and ammo security should be a Wing Shooting Officer job in hand with the parent armoury and WHQ Perm staff.
So they really can’t advise on anything without training, cyber for instance will take training. Physical building security and does it encompass fire security as well, who starts the ball rolling to RFCA and what about a suitable budget?
This role covers a huge area and appointing a Wing Security Officer as, I presume, a secondary duty shows a naivety from whoever made that appointment.
Security is a massive area. As MRAR states in their first post, does it cover all aspects of Security? There are many “experts” in this area (you just have to watch 24 hour news to see all the “experts”!!) who may try and “give advice”, but have very little knowledge across the whole area. There are many Police Officers in the ATC, but unless they are Crime Prevention Officers or Detectives in a Cyber Crime Unit, they will only have common sense and basic training to assist, not much more than the General Public! All that will happen is the Security Officer will refer on to the actual experts in the RAFPOL, MoD and RFCA, something that can be done by a page on Sharepoint!!!
As others have stated, this sounds like a way of keeping more Wing Staff away from staffing the Squadrons!
This will have come down from HQAC without any thought of the likely consequences of implementation. First question I have is where does security start, is it from the moment a cadet leaves home and finishes when they return? What about things like outdoor camps DoE expo’s etc, are they to be security cleared by the WSO, if so they are going to be very busy making visits and assesments before the cadets arrive.
Are Squadron’s in high risk crime areas going to be moved, merged, or co-located into areas of perceived lower risk or as I have stated before the idea of moving Squadrons to the nice areas of the inner cities. Look at the map for your own area as I did with mine and lo and behold the majority of Squadrons are not in the inner city where paradoxically there is the greatest need for the units.
This has the potential for disaster
Exactly!!
Is it just so that HQAC can say theyare treating Security seriously by having an appointed Point of Contact in each Wing?
Until direct instructions around Security are issued by HQAC with definitions on when and where our responsibilities start and finish, funding to improve Security across the Organisation and an awareness campaign for all. This role is just another way to keep someone’s Squadron Leader rank, without coming back to the Coalface!!
Having been staff at a Squadron in a deprived Urban area, I totally agree that this is where the Air Cadets should be!!
My current Squadron is also in one of the least salubrious areas of my Wing, will Security shut it down and reduce the opportunities for young people in the area?
In Liverpool there is no Squadron within the main inner ring road Queens drive to Breeze Hill) at all, a popultion which is growing of approx 200,000 and no ATC Squadron. One was moved for that read co-located read probale merger further from the city centre but it would appear a CCF unit was formed and the ATC unit never knew about it. CCF maybe all well and good but they are on 5 year rolling contracts at the behest of the head teacher who can at the end close it down and they can’t recruit outside the school. What about all the others in the area who don’t go to the school?
I would guess that they will be responsible for all the PME’s.
Shall we delve a little deeper into said statistics?