I’ve never known a squadron to be overstaffed. Even as a cadet there was never more than 6 staff and never more than 4 on a parade night.
Quite a few years ago I had 9 staff 4 of whom were parent CIs. However on any one night if we had 4 it was doing well, due to work patterns.
The problems with looking at numbers on SMS is pointless, as you say it doesn’t take into account people’s lives. This even comes down to the number of cadets. I’ve visited squadrons who boast 40, 50+ cadets, but when I visited unless it’s always been one of the odd nights, where are the other half? But I know and accept the reality of the situation, which is something that again that passes Wing Staff by, ironic really when they’ve all been on squadrons. I’ve made this observation to Wing Staff and mentioned the fact that Wing Staff have cried off on scheduled visits due to work, family etc. Doesn’t go down well.
I’ve heard of the changes within the Wing and as far as I’m aware there are a couple of Sqns within it that have a third as many staff as cadets. These could be better utilised elsewhere at other Squadrons. Th unfortunate thing with the current ethos of some staff is that if they have to move then they will leave.
I have been a CO where staff worked shifts. They give as much as they can give and I was very grateful for it. If you are accommodating with them, 9 times out of 10 they will be accommodating with you, helping out on their days off when others are not available because the work Monday to Friday 9-5.
I’m not adverse to change, and from what I’ve been told, this particular Wing has need it for some time. The restructure of Wing Staff allows those who would have had no opportunity to progress previously. This would then free up a position as Sqn OC, for example, for an eager Fg Off to move in to.
However, some dont like change and will poo poo the idea.
At the end of the day we do what we do in whatever capacity for the young individuals in our care. If you are doing it for your own fortune and glory then you should move on. I would happily take the MOD90 of someone who doesn’t think the same.
What about people who already double hat? In my Sector of my Wing half of the OC’s also have a Wing role of some type, would they in this system be told they had to choose between there Wing job or Squadron Command?
From where I sit there are very few Wing jobs which need to be full time the rest can be done by someone part time. (Although you might not want a Command there is no reason why you can’t be a Squadron Officer).
To me the only Wing Staff roles which require a fulltime member do staff are:
Wing Commander
Deputy Wing Commander (no reason any Sqn Ldr can’t double hat as this).
Sector Commanders
Training Officer
WWO
Shooting Officer
Adventure Training Officer
I separate the bottom 2 from the list because it’s only a fulltime role if you are busy. If you are a fulltime WATTO the Wing needs to be doing AT every month, be it Wing run Staff courses like LLA or activities for the cadets. If all you are doing is advertising Windermere Courses and signing off Bader applications you should be on a Squadron. Same goes for shooting, if you are fulltime you need to be running L98 ranges at weekends and getting round Squadrons assisting in local ranges/training.
If there is something a Wing does particuarly badly then I can see a justification for making a role full time for a fixed term to get the activity running properly. An obvious example is Fieldcraft where some Wings aren’t doing it, the Wing CO could make Wing FT Officer a fulltime post for say 2 years with very prescriptive ToR to get FT running, once that done the role becomes a secondary duty again and back to Squadron you go.
I agree on some of your points. The Specialist positions could be double hatted releasing the need for Sqn Officers to leave their unit however, some roles may be more time consuming and not allow enough time to carry out both.
That would be a decision that could be made between the Wg Cdr and the individual applying for the job.
It’s not a current ethos it has always been that way. I was on squadron c.50 minute drive for 9 months and binned it as it extended my ‘working day’ by 2-2½ hours and doing anything at the weekend, was even less fun. So when people say if you force me to move, I’m off, I fully understand why. Not so many years ago people were not as mobile as they are now. All but one my cadet squadron staff didn’t live more than 4 miles away and the one came on the train every other week.
As a volunteer you choose where you volunteer, the clue is in the definition of volunteer . This could be next door or 20 miles away. it is disingenuous to say that people who decide not travel and leave, are somehow lesser people.
Similarly I know a lot of people me included who have refused to do Wing jobs. I don’t see myself as a Wing person for one I’m not uptight enough about the rubbish WSOs seem to get excited about. The people who go onto Wing, seem to because they don’t want to do the squadron stuff anymore, judging by the comments they come out with, around not having to do any of the squadron things, even down to parading two nights a week. There are some who go looking for it, as they think there is some kudos to it or they really detest squadron life.
Can I ask what made you go to a Sqn that was a 50min drive away in the first place? Surely you had an option rather than being told to so if you were told to you should have said no and binned it then as you so put it.
As for those wanting to move onto WSO posts maybe they want to move on to something different rather than be on a Sqn. Some WSO I know are very proactive within their respective Wings and do an excellent job. Those that do it for the wrong reasons should be in the post in the first place. In any walk of life, if you want promotion it means taking on more responsibility.
Personally I’d had enough of my WExo phoning me up demanding that I open up the Sqn for building inspections when I was at work and questioning everything I did. It was borderline B&H so I made the decision to move on.
The role I now do means I do a 60 mile round trip. No I’m not involved directly with cadets nor am I on an ATC unit but I still feel my role is just as important. Would I throw in the towel if we were relocated? Probably not. I think it’s quite a selfish way of looking at things. It’s up to the individual what they consider a long distance to travel. Some may say 5 miles is too much if they haven’t a car but some may be willing to travel 30 miles (my first command was a 36mile round trip).
Saw in a whatsapp group today, that one wing has announced today they are adopting a new model of the Sector Commander effectivley becoming a Sqn Cdr of 3 or 4 flights (aka current Sqns). Each sector will have 2 new primary posts of Adjutant and SWO. This makes the current batch of Sqn Cdrs effectivley Flt Cdrs now.
Sounds alot like the ACF model to me, i do wonder who signed this off though.
That was the way Sectors was always seen to work if you spoke to anyone from HQAC when they were brought in. It’s just never happened that way as it didn’t fit with the way people are used to working or with the financial structure of the organisation.
It’s not happening right now, but is the proposed new structure. Apparently a “Working group” of people around the wing will be finalizing details over the next ~3 months.
Not my wing, so I can’t comment on the specific plans, but I would imagine that there is very little of “on unit” admin that can be pushed upwards, aside from the OCs sign offs on RAs, activities etc.
Which means the “Flight Commanders” will still get all of the crap, whilst possibly losing the ability to sign off activities they want to do.
Locally sectors have failed and are now no longer used. Other wings and gone the while mini wing concept with sector WOs etc which has just sucked away staff from Sqn level.
Yes the ACF use this model but mainly as they don’t have the staff as we do.
If an ATC wing is considering this model then it’s a sign that the wing has failed considerably in its leadership & its recruitment strategy & has done no long term planning.
Just to add that we are still in covid recovery mode & we won’t see a return to numbers until 2025 - in effect until the covid cadets have aged out, we will still have tough times.
There is a lot to be said for Sector Training programmes and Sector SME’s as long as the Sector is close enough to work together. It wouldn’t work in the Highlands but could work well in any of the cities or even counties where squadrons are on top of each other.
Brighton has 225, 226 (Brighton number one and two) as well as 176(Hove) a couple of miles away. Couple that with Shoreham not too far either.
Most squadrons there are on top of each other. Could easily handle that with that idea.
Although… Judging from recent actions of some down there it may not work as intended.
The question id ask, given theres an endemic uniformed staff shortage. How are the extra 14 wing primary appointments going to get signed off by region or HQAC? The business case to remove staff from Sqn for this just doesnt make sense in my head.
I also don’t see anyone volunteering to be sector adjutant and have to deal with the paperwork for 5 or 6 squadrons. It’s more than enough to be getting on with on one squadron! Nobody likes admin that much
From what I can see from the ACF experience and our work in sectors, it could be aiming to fill gaps or be more effective in producing training at above Squadron level but with caveats.
As far as the ACF goes, at least round my way:
ACF detachments are (usually) smaller than Squadrons and do a lot more weekends training at Coy level
they have,
At least in our area, more detachments and closer together
they have a Coy OC (major), trg off (Cpt), not sure about an adj. They do have a civilian admin assistant who also does a lot of the QM duties, these are paid full time RFCA staff
they have physical Coy HQs with stores
MT is at company level, and MOD/RFCA not unit charitable purchase
funds administered at Coy level
From an ATC point of view in my sector as an example we have probably a 90 minute journey from one side of the sector to the other. But we have at least 3 units in a different sector each under 30 minutes away. And a lot more under 90 minutes.
From what I’ve seen working with 1 or 2 local squadrons works well enough, otherwise it might as well be Wing, with the Sectors the unloved middle child.
In some areas boosting sectors might work but downgrading Squadrons to flights - I’m unconvinced.
Not sure moving staff is even feasible unless they are doing it that way because units don’t currently have an OC/adj.