Good meme game
It should be universal regardless of time served - if the person is a WO, they wear Tate & Lyles. Simple and avoids confusion with the rank structure.
Not sure why anyone is expecting anything next month, the IBN is clear that the timing is TBC but no earlier than October 2020, and will no doubt have been delayed by Covid.
My point was more pointing out the absurdity of putting the supposed rules for appointment to WO in the IBN when they are clearly not really a rule.
Itās good to see recognition for our WOs and wearing the Royal Arms is definitely prestigious. Once the badge is awarded after 8 years, I assume it can be worn from then on, whatever role the WO moves into?
It disappoints me though that HQAC have taken such a different approach to commissioned ranks, where people can yo-yo between Fg Off, Flt Lt and Sqn Ldr and rank isnāt closely related to experience any more.
If promotion to Sqn Ldr was permanent We would end up with hundreds of extra Sqn ldrs not in a Sqn ldr post.
I suppose, not an issue if it is Sqn Ldr (unpaid) but even then the rank structure would be ridiculously top heavy.
Thatās true, retaining Sqn Ldr after a short period would be OTT, but if someoneās done 10-15 years as Sqn Ldr?
Alternatively, Flt Lt would be an appropriate rank to retain. Thatās certainly the norm for regulars and wouldnāt create a top heavy org any more than having lots of WOs. I find that ATC staff, as well as regulars, deal very differently with Fg Off and Flt Lt. The assumption seems to be that Fg Off still have limited experience, although that may slowly change in the ATC as we get more Fg Off with 15-20 years experience.
I think we are already very top heavyā¦ And rank to role is a good idea.
In our wing there are very few Plt or Fg Offāsā¦ Some squadrons seem to have multiple Flt Lt - recently when the OC moved on from one there were two other Flt Lt on squadron but neither wanted to take the OCās seat - until one became a reluctant hero and stepped up (or so Iām told)ā¦
Compared to the Army we do seem to have a huge amount of officers kicking around anyway, of which most seem to be Flt Lt - given that Flt Lt is the third step on the ladder I would argue we are already far too top heavy even locally.
Rank doesnāt relate to experience per say either - it is perfectly possible for a Fg Off to have a wealth of experience over and above a Wing Commander - especially in an organisation such as ours where different people with different aims, abilities etc are coming together.
Personally, we should be making the SNCO route look much more attractive, and not be scared of WOās with experience running units.
I wouldnāt mind seeing a structure where most new staff are CIās, after 1 year and they are sure the org is for them move to Sgt after some training or apply for commission.
Officers on a Sqn; Plt Off for Exec roles, OC as Fg Off, Wing Staff as Flt Ltā¦
We talk about credibility a lot in regards to commission, but I just donāt think having the bulk of your officers at Flt Lt helps with this eitherā¦
Just a thought. Iām sure there are lots of reasons why I am wrong, just thinking out loud!
Is that just not a hangover from having officers in the RAF VR, though? The VR(T) promotion roughly matched that off regular commissioned officers.
I agree. Why have promotion for one stream as time served, and the other is role based?
Promotion to Fg Off (Highest substantive rank) is Time Served + Matrix, subsequent promotions are role based and a mixture of time and matrix.
Yes, they were fairly close. It might be more appropriate now for RAFAC to do 4 years as Plt Off and 4 as Fg Off, mirroring the NCO promotions. The matrix should apply still of course. The NCO ārouteā is sensible and consistency between NCO and officers would be good to see.
I think the substantive rank isnāt a relevant issue any more (if it ever was). RAFAC ranks have no legal power, so whether an officer is acting or substantive has no effect that Iām aware of. Paid/unpaid is more relevant.
Iād suggest that having several Flt Lt on a Sqn wouldnāt be top heavy, but thatās just my view. In a few years we might have 2 or 3 WOs on a Sqn though.
Having an OC, Training Officer and Adj who all had 8+ years commissioned experience sounds brilliant to me. I donāt think thereās a single Sqn in our Wing thatās like that though!
I donāt see the difference between having 3 Flt Lt or 3 WO to be honestā¦ It just seems out of whack to me, regardless as to the time servedā¦
Rank to role I think is very sensible - 1 Flt Lt and 2 Fg Off would be far better, with either of the Fg Off available to fill a Flt Lt spot if required at any pointā¦
It is nice to be appreciated, but via rank I think in our circumstance is not quite right - why not weight VA against commissioning time rather than rank so long time serving staff feel appreciated regardless as to their role?
Cough WO Rankslides cough
A cough like that means you need to isolate from us for 10 days unless you can get a test
Stay on topic and heād be able to!
Has anyone heard of latest developments about the rank slides as it was said not before October as some I know of have went and bought their own but will they be allowed to wear them, as we know this will take some time to issue all with them.
Nope.
Contact your WWO to chase.