Recognised Qualification's

As great as the Air Cadet Organisation (ACO) looks on your CV when applying for a job and even better when telling your interviewer all the incredible things you have achieved. On paper its harder for an employer to understand what you have done, but luckily the ACO working with CVQO and the Duke of Edinburgh award you can gain a few different qualifications open to cadets and even to staff.

I have been very fortunate, I have been able to achieve 8 civilian recognised qualifications, those being:

• BTEC in aviation studies
• BTEC in public services
• BTEC in music
• ILM in teamwork and leadership
• ILM in leadership and management
• Duke of Edinburgh awards bronze, silver and gold. <-The RAF love DofE 

Some of the courses have changed names since I did mine, but they have been great to add to the CV.

Before completing some of these qualifications I was in 2 minds, especially if the qualification wasn't completed within the time period you could face some charges (not sure if its the same now). But I am glad I did do them in the end, there wasn't a lot of work to do as much of the work had already been done, such as camps and NCO courses etc. 

All of the BTEC's and ILM's had work books (except the aviation studies as its apart of the cadet syllabus) these didn't take long to complete and are very straight forward. Could easily be done over one weekend!

I fully recommend to do as many as possible as it will help with any job you apply for, whether its civilian or in the military. It may even help you go through the promotion ladder faster.

RISE- ATC Values

This is one of my favorite things about the cadets, as an organisation we are here to develop young people, and imprint our values on all our members. These values I believe should not be just at the squadron they are life values that everyone needs to follow.

What are the ATC values?

The Corps' values are:

Respect

Integrity

Service

Excellence

Or for short RISE, to help you remember. there is another value which is the nonofficial value called leadership. The Royal Air Force also follows these values, so if you are joining the RAF knowing them will help you on your selection process.

Whats does each value mean?

Respect- You need to show respect to others, the environment, property and most importantly your self! You know how you want to be treated, so use that as the standard in which you act.

Integrity- Integrity is about doing the right thing, whether that's sticking up for a friend or telling the truth about what happened in a situation. Don't be the one to stand back and watch then afterwards wish you had stepped in. Do the right thing!

Service- Service can be interpreted as helping others and the community. or representing your squadron, wing or the Corps.

Excellence- Is doing the best you can possibly do! You should give 100% in everything you do. Don't coarse your way through life, put as much as you possibly can.

I'm hoping this short blog may inspire you in life and to be a good person.

One of my squadron commanders once said to me, "you will enjoy life the most out side your comfort zone and looking for challenges that will do this!"

A last tip I use the values in situations especially at the squadron, for example if cadets are late or unprepared, I would say its a lack of respect and doesn't show they are trying their best. It works great psychologically.  

Boots

In this blog I'm going to cover, how to polish boots and give some advice on which boots to choose.

How to polish your boots.

Polishing boots is a lot easier than parade shoes, with boots you could polish them within 5 minutes prior to parading and they will look good.

My polishing kit

When I polish my boots I use an old cloth, dip it in the polish and cover the surface of the shoe and welts. Then I get my soft brush and take off the polish until its shiny and also use a tooth bush (not my one to clean my teeth and I suggest you don't use your own too) which is to brush the welts and anywhere that I missed with the larger brush.


Getting the right boots for you.

Getting the right boots with very little experience and knowledge is really hard. Especially with such a large range makes it even more difficult! Since joining cadets I have had 3 sets of boots and seen loads of different types of boots used by other cadets.

The first boot I bought were patrol boots, you can get 2 types of patrol boots mine are full leather and there's another which has some breathable sides. These boots are really light and are very cheap. Unfortunately they aren't very good at keeping out the water, especially the breathable sided one's, many friends have complained about them and some have even tried to water proof them.

I have used bees wax on these boots which has kept them shiny for the past 3 years!!!

After my patrol boots started to fall apart, although they have lasted a few years and still look shiny, I was given some combat boots. I really liked the look of the combat boots as they have military style about them, but the ones I got were cheap, so had a few faults. But I am still using them and for the price they are very durable. The sole on these are solid practically unlike the gortex versions which is very bendy.

Combat Boots

I was fortunate to also be issued some RAF combat boots which were similar to my own but had a Geltex outer sole which doesn't like hot weather and will deteriorate quickly. I wore mine on a trip, where the weather was of a tropical climate and very dry. They started to crumble during the drip but they are well designed for the British weather and keep out the water.

RAF issue combat boots

I have used these mainly for field craft so they have taken bit of a beating.

I have seen small amount of cadets use Magnums and Altbergs. These brands are very expensive, with prices well into 3 digits. On the other hand the quality is second to none, I wouldn't personally go for the magnums as they look more like a boot designed for the police force but I heard they can be easily taken off with many of their boots have a zip on the inside ankle and that they are extremely comfy. I really like the Altberg design, for me its the stereotype military boot, its a shame they are so expensive otherwise I would definitely like a pair. They look comfy and durable which is the qualities you want in a boot as well as being water proof.

Overall I would suggest the combat boot (geltex sole) if you got a tight budget or if you have a bit more you can spend go for the Altberg.

If you have any questions or want more advice please ask. Or if you would like to add any advice please do comment below on this blog thank you.

Remembrance Sunday (hints, tips and check list)

Hello all, this blog contains hints, tips and check list so your ready for Remembrance Sunday. And hopefully will get you through the parade with out fainting.

First here's a check list for items of uniform you will require on the day. Make sure you have put effort into your uniform as its probably the most important day of the year and you want to look smart in front of the public.

Items of uniform:

1. Beret
2. Wedge wood blue shirt
3. Black Tie
4. Jumper
5. Brassard
6. (For Boys) Trousers and black socks
7. (For Girls) Skirt and tights
8. Parade shoes
9. Geltex/crisp packet (if weather is looking a bit dodgy)
10. And most importantly a poppy

Hints and Tips for the parade.

Make sure you have had a decent breakfast and make sure you have dehydrated, this will give you the energy for the parade. I've had many cadets faint even on a normal parade night due to not having a meal for some time. A chocolate bar doesn't count as breakfast!!!

If you didn't know its a military offence if you do not eat and it affects your work. 

i.e. faint on parade.

Next tip make sure your early, so you can help other cadets and crack on with a buddy-buddy check so your all looking on point for the parade.

Some times during the parade you will be standing still for long periods of time. This can lead to you fainting due to the heart slowing down and not enough blood being pumped to the brain. Here's a few tips, make sure you don't stare into space, instead look around keep engaged with your surroundings and with the parade. Try to move or rock on your feet this will keep the heart pumping and the blood flowing. Remember keep the movement small so you look smart.

My warrant officer always told us to move with in our uniform, unfortunately for girls, the boys could move their legs with in their trousers to keep that blood flowing. Girls you will have to think of something else.

Thank you for reading my blog, enjoy the parade, let me know if these tips worked or didn't work. I am sure they will, as I have yet to faint. Touch wood I haven't just jinxed myself now! 

How to wear the poppy

Hello all, it’s that time of the year when we all get together to sell poppies on behalf of the Royal British Legion to raise money for veterans and wounded soldiers. This is a quick guide covering how to wear the poppy and other hints and tips.

The poppy has been a very important symbol for the armed forces and it’s important we wear it with pride. Make sure each year you get a new poppy so there are no creases; it looks smarter than the one from last year.

In the Air Cadets we wear the poppy on the right side of the body because the Royal Air Force's short involvement during World War 1. (The rule here is what’s yours is worn on the left, thus why you wear your own medals on the left and what is not yours on the right, thus family medals are worn on the right side.)

If you’re wearing a shirt it is stated in AP1358c version 1.07 that the poppy is to be fixed directly above the right breast pocket or inserted into the button hole. If you pin it above the pocket I would shorten the stem to just before the barb so it’s not showing.

If you’re wearing your jumper you can use the barb on the stem of the poppy to your advantage, push the stem through the jumper and it shouldn't fall out. Like the shirt it should be in a similar position on the jumper. After remembrance Sunday make sure you cut off the barb so you can take the poppy out without damaging your jumper.

Finally make sure the leaf on the poppy is pointing at 11 o'clock like in the image on this blog.

Followship

In the Air Cadets we are always teaching and improving cadets leadership skills. But we never really talk about followship. Followship is a skill that all leaders need to have and everyone that isn't a leader needs also (specially if you want to get promoted).

Another word used often for follower is subordinate.

Followship is a skill we will all use at some point, whether it's in the forces or civi street it's an important skill we all need. There's a fair few people that struggle with being a follower, they are the ones that are very unlikely to get promoted (unfortunately for them), but it's a basic skill all leaders need.

To become a good follower you need the following skills:

• Listening
• Communication
• Discipline
• Respect
• Sense of urgency

Listening skills are required, as a follower you need to be able to listen to what your leaders are telling you and take on board as much as possible.

Communication skills also include listening skills but its also how a follower should talk their leaders. Make sure you talk to your leader firstly, many cadets are to afraid to talk to their leader, if you do have any problems talk to the first rank above your own in the chain of command. Make sure your opinions/ideas are heard as they may be better than your leaders and they may chose your own (make sure its communicated as a suggestion).

Discipline is also a vital skill, as a follower you are on most occasions asked or told or even ordered to carry out a task set by the leader, if you have discipline then you will carry out the task straight away with no questions asked (obviously don't do a task which is unrealistic and seriously dangerous). A good follower will do as they are told!

Discipline isn't only punishment it is also self control.

Respect is a skill you should have learnt in life already from your parents but many people struggle to listen to someone in a more superior position and in some situations answer back. This is showing little respect for your superiors, followers need to show respect even if you don't like the person or disagree with a decision. Show some respect, accept that they are in that position and follow them!

Sense of urgency is a skill I learnt while on Junior leaders more than at the squadron, its very difficult at first but I see many cadets being told to do something and they take a few seconds to think about it. Then take a few minutes to get sorted, by the time they come around to actually do the task, about 5 minutes has gone already. As a follower just get on with the task as fast as possible and with no affect on the quality.

I hope this has helped any cadets out there, it is also good advice if your looking to get promoted as these are skills required of a leader. Remember to become a leader you must be a good follower first!!!

Expectations of a SNCO

The expectations for a SNCO (senior non-commissioned officer) compared to a JNCO (junior non-commissioned officer) are very different, there's even different expectations of the 3 ranks that come under the SNCO.

If you didn't know already there's 3 SNCO ranks in the Air Training Corps, they are:

Cadet Warrant Officer (CWO)

Flight Sergeant (FS)

Sergeant (SGT)

Sergeant:
                Many people stereotype the SGT positions as the 'lazy rank' I personally think you should not live up to this. If you're a SGT and now you think you can coast it, your not doing what a good leader should. At my squadron the SGT's are in charge of a flight each this gives you a small amount of responsibility, your flight is your baby you need to nurse it, look after it and develop it.
                I would expect my SNCO's to be doing homework, when I say homework I mean doing work outside parade hours to improve their flight, "what work?" your probably thinking, well its down to you what needs to be done at your squadron, suggestion your own flight inspection sheets etc. A SGT also needs to keep on top of the JNCO's making sure their doing their job and checking that the cadets are up to the expected standard.

Flight Sergeant:
                  Firstly if you got to this stage, very well done you have clearly worked really hard. For those you have made FS recently your going to find that things are going to get harder, so far you have had little amounts of responsibility, now you most likely have the whole squadron under your belt, its a lot of responsibility but you will get use to it. Just keep going and work hard! As long as your doing everything you were doing before and remember to continue to lead by example.

                  With FS you will find you will be doing a lot of running around compared to SGT and even more homework than before. Looking back my parade nights went so quickly because I practically never sat down.
                    I would say the difference with FS than any other rank so far is the fact now you can implement any actions, Like I changed the way we called the cadence out, I turned it into a call and response whereas before it use to be just the markers. So you can now put your own personal stamp on the squadron.

Cadet Warrant Officer:
                  Now i'm struggling to think of expectations for this rank its very similar to FS, what I would expect here is CWO's to have a bigger presence at wing level and helping staff other than that I can't really add any more advice here.

Really at this level you should be on point with everything! haha

The final point is your squadron is a reflection of you, if your not inspiring cadets by going on events i'm sure they wont either. Many of the cadets look up to you so show them the rewards you can get out of this great organisation. And don't stop leading by example.

If any one has any questions feel free to comment or if you would like me to add any thing to expectations let me know.

Expectation of a JNCO

As a cadet I remember the amazing feeling when you first get promoted, you feel ecstatic as you march up to collect your rank slides because all your efforts really payed off in the end. But up to this point you have only known what its like to be a cadet and now you have a whole new set of expectation to fulfill.

YOU ARE EXPECTED TO LEAD!!!

This blog is for those that don't really know what to do as a newly appointed JNCO (Cpl or LCpl). I am here to help, from my experience there's not a great deal of difference only 4 things you really need to do!

The first is 'lead by example', probably a phrase you have heard on loads of occasions. If you got to this point you must have put a lot of effort in to taking part and into things such as your uniform. What I suggest is keep going, keep taking part, keep on with improving your uniform, drill and knowledge just don't stop, Set a high standard for your cadets to inspire too! Then you will be great leader, this is the minimum expected of you.

LEAD BY EXAMPLE ALWAYS!!!

I want my JNCOs as their primary job is to focus on the 3 D's:

• DRILL
• DRESS
• DISCIPLINE

I expect them to have set a high standard but I also expect them to at least make sure their own cadets in their flight meet the standards as well with regular inspections, advice and encouragement. This needs to be the JNCOs focus to allow SNCOs to focus their efforts else where, If SNCOs are having to make sort out the 3 D's then you JNCOs aren't doing your job properly!

If you want any more advice comment below.

Motivation

Motivation is an important factor which can either make or break your cadet career.

To be successful in any organisation you have to be self motivated, at the squadron I see so many cadets come through the doors all year round, those that do well are the ones that get most out of it. I personally see the organisation as an investment so try to get the most out of it as possible, I have seen plenty of cadets that literally waste their time as they  get very little out of the organisation. Those who are self motivated do the best, gain loads of qualifications and experiences that can help in later life.

Self motivation can be hard to find especially if your a new cadet, I found that a motivated staff team and cadet NCO team can have an huge impact on cadets motivation and input. With a highly motivated staff team, opportunities are more frequent and there is a bit of a push to get them involved.

A motivated NCO team can help as well, if NCO's are getting involved and leading by example this can inspire cadets to do the same. If motivation starts at the top it very much passes down through the ranks, almost trickles down. If all staff and NCO's are highly motivated the only way in which a cadet wont be successful is down to their own motivation at the end.

I find motivation is one of the biggest problems we face in the cadet forces if we are trying to improve all those who join, but its apart of life, cadets isn't going to be a everyone's cup of tea sadly. But if there is a highly motivated staff and NCO team it should increase everyone's chances of success and hopefully having a very successful squadron at the end.

Please add any ideas in which you think we can improve motivation on squadrons?

How to get a good start on your uniform.

This is probably going to be one of the shortest posts I am ever going to do!

How to get your uniform off to a good start.

Well for this all you may need is a tape measure, maybe needle and thread. To look smart with your uniform it needs to fit, so not too big or too small!!!

Make sure you get the right size for you, check that the collar of the shirt isn't too tight and baggy. The cuff shouldn't ride up your arm while your arm its extended forward.

Your tie should should just reach your belt.

The belt must be adjusted so the belt passes the first loop about an inch after its gone through the buckle. (Just in case I don't mean the stable belt, I mean the standard issue belt)

Trousers and skirts, have to fit nicely on the waist and seat. the leg doesn't matter if its too long as it can be adjusted.

The beret must be level all the way around, if your beret is to big it will fall down, if its too small it will ride up. If this happens then you need to get a new beret.

Hopefully if you get your uniform to fit you will look smart even before you have to do anything with it!

How to create a successful NCO team!

It's pretty simple on how to create a successful Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) team, the key points are education and team work.

Firstly education, when I say education I mean NCO's knowledge of the organisation and individual development. They have to have at least a basic knowledge of subjects such as drill, uniform and the history of the organisation. If they have a high level of knowledge they are able to imprint higher standard's on to those they lead but this needs to be pushed by those up top to keep those standards improving.

NCO's also need development, many cadets lack skills required to be a good NCO, if there aren't told where they are going wrong they will never improve, once a individuals are given addition help on what skills they need to improve such as communication skills, this again should be those standards up and will also fulfill motivational needs. By having all NCO's attend a JNCO or SNCO course you will see an improvement almost straight away as they learn vast amount's on the course.

With team work, looking at my past cadet experience many NCO teams struggle to work when individuals have personality clashes, this is life there's going to people you like and people you dislike. In a team those differences need to be left out side the team, as soon as individuals bring this to the team, the team will split. The effectiveness of the team will reduce. If there is an agreement to work together as colleagues and have professional relationship the team can still work. Regular team work building tasks can improve the teams relationship.

Joining the ATC

Joining the Air Training Corps I would say is probably the hardest thing about cadets, as many cadets know, its a new environment with its own life style and ways. For everyone you remember being shy and scared for those first few months, especially if your warrant officer looks and acts very menacing (just like the one in the picture).

 For me my two biggest regrets are that I didn't join as early as I could have and the other being that I didn't take part in as much as I could have because of the fear of putting my self out there and taking myself out of my comfort zone. Because of this I didn't get the rewards that many other cadets did. Once I started taking part, taking my self out of the comfort zone is when the ATC started becoming enjoyable and exciting. Which lead to me becoming noticed by the staff, becoming promotions and a very successful cadet.

Polishing shoes

Yay my first post. I think such an important post needs to be a something big. So I'm going explain how to polish your shoes ready for parade. Woop woop.

Equipment you will require is:

• Your shoes (important item I think) 
• Black shoe polish
• Cotton wool pads
• And prehaps some water

I think it's safe to say there's loads of ways of doing your shoes. But I think my way is the best ;)

So here we go....

Stage 1- preparing the shoe

Before you start to polish make sure your shoe is clean and free from dirt and dust. (Easy enough)

Stage 2- polishing the shoe 

For this stage you will need to make your cotton wool pad damp, squeeze as much water out as possible. Then dip the pad into your polish. Next with the cotton wool pad apply the polish in small circles to the shoe until there's no polish smears. You may need to repeat several times. 

(It will take ages but it will be worth it if you want to get promoted, specially as leaders need to lead by example.)

Stage 3- water bulling

Next to finish off the shoe, run a cold tap, with a clean cotton pad put the shoe under the tap and rub the surface to wash away excess polish which will also give you a deeper shine to the shoe.

If you have any question do ask!