I think some of us have the same viewpoint that I so clumsily tried to inform. The new ways of doing business have increased the work load and the regular full-time staff need to find some time to help wherever possible. I agree that a lot of the stuff that I mentioned before can, at least in part, be put down to poor support, expecting part-time personnel to know how to sort things out and probably expecting too much overall. (As full-time staff on the same station it took me too long to realise this and I guess I'm not alone).
In answer to some previous posts..
we STILL don't have squippers on our parenting statement.
And...
Cut to nearly 20 years later and TGOs have finally decreed that VGS aircrew should carry an aircrew cutter.
A while back I searched for and found the telephone number on Dii (which most cadet guys don't have access to - which is a problem in itself) of a very helpful Flt Sgt in 22(Trg) Gp that looks after all VGS AEA/SE and had a good chat. I found out that
all non-flying MOB VGSs should have an AEA/SE parenting unit and he put me in touch with the VGS's local SES bay at another station. Once the comms were established it was just a matter of rounding up some flying suits at the end of a weekend and running them over during a week day. There were quite a few to do - so much so that the station ran out of cutter stowages sorting them out! But at least they now have a good set of flying suits to meet the TGO requirement. Collecting them a week later on the way into work involved a 15 mile detour which isn't exactly a disaster (about £3 of fuel and time). I managed this because I had the contacts to do so, rang a few mates and then made it happen (with my SFSO hat on, I was also keen to ensure that their AEA had been serviced/accepted - but that is my responsibility to make happen once I had discovered the problem). I don't blame the VGS for not having compliant AEA and I understand how they ended up as they were. I decided they needed my intervention to help solve the problem. I guess you could call it 'taking ownership'?
As has been mentioned, I hadn't realised that there can be so few, if any, personnel on a VGS with any experience of regular full-time service - all of which normally comes with a network of mates that they can call up to try and get help to get things done. I think a FTRS or ADC (ie. 180-200 days a year) Flt Lt for all VGS might be considered to serve as an Adj/XO to the OC VGS. AEF is one good example already mentioned where FTRS works, and also I believe that most Air Cadet regional HQs have an XO that is a full time employee and a Wg Cdr OC that is the VR(T) officer that seems to work well. I guess it all comes down to a bit more funding - hopefully showing improvement gains in ensurance/assurance and the knock-on effect of improved safety? If it happens I'll claim it as a GEMS!
Whatever the solution that 2FTS come up with, I can't see the old
status quo being maintained (nor would I want to). The full-timers are going to need to try and help wherever they can and keep an eye on the VGS to try and offer advice before events occur; such as the ones that I used as examples at the very start. Full-time staff on stations need to be a pro-active part of the solution. Of course, the solutions they come up with need to be sustainable and also simple enough to allow part-time staff to maintain them with minimal effort - now that is the challenge!
Despite some of the carping from some on here, I'm pretty sure that most full-time service personnel want to see the continuing success of the Air Cadets and VGS. So if you have a problem then ask them for help - you may be surprised with the answer you get!
LJ
