Originally Posted by
exMudmover
Where exactly have you obtained this information? Are we to understand that you have seen the confidential reports of a series of 'creamies'. Or is this just anti-QFI banter?
Definitely not anti-QFI banter, just my observations on what became of the creamies who taught me at the FTSs, my course mates who were creamed, the ex-creamies I served alongside as a junior pilot, and those I supervised, instructed and reported on as a senior supervisor. Since the observation has obviously been taken to imply criticism then allow me to expand.
Probably the biggest factor was the frequent pigeon-holing of ex-creamies into squadron QFI roles, meaning they spent a lot of time in the back of twin-stickers doing check rides rather than tactical work-ups. I witnessed that happening to many contemporaries and tried to resist it when I got into a position of influence, but if Manning counts an ex-creamie as the single QFI the squadron is established for, then your options are limited. Hopefully not an issue in the modern RAF, with no twin-stick F35s and the Typhoon tubs used only for a couple of air combat trips on the OCU.
For those who could escape or transcend the pigeonholing issue, the factor mentioned by BV came into play: for instance, if a squadron only had enough training capacity to deliver one four-ship lead workup, the promising first-tourist with a shot at QWI selection would probably get it ahead of the already-Q-ticked ex-creamie. Especially so if the ex-creamie had achieved A2 (which most had) and was soon to be considered competitive for promotion.
Not going to get deep into the QWI thing, other than to say that (thankfully) things improved a lot during my time: there seemed to have been a realisation that the toxicity shown by the staff on certain QWI courses had become self-perpetuating, as bullied students returned to become bullying instructors. As far as I can tell, that chain has been broken. As well as the general change in expectations of behaviour, there's also the fact that excellent modern simulators mean that students can have their combat skills assessed under pressure in complex scenarios, where back in the day some QWIs overcompensated for the relative simplicity of live training by applying extreme pressure to the debrief. As you experienced!