Hi all.
Some very interesting stuff here. Here's my ha'pp'orth;
First and foremost, the ATC is for the kids, not the staff. It is meant to foster a spirit of adventure (Venture Adventure?) and air-mindedness in them, not to mention responsibility & citizenship. To get all this through to the cadets is incredibly hard work, week-in, week-out, year-in year-out, unpaid and unthanked. The job is much harder than anything anyone reading this does, believe me! The uniformed staff, especially the officers, deserve a lot of respect for the work they do. Of course there are some numpties and some to whom the uniform give delusions of grandeur but these are a minority. When you meet them give them help, not ridicule. Change their attitude, don't berate it. Most RAF servicemen & women are ex-cadets and whether or not they realise it owe a lot to these volunteers.
I would also like to see the demise of the VR(T) branch, but only because it emphasises a gulf. Rather, I would like to see air cadet officers badged as RauxAF and given more training, not less. A basic fitness level would be a start, and perhaps educational minima, but most importantly some training with regulars. Most civvy occupations have some equivalency in the forces - why not offer some "work experience"? Why not get ATC sqn adj's to spend time with regular sqn adj's, OCs with OCs? It would work the other way too - couldn't those personnel on careers office postings also be seconded to an ATC sqn? When I was an ATC sqn boss I had no adj and nearly sank under the paperwork. I would have given anything to have an admin/sec type to help me. If you're a regular reading this, I urge you to find an ATC sqn & offer some help. I know with postings & OOA commitments it can be hard, but please do what you can. One caveat, though; remember that there are laws applying to the care of children which must be borne in mind, & try not to let your enthusiasm run away with you!
For what it's worth; I was (very briefly) a cadet, only joining at 18. Then a CI, VR(T) & eventual sqn CO. I "retired" a few years ago because my mife & I both work shifts & the arrival of small children left no spare time at all. Albeit civvy-licensed, I am an air trafficker on a military base working to RAF rules & regs. I have even been seen once or twice controlling in uniform with VR(T) tabs. That made the aircrew raise an eyebrow or two!!
ap.