Everyone I speak to says the same thing ... "this is ****e, but what can you do?"
Well, for starters, make your chain of command work for you:-
Next time you have a spare moment in the crewroom with your flight commanders; or
Next time you have a mid-year appraisal (or ACR/OJAR/SJAR/whatever) interview with your OC or even better, your CO; or
Next time DAAvn (or anyone) visits your Regiment and you are lined up for one of those singularly naff 'meet the troops' events that only COs seem to think are a good idea; or
If you work at DAAvn, pop round to the SO1 G1's office; or
If you are an Adjutant, the next time you ring MCM Div on some other matter; or
If you are a WO1 in a Regiment, corner the RAOWO at Tea and Toast;
and ask them any one of the following questions -
(and demand an answer):
• How much consultation was there (with AAC representation present) over this ‘clarification’? What was the rank of those who represented the AAC at meetings where this was discussed? How many meetings were held, over what time-frame? What other parties were represented? Are the minutes from the meetings where this policy clarification was discussed publicly available? If not, why not?
• Has the wording of the Army Pay Warrant 1964 really been that badly mis-applied by a decade's worth of RAOs and RAOWOs across the Corps, or had it already been amended? How many amendments have there been in the period 1995-2007, and how does one get copies of earlier amendments for the periods to which they applied?
• Exactly how ‘inconsistent’ was the interpretation prevalent between 1995 and 2007? How many officers and soldiers were in receipt of enhanced rates of flying pay on 1 Mar 07, and what proportion of these had had their increment date coincident with the 4-yr anniversary of their initial receipt of flying pay rather than a 4-yr anniversary of qualification as aircraft commander? What is the proportion of all increments awarded between 1995 and 2007, including all those who have since left the service, that were based on a 4-yr anniversary of initial flying pay?
• What precisely is the distinction between the following terms, and where else are they defined other than in JSP318/JSP550?
o Authorised as aircraft commander?
o Employed as aircraft commander?
o Qualified as aircraft commander?
• Were the definitions of these terms intended to define entitlement to specialist pay?
• What precisely is the distinction between ‘P1’ and ‘Aircraft Commander’? Are the terms interchangeable, in all three of the examples above? How did these definitions evolve or change during the period 1995 to 2007?
• How many pilots had their aircraft commander authorisation granted at some point
after satisfying the requirements for qualification as an aircraft commander as per JSP318/JSP550 (most commonly due to there being insufficient vacant Aircraft Commander LSNs within that person’s unit at that time, or possibly also because transfer and/or promotion to Sgt was delayed, or as a consequence of some other disciplinary or administrative censure). What is the average period of time for this delay for all those affected? Was it the intention of the Commanding Officers in each case to impose a deferred cumulative financial penalty by imposing this delay? Could this constitute career mismanagement, or an unauthorised, retrospective or illegal punishment?
• Whilst rare, it is technically possible for an Aircraft Commander to lose his/her Aircraft Command status, either on disciplinary, administrative or medical grounds. To what rate of pay would a pilot who presently in receipt of middle, higher, or enhanced rates of P1 pay be entitled if this were to occur? By what formula would his/her entitlement to the various rates of P1 pay be calculated on re-instatement of the P1 qualification / employment / authorisation?
• What is the rationale behind the naming convention for P1 and P2 rates of flying pay? Why is it that a serviceperson who is qualified, authorised and subsequently employed as an aircraft commander after progressing onto the P2 middle rate must remain there until four years at that rate has elapsed? Should not the name of a rate of pay reflect the common English meaning of the words used, and therefore does the logic not suggest that initial P1 pay should be greater than the highest available rate of P2 pay?
• Exactly what is the policy basis for distinguishing Army and RM officers from their RAF and RN counterparts in the matter of P2 pay until qualified as aircraft commanders?
• What is the total amount of P1 pay erroneously paid, for all existing and previous aircraft commanders since 1995? What is the forecast total saving of this ‘clarification’ over the next four years? How many Apache pilots would need to resign on completion of their time bar to completely negate this saving?
In fact, print this out and keep it in your pocket just in case. Constant, persistent, firm pressure is what will force the hierarchy to sort this out. Don't give up on this - if they think we'll tolerate this, what will they take next?