Jeese some of you blokes winging have already been in the RAAF too long reading some of the drivel you are coming up with. A few home truths:
1. The RAAF doesn’t give a sh*t if you leave. In fact the whole system is designed for TURNOVER of personnel. The whole posting, promotion system is designed to continually bring new blood that are green, keen and will put up with the crap that comes with being in the military.
2. The RAAF does NOT think that every pilot wants to be CAF. I’m not sure if you noticed but there are fewer SQNLDR positions than FLTLT, few WGCDR than SQNLDR etc and there is only one CAF. So the whole system is designed to actively get people promoted as you get older/more experienced away from flying in order to open the spots to new younger fresher greener spots. The older guys either get promoted if that is what they want or get out, jack of not flying. This is what the system WANTS. To say it is wrong just because you, who feel your experience of stick and rudder skills flying aircraft in the RAAF, counts for something in the RAAF, means you have completely missed the whole way the defence force recruits and retains people. The RAAF wants a rather large percentage of (insert job type – not limited to pilots) to leave so that new blokes can come in and the people who have not yet had enough get promoted to train the new blokes.
3. The only time the system actually cares if more people are leaving than they can recruit is if this condition actually carries on for a good number of years. Whilst with our new 13555 member RAAF doesn’t have anywhere near the fat it once had prior to 1991, the system really doesn’t care. Just have a look at current ops. I met an LACW Box packer the other day who had been in for 3.5 years and had spent more time overseas on ops than she had back in Australia since joining. What this shows is that we WILL continue to screw people for everything they are worth and more in order to meet whatever the govt wants us to do.
It is blatantly obvious even to blind Freddie, that the RAAF either wants you to get promoted or get out. The fact that YOU want to keep flying is irrelevant. The RAAF has no room for 45 year old FLTLT’s A Cats who just want to keep lighting the sky or ground (20,000ft/20ft) on fire, that is the job of the 20 something relatively new bloke.
Seems to me that a lot of the posters here simply haven’t discovered the reality of how the ADF works. Once your ROSO is up, the RAAF no longer wants you flying. Get out or get a desk job.
Me, I’m gone in 3.5 months after 14.5 years to greener (and better paying) pastures. No I’m not bitter and twisted, just understand the reality of the RAAF and also what PAF put down as the financial reality of the military pay and super system. Good luck to those staying in, hope you enjoy your desks and promotion as I am sure that you blokes who are staying and get to the lofty heights, will look back on this archived thread in 10 or 15 years and make all the changes that you wanted as a senior FLTLT/SQNLDR
Cheers
CB