Originally Posted by
Pontius Navigator
Alemaobaiano, the son of a friend of ours is in the Rifles but has served as a Cpl but out of battalion. To get promotion he needs endorsement by the Bn CO. The CO does not know him and would prefer men who will serve with him.
That has a familiar ring to it, nobody really understands the orphan
To be fair, I was fully aware of the repercussions when I went off on my first tour with the RAF Regiment. For my personal development it was a great experience and I learned a lot that paid off in later life. It was another 12 years before I put on a blue suit again, so there is only one person to "blame"
I do think the services could look at some way of balancing the scales, attached personnel are essential for many units and the prospect of missing out on promotion could be keeping good people away from some very interesting postings.
TTFN