Sector Level Training

[TwoTunnels]

What's the score with this 'Sector Level Training'??

Is it to see if the RAF stations can deploy out of areas. Haven't we been doing this for years (at least since Saif Sareea/nine eleven).

Or is it a cunning pre-white paper, anti-retention plan?

Deploying people to tents in hangars on station seems to be a waste of time and money and certainly seems to be designed to p*ss people off.

Mind you it must be important if it means that PSF is closed for a week.

[keithl]

Do you do that now? Good Grief, glad I'm out!

It's probably to "keep up your morale". I noticed that whenever people had time to catch up on their own jobs, someone would arrange something (no-notice survival ex, volleyball) to keep the troops amused. The "devil finds work for idle hands" theory.

Keep smiling!

[opso]

All that's happened is that the wheel has turned full circle again - this is the Friday wars presented as a new idea. No big shakes and hardly surprising that as a military force which can only expect to spend more time OOA (when there are only 3 of us left, we'll always be overseas!), that we practice until everybody is so pi55ed off that they quit.

[StopStart]

What fabulous horsesh*t is this?! I haven't heard of "Sector Level Training" before although it does sound a bit like the IDT nonsense being churned out by the Regt/Tac STO chaps in a fabulous job creation/empire building scheme.

May I just use this forum to state that, IMHO, the IDT/IRT that has been generated by our chums in green is currently the biggest hurdle to getting our guys and girls away on det. Not flying quals or kitting but camping. This wouldn't be an issue if it was actually beneficial in any way but sadly it isn't. I've always felt that a night leading section attacks, eating compo and shouting "bang" at each other is a truly splendid way to prepare oneself for a month living in hardened accomodation flying a tactical transport aircraft round Iraq/Afghanistan/Norfolk.

I'd be extremely grateful if somebody more senior than I could point out to our Tac STO chums the error of their ways and if they could perhaps get back to teaching us useful stuff like guns, gas masks and something else beginning with G.

If this isn't what "Sector Level Training" is all about, I apologise but would like to thank you for your attention.

PS. I would also be grateful if we could avoid the usual "it's war!!!!" and "you'll be grateful for your tilly lamp skills when the shells are raining down" type comments that usually follow comments such as these. It's not and I won't be.

[Yeller_Gait]

SS,

Get with it. Tilly lamps are a complete no-go nowadays .... breaks all the H & S rules.

Besides, it is far more enjoyable camping out in darkened tents, freezing cold nights, cold hangars and eating c**p food. Just ask anyone who has had the pleasure of such over the last few days up here.

[FFP]

When people go on OOA and can't put up 12x12's then they deserve IDT !!!

[StopStart]

And when people go on OOA and have to put up 12x12s then they deserve to be in the army.

[Tocsin]

Well... last week I volunteered to do the same job I did last year (apart from real TBMs) the only difference was a 50degC difference in temperature.

It was good to see everyone playing, much less synthetic.

I found (a) skills polishing required at all levels from LAC to Sqn Ldr, (b) a severe lack of SNCO participation, (c) after the "why me?"s (mostly) an increase in enthusiasm.

It does help to see how things work in the operational world.

"What's a Taceval?"

[The Gorilla]

Not wishing to appear unsympathetic but....

The majority of your senior commanders are idiots. You all have a simple choice in life and they know it, either put up with it or leave!!

I decided to leave and can only smile in amusement and laugh at the ridiculous antics going on today!!

Sorry to say this guys and gals but there are much worse things coming soon!!



:ok:

[BEagle]

Deploying people to tents in hangars? Is that really the way things are nowadays?

I don't think that I've ever heard of such truly inspiring bolleaux before. Perhaps they'll also shoot a few people for added realism?

Where will it all end? I'm looking forward to hearing about people living in tents at Northwood and Wycombe - presumably they'll put some up at Binnsworth? Or Shrivenham? There's plenty of room...

The problem with retention is that there's even a tent in retention...:yuk:

[Flak Jacket]

Operations
Overseas training
sar trails
sar
sdo
etc
etc

and now we have sector level training to keep us away from home for even more of the year.

Now I have heard all the arguments about being in the military and to expect to be away a lot. But for goodness sake do we have to practice bleed!

[Yeller_Gait]

Beagle,

Deploying people to tents in hangars? Is that really the way things are nowadays?

If only that were true..... There was a lovely warm hangar, with lots of lovely warm sleeping bags in the TSW, (Tac Stackers Wing), and about forty tents 50 metres away where the lucky chosen few got to sleep out in temps as low as -5 (OK not that low, but then we didn't volunteer for a Winter Survival Course). Lights and heaters were not provided in tents on the grounds of cost (lights) and H & S (heaters). And as a final thought, we were simulating deploying to a "dry" country, so any post-flight, pre-sleep drinkies were not allowed.

Here was me thinking that the it was just the current government running a nanny state.

[BEagle]

What on earth is the point behind such utter nonsense?

Just for how much longer do the f*ckwits who dream up such stupidity expect you people to stay in the mob?

So glad I left and no longer have such daft ideas to worry about......

[StopStart]

RAF Regiment job creation/protection scheme.
I don't have a problem with the concept of the TAC STO lot but I think their energies could be more profitably and effectively directed elsewhere. I would also argue that most stn regt folk would rather not have to spend all their time such nonsense to stn personnel.

It's all very well having to do all this bolleaux before going on det - it's even better having to then redo it all on arrival in theatre :rolleyes:

At the risk of being mildy serious, how about this? Why not have a sqn rockape? One guy embedded on the sqn who gets involved with sqn day to day business and gets to see what it is we do (other than nothing :zzz: ;) ) and what it is we need from the Regt. He can then tailor any STO requirements to the needs of the sqn personnel. Like I've said before, we are in the military and as such there is a requirement to have basic military skills. Obviously. But lets remember that basic skills like putting up tents and eating compo were some of the first things we were ever taught in the military!

I'd be all for a directed training package that would make sqn TTW or deployment a lot easier and that made folk feel fully prepared to go away on ops.
I strongly object to the catch all/lash up/job creation horse crap that we have at the moment.

I just wish someone with some rank would kick the creators of this crap up the arse and maybe redirect their (considerable) efforts into producing something that will be of benefit to us receiving it rather than producing something that it is just a (considerable) hurdle to us doing our job!

:mad:

[Jobza Guddun]

Ah, but then some Air-Vice Whatsit would have to find another pointless waste of time to justify his salary/rank/posting wouldn't he?. No way any Airship is going to do something that hurts himself but benefits the end recipient eh?

BEagle called it correctly - will the staffers at HW, Innsworth etc be doing these courses? 'Coz people at places like that who deploy once every 5 years probably need it more than those of us who do it every year.:}