Officers guard duties.

[oxenos]

I thought there was a thread running on the subject of Officers doing guard duty, but it seems to have disappeared without trace.
Was it supressed for security reasons? Did their airships not want anyone to know about the new top secret pick axe handles? Have we a shortage of pick axe handles?
We should be told.

Edited to add - did I imagine it???

[charliegolf]

I heard that the flood of volunteers crashed the thread:}

CG

[oxenos]

You mean I didn't imagine it? That's a relief.

[Senior Pilot]

It was deleted by the Thread starter: no idea why :hmm:

[langleybaston]

Sense of humour failure or
need to know.

[Tashengurt]

It was deleted by the Thread starter: no idea why :hmm:

I think it veered into nostalgia too much for them.

[ShyTorque]

May be the sudden thought of inviting a drive-by shooting of a barrier operating AVM holding only a stick made him think again?

[jayteeto]

I was at Shawbury in the late 80s when it was decided to put trainee pilots and air traffickers on stag. When I pointed out that I had been an officer longer than OC GD Flt and OC PSF and they should do guard too it didn't go down well.
"They are proper officers, you are a trainee" was the initial response. That didn't go down well, I was married with kids and had been in the RAF for 9 years. My reply cannot be printed here, suffice to say that it involved multiple swear words and a promise never to do another SDO if I wasn't a 'proper' officer. We all ended up doing a couple of duties. I have no issues doing any task if it is being shared out in a fair way

[NutLoose]

Whatever, the one thing it shows is the lack of manpower in the RAF these days to actually cover traditional roles and manning, that in itself is damning.

You get the feeling the RAF is no longer self supporting, and considering the reliance it has these days on Civilian and reserve forces, they have masked the state of affairs for a long time. God help us if we ever get drawn into a proper war.

[PapaDolmio]

A Stn Cdr at Wyton gave a JO a weeks guard following a altercation at the main gate while I was based there many years ago. Makes a change from extra SDO I suppose.

[ShyTorque]

I was at Shawbury in the late 80s when it was decided to put trainee pilots and air traffickers on stag. When I pointed out that I had been an officer longer than OC GD Flt and OC PSF and they should do guard too it didn't go down well.
"They are proper officers, you are a trainee" was the initial response. That didn't go down well, I was married with kids and had been in the RAF for 9 years. My reply cannot be printed here, suffice to say that it involved multiple swear words and a promise never to do another SDO if I wasn't a 'proper' officer. We all ended up doing a couple of duties. I have no issues doing any task if it is being shared out in a fair way

I think that might have been the same, fresh out of the box OC GD who published station orders mistakenly showing me as SDO well after my posting date, which was less than a couple of weeks away. I was packing up my MQ at the time and just about to go on leave to get my family moved to the new station.

I could have said nothing but to avoid his embarrassment I pointed out that I wouldn't actually be on station strength when the duties came up. He then told me I would have to cancel my leave and carry out an additional three more SDO duties before I left the station because as far as he was concerned, I was "skiving off" his roster by being posted and therefore had to fulfil my annual quota of "his" SDO duties for that year! I asked him if he thought I would be exempt SDO at the station I was posted to and if my replacement would be exempt the duties he thought I should carry out....obviously not.

I certainly wasn't a trainee, like he seemed to be; I was on my third tour. Needless to say, I didn't cancel my leave.

[alfred_the_great]

I was at Shawbury in the late 80s when it was decided to put trainee pilots and air traffickers on stag. When I pointed out that I had been an officer longer than OC GD Flt and OC PSF and they should do guard too it didn't go down well.
"They are proper officers, you are a trainee" was the initial response. That didn't go down well, I was married with kids and had been in the RAF for 9 years. My reply cannot be printed here, suffice to say that it involved multiple swear words and a promise never to do another SDO if I wasn't a 'proper' officer. We all ended up doing a couple of duties. I have no issues doing any task if it is being shared out in a fair way

It shows the problem of employing civvies on relatively poor wages in expensive parts of the country.

MGPS (both the uniformed and non-uniformed parts) are on relatively poor CS salaries, and their reliance on ex-squaddies being will to relocate across the country is being exposed.

This is not just a RAF problem, all three Services are now guarding their own gates. I’ve no doubt there will be retention issues in about 11 months time...

[Pontius Navigator]

It was ever thus, as a flt lt, very junior at that, I was rostered as a sqn ldr/wg cdr duty. As it happens the one time we had a major operations issue I was uniquely qualified for that particular problem. Never the less I still ensured I had top cover but the only one available was my boss.

I rang him at 0'Christ hundred and he answered the phone with "it had better be good". It was. I briefed him, told him what I had in hand and he went back to bed. I hadn't got out of bed at all 😀

[woptb]

I was at Shawbury in the late 80s when it was decided to put trainee pilots and air traffickers on stag. When I pointed out that I had been an officer longer than OC GD Flt and OC PSF and they should do guard too it didn't go down well.
"They are proper officers, you are a trainee" was the initial response. That didn't go down well, I was married with kids and had been in the RAF for 9 years. My reply cannot be printed here, suffice to say that it involved multiple swear words and a promise never to do another SDO if I wasn't a 'proper' officer. We all ended up doing a couple of duties. I have no issues doing any task if it is being shared out in a fair way

Fair,in the military?

[FantomZorbin]

ShyTorque As a result of this, and other matters, my colleague took over sorting out the mess + the OC GD!

[charliegolf]

I was at Shawbury in the late 80s when it was decided to put trainee pilots and air traffickers on stag. When I pointed out that I had been an officer longer than OC GD Flt and OC PSF and they should do guard too it didn't go down well.
"They are proper officers, you are a trainee" was the initial response. That didn't go down well, I was married with kids and had been in the RAF for 9 years. My reply cannot be printed here, suffice to say that it involved multiple swear words and a promise never to do another SDO if I wasn't a 'proper' officer. We all ended up doing a couple of duties. I have no issues doing any task if it is being shared out in a fair way

As a matter of nosy interest Jayteeto, what were you doing before pilotage?

CG

[jayteeto]

Engineer
late starter as a pilot

[TwoTunnels]

A wing commander was often seen on a pedestrian entry point to a Lincolnshire camp. I also had dealings with him on det (he was Dob Cdr) where he showed he was an inspirational leader...something I haven't said for a long time!!

[charliegolf]

Jayteeto:ok:

A wing commander was often seen on a pedestrian entry point to a Lincolnshire camp.

I rather doubt I was an inspiration to anyone, but as a head I met the children at the school gate every day of the school year; and saw them out at the end of the day. I have no doubt it was appreciated. I felt it was really important.

CG

[Maxibon]

Related, in that I was Orderly Dog at CF as a 19 yo trainee plt. 00:30 pager beeps, "Yawn, another signal orderly sgt?", "No sir, an IRA bomb threat to the unit", "Shoite! Have you spoken to the SDO?", "I think you'd better, sir".... "Ah, SDO, just had this call.....", "Jusshhht deal with it the best you can 'n' call me if......zzzzzz". Cue eight faces in the guardroom "What do we do now sir?". "Hmm, good question. Erm, you get the kettle on and you give me a cigarette, and the rest, let's sit around this table and work through a plan"

7 hours later, base all searched, no bomb, probably a hoax, me in front of Harry Staish getting (for once) a pat on the back; SDO waiting in outer office looking rather hungover.

[FantomZorbin]

Maxibon. A good example of the definition of 'intelligence' - "doing the right thing when you don't know what to do".

[Maxibon]

Maxibon. A good example of the definition of 'intelligence' - "doing the right thing when you don't know what to do".
Thanks Fantom. For a 19 yo with the apocryphal comment from the SNCO, it was a night of learning and team work. Alas, my second OO was a punishment on Christmas Day and I had a married patch domestic to deal with; one punched civvy copper and two poor kids who had their special day f**ked up, all because their parents couldn't handle their drink.

You live and learn! What I've always said to my kids is to get a SSC and learn to interact with real people, opposed to some w*nky business degree or MBA.

[ShyTorque]

Jayteeto:ok:



I rather doubt I was an inspiration to anyone, but as a head I met the children at the school gate every day of the school year; and saw them out at the end of the day. I have no doubt it was appreciated. I felt it was really important.

CG

Not carrying the pick-axe handle might have helped....

[charliegolf]

On the contrary!:E

CG