Group Captains Galore
It's the new normal. The idea is that you split the traditional Stn Cdr role into a Commander Air Wing who as aircrew can be the Duty Holder and Head of Establishment who would normally be a non-aircrew branch. This then allows non-aircrew to command at flying stations and widens the pool of people who can be selected for promotion to 1* and beyond. In time, this will mean we will see a greater variety of branches in the top jobs.
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Ask your MP. There are more Group Captains now than there were in WW2.
work that one out, each costing £137000. Compare a USMC with 60000 and 1/10th of the show boaters!
work that one out, each costing £137000. Compare a USMC with 60000 and 1/10th of the show boaters!
Not being C of E, I'll leave the question of the bishops to someone else.
Jack
Prerequisites for promotion
On promotion to Sqn Ldr = remove spine
On promotion to Wing Cdr = remove heart
On promotion to Grp Capt = remove brain
And now we have people perfectly suited for flag rank....
On promotion to Sqn Ldr = remove spine
On promotion to Wing Cdr = remove heart
On promotion to Grp Capt = remove brain
And now we have people perfectly suited for flag rank....
"Once that's done, he can come back with a more realistic assessment of just how "bad" the figure he quotes actually is"
Like it or not people associate Admirals with commanding fleets and Wing Commanders with commanding Wings of Aircraft
They also notice the numbers of these eminent people don't seem to fall when the actual front line numbers of people and kit does (as with the bishops)
Perhaps we should change their titles to reflect what they do???
Like it or not people associate Admirals with commanding fleets and Wing Commanders with commanding Wings of Aircraft
They also notice the numbers of these eminent people don't seem to fall when the actual front line numbers of people and kit does (as with the bishops)
Perhaps we should change their titles to reflect what they do???
"Once that's done, he can come back with a more realistic assessment of just how "bad" the figure he quotes actually is"
Like it or not people associate Admirals with commanding fleets and Wing Commanders with commanding Wings of Aircraft
They also notice the numbers of these eminent people don't seem to fall when the actual front line numbers of people and kit does (as with the bishops)
Perhaps we should change their titles to reflect what they do???
Like it or not people associate Admirals with commanding fleets and Wing Commanders with commanding Wings of Aircraft
They also notice the numbers of these eminent people don't seem to fall when the actual front line numbers of people and kit does (as with the bishops)
Perhaps we should change their titles to reflect what they do???
Indeed. The civil service used to have a concept of 'limited opportunity' posts. It recognised that certain posts required the authority to, for example, task others or be seen to be a 'customer' to industry; but otherwise the majority of the work could be done by a junior clerk. Spares Ranging and Scaling was always the obvious example on the engineering side; albeit a few grades below Group Captain. They could not be promoted until they'd moved sideways and achieved two good annual reports in a post in which the Job Description could be reconciled with the Grade Description. (Rigorously applying the Grade Descriptions would save a fortune, as there'd be very few promotions allowed!) I can think of a number of (un)suitable Group Captains I came across. But the vast majority were excellent.
Asturias
There are probably the sum total of about 12 UK citizens (I may have slightly exaggerated that number for comedic effect) outside of the British military that either know or care what an Admiral or a Gp Capt is. You are evidently one of them.
The bottom line is that the senior officers in question are employed to do a job and they do it. Whilst that may no longer mean commanding ships and Sqns they still have a role to play.
The amount of bureaucracy (think Haddon Cave and the MAA for example) that has come about in recent years obviously requires a few grown ups to deal with it.
Whilst we are repeatedly told everything was much better in the good old days remember that things are not the same as they once were. That is for good and bad.
For example, we no longer accept service deaths as just ‘one of those things’ or brush things under the carpet to save face. We have much more accountability these days.
It is not the military that chose to go down the path of massive regulation and accountability but they must stick to it. That requires senior officers to put their name on a document and accept the blame when things go wrong.
If you can actually identify a single senior officer of any service that is not gainfully employed in a job befitting their rank then I would be surprised.
BV
The bottom line is that the senior officers in question are employed to do a job and they do it. Whilst that may no longer mean commanding ships and Sqns they still have a role to play.
The amount of bureaucracy (think Haddon Cave and the MAA for example) that has come about in recent years obviously requires a few grown ups to deal with it.
Whilst we are repeatedly told everything was much better in the good old days remember that things are not the same as they once were. That is for good and bad.
For example, we no longer accept service deaths as just ‘one of those things’ or brush things under the carpet to save face. We have much more accountability these days.
It is not the military that chose to go down the path of massive regulation and accountability but they must stick to it. That requires senior officers to put their name on a document and accept the blame when things go wrong.
If you can actually identify a single senior officer of any service that is not gainfully employed in a job befitting their rank then I would be surprised.
BV
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Not sure if this is true today, however a few years ago the highest rank in the Israeli Air Force was a the equivalent of a Brigadier General. They may have a fair few aircraft than UK, but as someone will point out no doubt less than the RAF. Far too many high ranking officers in the Armed Forces overall, more admirals than ships/boats for example. Cut out 50% of high ranks/posts etc and start to save some money that way.
