No more ACs, LACs, and SACs....
Nutty
I suspect that is what will happen in real life. A bit like Staff Officer 1st Class, 2nd Class and 3rd Class being shortened to SO1, SO2 and SO3 for job titles. It’s the same as AC, LAC and SAC - how often do we use the longer unabbreviated versions? So this will likely be something like AR, AS2, AS1 and AST1. I do agree with Cpl Clott though - that the AST1 is over complicated and AT would have been better and far easier.
I suspect that is what will happen in real life. A bit like Staff Officer 1st Class, 2nd Class and 3rd Class being shortened to SO1, SO2 and SO3 for job titles. It’s the same as AC, LAC and SAC - how often do we use the longer unabbreviated versions? So this will likely be something like AR, AS2, AS1 and AST1. I do agree with Cpl Clott though - that the AST1 is over complicated and AT would have been better and far easier.
It does seem slightly perverse that in order not to offend anyone, someone who was a “ leading” person is being renamed a “ second class” person.
Last edited by Timelord; 5th Jun 2022 at 14:58.
Heraldic.
French rafter.
Last edited by Senior Pilot; 5th Jun 2022 at 21:11. Reason: Fix quote
Thought police antagonist
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Not bad so far...3 pages and 47 posts... albeit unlikely to rival the semantics of the Brevet vs Badge saga...however, can we now expect a major print run to amend " Lawrence of Arabia " ?
It’s just a name change to stop the very few that getting their knickers in a twist about this sort of stuff (ie. the muttering minority that normally have unofficial RAF Twitter accounts). It is being implemented on 1st July 2022. Basically:
Air Recruit replaces Leading Aircraftman (AC)
Air Specialist (2nd Class) replaces Leading Aircraftman (LAC)
Air Specialist (1st Class) replaces Senior Aircraftman (SAC)
Air Specialist Technician (1st Class) replaces Senior Aircraftman (Technician) (SAC(T))
Not a big deal really. Same pay scales and same insignia. However, I do think they ballsed up the last one. Personally I would have gone for Air Technician and given them a 4 bladed prop badge again - as there is only one Technician rank at that level then there is no need for the 1st Class anyway.
Of course we also have Airborne Specialists now (the common name for the ‘flying Fighter Controllers’, Airborne Technicians, Mission Intelligence Coordinators, non-Aircrew Flight Test Engineers and Cabin Crew) as a term for Ground Branch/Trade/Profession personnel employed on airborne duties or operating an aircraft. So there is room for a bit of confusion - but no more than the aviator thing that goes against the definition in every English dictionary in the world. So 2 steps forward and 2 steps back in my opinion.
Air Recruit replaces Leading Aircraftman (AC)
Air Specialist (2nd Class) replaces Leading Aircraftman (LAC)
Air Specialist (1st Class) replaces Senior Aircraftman (SAC)
Air Specialist Technician (1st Class) replaces Senior Aircraftman (Technician) (SAC(T))
Not a big deal really. Same pay scales and same insignia. However, I do think they ballsed up the last one. Personally I would have gone for Air Technician and given them a 4 bladed prop badge again - as there is only one Technician rank at that level then there is no need for the 1st Class anyway.
Of course we also have Airborne Specialists now (the common name for the ‘flying Fighter Controllers’, Airborne Technicians, Mission Intelligence Coordinators, non-Aircrew Flight Test Engineers and Cabin Crew) as a term for Ground Branch/Trade/Profession personnel employed on airborne duties or operating an aircraft. So there is room for a bit of confusion - but no more than the aviator thing that goes against the definition in every English dictionary in the world. So 2 steps forward and 2 steps back in my opinion.
FB
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You say Basically, is there something about the rank structure, displayed above, which remains uncertain? My understanding is that all these attempts to avoid pronouns etc, if that's what's going on, isn't accommodating the majority, it is in fact pandering to a very small minority who are very noisy and get plenty of media attention.
FB
FB
Our Crew Chief on Valiants wore a brassard thingie on each arm of his flying suit down the route so that he could pi$$ off Army Officers who thought he was wearing his stripey things upside down !
Last edited by Senior Pilot; 5th Jun 2022 at 21:10. Reason: Fix quote
Army stripey things were and are "as the hairs on a monkey's arm" ............. above the elbow, point down, below the elbow point up.
and their warrant officers are, so to speak, pointless.
French O Level Oxford Board 1953. Scrape pass, the master did not want me to spoil his league table, so force-fed me.
and their warrant officers are, so to speak, pointless.
French O Level Oxford Board 1953. Scrape pass, the master did not want me to spoil his league table, so force-fed me.
" This resulted in a second proposed system, which made frequent use of the neologism ardian, which was derived from the Gaelic ard "chief" and eun "bird". Under this proposal the names were to have been: ensign, lieutenant, flight leader, squadron leader, reeve, banneret, fourth ardian, third ardian, second ardian, ardian and air marshal. A further proposal was: ensign, lieutenant, flight-leader, squadron-leader, wing-leader, leader, flight ardian, squadron ardian, wing ardian, ardian, air marshal. However, this system was rejected within the RAF, due in part to dislike of the neologism ardian."
I must confess that I had to look up "neologism" and there are certainly plenty of those around today.
Jack
I’m flying this week on RAF aircraft. Is it just former RAF personnel who seem to have issues with absolutely everything the RAF does? Beards, ranks, D&I, number of acft on flypasts. The irony being, the RAF has never been so operational since the Cold War days. Yes, shock horror, with beards and braids and …. the horror….
Last edited by Toadstool; 6th Jun 2022 at 07:26.
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I have read the IBN, it really is eroding the rank structure (IMHO). I get that they are trying to make it gender neutral, but that is a farce. And to top it all off there was a survey carried out back in Dec 21, so its from within the ranks who wanted it changed, personally I reckon its just given the Top Brass the ammo to do what they have been after for a while to appease a small minority. They could have done this in a much better way.
Bound to happen at some point in these repetitive rank/nomenclature outbursts... from many years back -
middle ranking non-Army officer to WRAC major ... "And what do you call your privates ?" ... (apocryphal !)
middle ranking non-Army officer to WRAC major ... "And what do you call your privates ?" ... (apocryphal !)
I’m flying this week on RAF aircraft. Is it just former RAF personnel who seem to have issues with absolutely everything the RAF does? Beards, ranks, D&I, number of acft on flypasts. The irony being, the RAF has never been so operational since the Cold War days. Yes, shock horror, with beards and braids and …. the horror….
Last edited by Senior Pilot; 6th Jun 2022 at 20:03. Reason: Fix quote
In the sixties (Tanker Trash) I had a beard, courtesy of a Consultant Dermatologist at RAFH Ely.I usually had no problems apart from once at the Watton Ball I was frogmarched off the dance floor by the Deputy PMC. I did get my own back, though, as I was dancing with the groupie's niece.