Can Wigston survive the onslaught?

[BATCO]

Originally Posted by Toadstool

LB. Like this?

Can anyone explain the sword he is carrying? It doesn't look like an Air Rank sword to me.
Also, the grip of his left hand on scabbard? It doesn't appear to be from the rear of the scabbard.


Batco

[Fortissimo]

Originally Posted by BATCO

Can anyone explain the sword he is carrying? It doesn't look like an Air Rank sword to me.
Also, the grip of his left hand on scabbard? It doesn't appear to be from the rear of the scabbard.

Correct, it’s not a standard sword. It is the CAS Sword that is passed on at each change of command. Names and dates of office are inscribed on the blade.

As for grip on the scabbard, he might well have been asked to match the other Chiefs on the Vigil? Either way, it doesn’t seem like a sending off offence.

The Air Officer’s sword is the same as that carried by any other officer. The only difference is the scabbard and frogs, which are more ornate.

[BATCO]

Originally Posted by Fortissimo

Correct, it’s not a standard sword. It is the CAS Sword that is passed on at each change of command. Names and dates of office are inscribed on the blade.......

F
Many thanks. Never meant it as criticism of CAS, mere curiosity.
Batco

[WB627]

Originally Posted by snapper41

Do you think he practised that ‘sad’ expression?

How many happy faces did you see today?

[DuncanDoenitz]

Wrong scabbard grip? Wrong type of sword? Too sad? Not sad enough? Wouldn't be surprised to learn that he also has a defective rear light on his bicycle, the bounder; "Sack him", I say!!!

(Methinks some correspondents to this thread may be floundering somewhat).

[Jackonicko]

Originally Posted by Chugalug2

Jackoniko :-
So did the 'D&I stuff' you mention start out as a directive from his political masters?

In my limited experience, even Air Rank officers tend not to be the initiators of policy.

Originally Posted by Chugalug2

Jackoniko :-
Being CAS doesn't call for impressing those one is glad handing; it calls for maintaining the fighting efficiency of the Royal Air Force. How many marks out of ten would he rate for that I wonder, while he pondered on his 'courageous' recruiting initiatives?

Impressing journos is absolutely not a core skillset for a CAS, but it's not a bad bonus.

Being a manifestly high calibre bloke doesn't seem to have always been a required attribute in a CAS (no names, no pack drill) but again, it's not a bad bonus.

Leaving a really favourable impression of himself and the service he commands? Bloody useful, I'd have thought.

Because perhaps impressing and getting on with his political masters might be absolutely the key to unlocking the funding and goodwill upon which the fighting efficiency of the Royal Air Force will depend in the years to come?

And winding up octogenarians who are stuck in the past? Not just a bonus, but an absolute necessity, perhaps?

​​​​​​​

Originally Posted by Chugalug2

Jackoniko :-I hadn't realised that you don't post anonymously, Mr Jackonico.

Well spotted. However, my identity isn't much of a secret, and in any case, I don't use my anonymity to snipe at a better man than I am, who is also at the top of the RAF chain of command. And though as a 61 year old I deplore all the new woke initiatives (especially the lunacy of calling the Station Commander's cat an Aviator), I don't take to PPRuNe to lambast the Chief for them.
​​​​​​​

[Chugalug2]

Jackonicko :-

winding up octogenarians who are stuck in the past? Not just a bonus, but an absolute necessity, perhaps?

An utter waste of time, I'm afraid. More years ago than I care to remember, I was told that it was my duty to refuse to obey all illegal orders, and to report them to a senior officer. Even as a callow youth I realised that this was never likely to be to my advantage, but a bullet to bite if it ever occurred. Mercifully it never did (to my knowledge), but it did happen to an RAF Group Captain. Quite rightly she refused, and as I had already predicted, she then paid the cost. She did her duty, Jackonicko!

Once again, I ask if CAS was ordered by his masters to carry out this illegal instruction, to stop recruiting white males into the RAF? If yes, it was his duty to refuse. If no, did he issue that order to a subordinate? If yes, he failed in his duty. If no, then who did? What did the CAS do as soon as he knew such an order had been issued? How come the SO involved felt obliged to resign, and why has no-one been charged with issuing an illegal order?

There is something rotten in the state of Denmark, even if that is not apparent to certain impressed journalists

[dervish]

Originally Posted by Chugalug2

Once again, I ask if CAS was ordered by his masters to carry out this illegal instruction, to stop recruiting white males into the RAF? If yes, it was his duty to refuse. If no, did he issue that order to a subordinate? If yes, he failed in his duty. If no, then who did? What did the CAS do as soon as he knew such an order had been issued? How come the SO involved felt obliged to resign, and why has no-one been charged with issuing an illegal order?
There is something rotten in the state of Denmark, even if that is not apparent to certain impressed journalists

Well said.

[Timelord]

I cannot claim to have known any CASs in the past although I did know Sir Mike when he was lower down the greasy pole, and I agree that he is a jolly nice chap. I do claim however, to be well connected with currently serving front line personnel and they do not share Jacko’s admiration for CAS. Indeed one front line pilot recently opined to me, only half joking, that CAS was a Russian agent charged with destroying the fighting spirit of the RAF.

[NutLoose]

Judging by the carpet he is suffering from woodworm..

[melmothtw]

Originally Posted by Timelord

I cannot claim to have known any CASs in the past although I did know Sir Mike when he was lower down the greasy pole, and I agree that he is a jolly nice chap. I do claim however, to be well connected with currently serving front line personnel and they do not share Jacko’s admiration for CAS. Indeed one front line pilot recently opined to me, only half joking, that CAS was a Russian agent charged with destroying the fighting spirit of the RAF.

Has any CAS been popular with his people while in post? I've had experience of a few during my 20+ years in aerospace journalism, and they've certainly been a mixed bunch in that time.

[Fitter2]

There is a subtle difference between being unpopular for demanding '110%' without recognising achievements of the sharp end people, and being held in contempt for undermining the security of the UK by playing politics popular with politicians.

[oldmansquipper]

Got to thinking….Have I known any CAS?

I once fitted Steve Daltons speed jeans IIRC. Does that count?

😉

[Easy Street]

The insanity of all this is that the Conservative party, which has run the show for as long as Wiggy has been near the top, veers between 'disinterested' and 'actively hostile' in its attitude to the woke agenda. So who is Wiggy trying to impress? Who is the true wielder of power and patronage in whatever games are going on up there?

[Chugalug2]

Originally Posted by Easy Street

The insanity of all this is that the Conservative party, which has run the show for as long as Wiggy has been near the top, veers between 'disinterested' and 'actively hostile' in its attitude to the woke agenda. So who is Wiggy trying to impress? Who is the true wielder of power and patronage in whatever games are going on up there?

The Conservative Party veers, as you put it, depending on which part you deal with. Woke, non-Woke, Remainers, Leavers, top-downers, bottom-uppers, all are welcome within its broad church. It is just possible that some of the former had a good idea for RAF recruiting, but more likely for Forces recruiting in general. Whether the good idea came from within or without though, the trouble seems to have happened within the RAF leadership. Wild eyed zealots there interpreted the reasonable aim of increasing recruitment from BAME communities, as well as more women in general, as the opportunity to beat those reasonable aims by orders of magnitude. Whether or not it was the CAS who instigated the illegal order to stop all white male RAF recruiting is beside the point. He would have known of the initiative and given it his blessing.

In traditional Star Chamber practice, those outside of it (JOs, SOs, and 1 Stars) continue to pay the cost of failure. This time a Group Captain who did her duty, as well as those recruited and those not recruited. The pity of it is that when this CAS goes, he will simply be replaced with much of the same. In particular, the cover up will continue while the leaden hands of ex-serving Air Officers pull the strings of those still in post. It needs to stop. They need to be stopped!

[Haraka]

I think Chug has summed the conundrum up well. After a while the penny drops. There are certain non-operational personal demands and requirements in order for those chosen to "Climb the Greasy Pole"

Such is life!

[iRaven]

So, Wiggy has just glossed over this and Sky News have moved on. Is that it? I see that a new Group Captain has been appointed too:

Group Captain L Griffin to be Group Captain Recruitment and Selection, Royal Air Force College Cranwell in December 2022 in succession to Group Captain E J Nicholl OBE.

https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisat...-appointments/

I would have expected Sky News to have revisited James Heapey or Ben Wallace with the same kind of questions that Kay Burley asked? It’s all gone a bit quiet without anyone being held to account for what seems to be horrific discrimination against some hopefuls to join up.

[The B Word]

As if by magic, a video appeared:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...ature=youtu.be

If true, then it would appear that the Senior Leadership interviewed on this matter have not been telling the truth.

[alfred_the_great]

Originally Posted by The B Word

As if by magic, a video appeared:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...ature=youtu.be

If true, then it would appear that the Senior Leadership interviewed on this matter have not been telling the truth.

oh look, someone with a monetised YouTube channel - who also doesn’t like the “modern” RAF - has a SHOCKING and EXPOSED story to tell us.

[Chugalug2]

Originally Posted by alfred_the_great

oh look, someone with a monetised YouTube channel - who also doesn’t like the “modern” RAF - has a SHOCKING and EXPOSED story to tell us.

What is it about the 'modern' RAF, atg, that is not to like? Is it perhaps the issue of an illegal order dismissed as, "challenged and never implemented", by the CAS? Is it perhaps a cynical adulteration of an effective RN selection algorithm so that only BAME and Female applicants can succeed? Is it the forced resignation of a Group Captain for doing her duty? If so, then label me as not liking the 'modern' RAF either!