Do we recognise promotion in the RAF?
 

I've just returned (suitably imbibed) for a re-enlistment and promotion ceremony hosting by American colleagues. I used to be rather sniffy of these corny ceremonies but this one,like others I have attended recently, have changed my mind.

The re-enlistment ceremony was for a USN PO who had agreed to sign on for another 6 years. He swore allegiance to the senior officer present (a US Army Colonel) after some good-natured ribbing and praise to his wife and kids, who have followed him around the world. The second was a pinning-up ceremony for a USAF Major promoted to Lt Col. Again, a nice speech by the Col followed by-a presentation to his wife and kids (the latter beamed as they were promoted with the insignia before their dad) then the pinning up on the Lt Col, again with some really nice words of appreciation. I've also see a few medal ceremonies over the last couple of years - invited by US colleagues - and I have felt humbled to both be invited and to share in what is a big moment for the SP and the family.

In all my years, I have never attended any similar ceremony in the RAF; indeed, the only congrats I received was when I got to Wg Cdr and Stn Cdr Uxbridge (sigh!) sent me a nice note as I was part of his flock in MB. Similarly, apart from being given the latest jubilee medal by a visiting Maj Gen who was asked to bring the medals across, They've either arrived in The post or have been signed for in Gen Office. (Clearly, all round medals, of course!).


Although I'm still serving, I've not been with the mainstream RAF for a few years, but I suspect that little has changed. What do other pruners think? Should we make more of these events, or shall British stoicism reign?

I see your point. Having served with the USAF many years back, I was always rather taken by their ceremonies. It's as if acheivement really matters and those around you want to celebrate your success.

I couldn't really see us doing it in the RAF, though. I wouldn't have minded a couple of words of encouragement myself. Even a goodbye might have been nice!

My everlasting memory of the professionalism, respect and dignity with which members of HM Forces are treated is from when I wrote a slightly snotty memo to the (new) Sqn boss asking if I could expect a GW1 gong at anytime, as it was now some 12 months or more since the event. The Sqn clerk wrote back to me asking if "I was sure" I had in fact deployed on Op Granby! The said gong was eventually handed to me by the most junior of junior ranks in the Orderly Room while I was collecting my mail one day. It was a very moving occasion...

I had to be demoted 1 rank to get my own office, car parking space and command appointment! :eek:

GAF has a nice small ceremony for promotions: done in front of the sqn (or whatever assembled unit), the promotee is called up to the front, and the Stn Cdr and OC Flying Group tear off the old rank slides, replacing them with the new ones, accompanied by a fairly hefty pat on the shoulder.

Nothing over the top, but recognition in front of 'die Kamaraden' in any case.

WUH, I got a very nice letter from air officer when I was promoted to fg off a year early. I also got an equally good letter from the Staff College when I passed the ISS. I appreciated both letters, I am not sure I would have enjoyed a public award.

It is though an RAF thing as when I was in Ascension, SNOW, Senior Naval Officer Wideawake, had a change of command ceremony. The Naval personnel were paraded outside operations, the outgoing SNOW said a few words, the new SNOW then read out his orders, the men could see who was now in charge and the whole thing certainly seemed far more traditional than a few CoC lines in SROs and possibly a small thank you in SROs by the outgoing staish. It was all the more touching as the parade consisted of 3 PO and 2 2.5s.

E-Spy, you remind me, when the UK-NAEW Component was stood up with IOC a GAF One Star flew in and at a small ceremony presented the Force Command flag. Although I was only on the periphery of the Component all the aircrew on 8 managed to be elsewhere and it fell to me to accept the standard.

As for the Met. Office!

"I suppose I should congratulate you on your good fortune!"

I think he'd spent all night working that up to a suitably snide level.

And when I retired after 41 years and five promotions, a ****ty standard letter and an invitation to provide feedback on the organisation.

I had, I thought, been providing [mostly negative] feedback for 41 years!

Never mind, the lump sum and the monthly dole meant and means a lot more than ceremonies and praise.

Best leave things as they are, gives us all something to whinge about.

"Weren't you promoted a couple of years back?"

"Oh, yeah. Another beer?"

"Thanks, I'll have a Black Sheep. So what happened?"

"I got demoted."

"Blimey. You must have been really bad at your job."

"Oh, no, no, no...

"Right! Thanks for the beer."

:E

Recognition of one of your own achieving promotion should always be worth an occasion to remember. If you can't get that right you shouldn't be in Command yourself.

I'd very much like to see promotion occasions shared with one's family - after all, they also go through the 'Mill' with their military spouse and deserve recognition themselves for their sacrifices and support.

"Dear BEagle. Herewith your Kuwait Liberation Medal of the third degree, granted by the Amir of Kuwait. Please note that you may not wear it".

"Dear BEagle. Herewith your Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by His Majesty Fahad Bun Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Please note that you may not wear it".

Thanks a bunch, Binnsworth....:mad:

Indeed, BEags. I have a couple that I may not wear:=. But much better than those was the very nice watches from the Crown Prince of Kuwait and the Sultan on Oman, both of which I can wear.

Are those the ones that caused an upset when they were dished out to people who hadn't been on the squadron during Granby?


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The watches or the gongs? I wasn't (unfortnately) involved in either Gulf War. The watches I truly earned. No, I have no Granby momentos.

The watches. I may have my wires crossed here as I'd left 43 by then but I thought many were given when the squadron visited Kuwait on the anniversary and those left behind who had been there for the war were miffed by this?


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The best congratulatory chat (and probably the only one), I received was from a certain AVM (D.L.) after passing the RAF CFS (plank wing) QFI course and being presented with my certificate.

He noted that I had already passed the CFS(H) course some years before, and that I was an A2 QHI.

"Well ShyT, you'll be able to get yourself a nice job in civvie street, on the strength of those qualifications......!"

He was in the process of leaving the service himself - his office was already cleared! :ok:

Having served with the USAF for 3 years I found the constant awards/ pinning on ceremonies/ re-enlistments etc well over the top.... well at least initially! They actually grew on me over time and I do think we might actually be missing something. The most prominent example were the official retirement ceremonies which really put us to shame and I think we should do more at all levels to thank our people for the service to their country. I've seen many SNCOs and Officers leave the Service, some with as many as 35 years plus, just to receive a small gift and a quiet send off from immediate colleagues at a local pub.

In my opinion, adopting just some of these ceremonies and the use of more awards would help increase morale and esprit-De-corps, especially in the current climate.

Where I was based the Stn Cdr would send out a weekly email to everybody with some of the stuff he'd been up to that week and some of the "accomplishments" he'd seen on the base. I actually grew to like his light-hearted informal updates and found them much more personal than the annual formal stuffy disingenuous 'Christmas Messages' we tend to get!

Promotion in the RAF from Flt Lt to Sqn Ldr seems to come with 'congratulations, now enjoy your out of area tour!'

The pride that that the citizens of the United States have in their armed forces puts us to shame. I was sat in Seaworld Orlando with Mrs O and our son about 18 months ago when the announcer asked all members of their armed forces and its allied forces, currently serving and retired, to stand and be appreciated. I didn't, British reserve and all that, but wow what a buzz went round the amphitheatre when those heroes did stand. The applause and recognition was awesome.

Having spent so many years skulking around in civvies to placate our pathetic politicians and their fears about offending various proscribed organisations it is about time we showed pride in the commitment of our servicemen and women.

Oh and before you ask, after 19 years of service I handed in my 1250 and walked out the gate without a backward glance. No regrets, but no warm feeling. Until Seaworld 2011.

When I was promoted to the lofty rank of Chief Warrant Officer-Two in the US Army....a formal ceremony was held in our Officers Mess Bar. That is the preferred venue for Warrant Officer Helicopter Pilot formal functions. The shiny new Bar was placed at the bottom of a steel Mess Water Pitcher, submerged in one shot of everything behind the Bar (pays to keep a very sharp eye on the guys filling the pitcher mind you). The Rule extant was...until that Pitcher got emptied you did not pin on the new Rank. It was two days before I could see and think well enough to be able to realize I was wearing it....as it was a very large Pitcher.

Fancy it wasn't....but being surrounded by your fellows...mine was in a combat unit in a combat area....made it very special. Being a Spectator at one did have its advantages.

Having done a few of the American promotion ceremonies, they have grown on me over the years as I see just how indifferent we are in recognising individual's success. Consequently, at my current unit, I rather like the way for each and every promotion board, regardless of service or rank, the CO gets the HQ staff plus the promoted individual, their other half and their boss up to the HQ and we toast their success with a glass of port or champagne and a few words of congratulations. It's the first time I have seen it done in the UK military, but it is definitely the right thing to do.

In direct contrast, and as an example of how bad we are as an institution at recognising success through promotion:

Plt Off - Fg Off: I was entitled to accelerated promotion owing to joining up with a postgrad MSc. Manning & Cranwell both knew about it, but I only got the extra seniority having been made to apply for it and wait for a letter to land in the Flt pidgeon hole half way through IOT.

Fg Off - Flt Lt: Informed I had been promoted early after several months of uncertainty over admin issues. Only found out when I rank Handbrake House on a separate issue only to be asked by the SAC on the end of the phone "did you say Fg Off sir? So nobody has told you you promoted early 4 days ago?"

Flt Lt - Sqn Ldr: board sits, results sent out to the lucky few. I heard nothing all day the day the results were announced despite having been told substantiation in rank was a cert. Had to email the Deskie to confirm that I had actually substantiated only to get a quick phone call at close to 1800 saying oh sorry has nobody told you?

Sob stories aside - the increased tax on promotion meant I could only afford smoked salmon three times as week - I'm sure I'm not the only one who has experienced the abortion that is the RAF and promotions. All I can say is thank God we no longer do the whole investors in people thing; most organisations try not to publicize their lies so openly as putting a plaque up on the wall!

The sad thing Melchett is that you are talking about YOU. Not you personally but YOU the RAF. You (and me when I was in) are what create the abortion of which we complain.

Some COs have the touch, many don't. I think one reason for the poor recognition is simply overstretch. People just don't have the capacity and time for empathy. Now, when someone does show some glimmer of humanity you doubt their sincerity.

That said, there are also many outstanding senior officers but there are also others.

I remember returning from GW1 about three months after the rest of the Herkdet ' officially ' were welcomed home. This due to the fact that 3 aircraft and crews were sent off to Bahrain to maintain the round robin re supply. I'm sure there were still army, navy and fast jet people in theatre. Having returned at around 2200Z on the Tuesday I was telephoned at home ( on the patch) at 0830 on the next day by a WRAF Flight Lt from SHQ. Who said that if I didn't come and sign for these medals, they would be returned. I went in and duly signed for the two foreign Medals and the GW1 GSM jobby. I was duly lectured about what I could and could not wear. To be honest I got the impression that the young lady was annoyed that her draw space was being wasted by trash. After that I can say I lost respect for any and all medals, and also for any administrators who try to suggest that they even understand what their colleagues get such 'trinkets' for. I hope that my son will at least understand that I earned the blobs of metal I will leave him.

Smudge

Should we make more of these events, or shall British stoicism reign?

Not promotion and not the Royal Air Force, but Whenurhappy's question above reminds of being present when the first submarine badges, or dolphins were being awarded to the crew of an SSBN by the local Flag Officer. As he pinned the badge on the breast of the Chief of the Boat, the latter visibly winced, only to be told sharply by the Admiral, "Keep still man - I'm sure my submariner father didn't wince when he was being awarded the VC by King George V", to which the Chief of the Boat replied, "Well, Sir, I don't suppose the King pinned the VC through your father's left nipple.":eek:

Jack

As a manager of both civilian and military personnel, I have a simple rule that as people leave each day, I try to make a point of saying 'thank you for your help today' and ensuring that any positive comments by seniors about their work are passed directly to them.
similarly, I ensure that I take every chance to praise and name check my team for their efforts with seniors, not to brown nose, but to ensure they know who put the effort in at the last minute to dig them out of a hole.
My other cardinal rule is to refuse to say something about a member of my team to another that I would not say to their face.

I only wish my peers (civilian and military) behaved in a similar way, and I can but hope that when appropriate my own seniors would do the same for me.

TBH in the RAF the only true promotion for our cadre is Flt Lt to Sqn Ldr. It is not competitive promotion before that so does not really factor. After Sqn Ldr it is simply who can kiss it more, and for each rank after it is who can forget where they originated from first and can try to re-invent the wheel !

In our air force these promotion's would not be recognised or attended because most could identify immediately the majority are service writing knob's rather than the 'good stick' that isn't a mess sec !

I dunno what its like today, but when I was a squadron and unit commander I had a pin-on ceremony for every one of my personnel awarded a medal, with photographer present. Awards are an event worthy of recognition.

Bob C

Maybe we don't celebrate the promotion of others in the RAF because the only promotion we're interested is our own. That may be a difficult thing to contemplate, however with the odd exception, I have seen plenty of evidence to suggest that it may well be the case.

As a Pusser's brat I well remember the half-yearly promotions signal, and the importance of being near the telephone that morning. Pere Artist was a Signals Officer so normally managed to get a copy dropped off from HMS Mercury which was a couple of miles away.

The form was that those on the list (for Commander/Captain as this was in the days of automatic promotion to 2.5) hosted a party that would start at 12.01 and finish much later.

Unofficial perhaps, but certainly memorable ;)

Uncle Sam is a bit better a some of this stuff than we are, but there are more than few downsides over the water as well, so don't just cherry pick it. None to keen on the "show up ten minutes before your boss, leave ten minutes after" mentality...and as for being a dry old do on dets...:=

As for departing plaudits....I got all the recognition I needed in my bank account the next day!

Perhaps I'm happy to cherry-picked what the Americans seem to do as a matter of course, but what impressed me about this otherwise informal ceremony was the deliberate inclusion of family - stressing (as they do in the US Army) that it's the family that is serving, and in these days of high op tempo, that has never been truer. Some of you here might remember the promotion of a USAF Lt Col in MB a few years ago - in Mem Court. His daughter sang both National Anthems and the service was attended by ACAS. I Doubt there was a dry eye about!

Perhaps that might have been regarded as a bit OTT, but I wish I was back in a Command Appointment and I would institute regular, family recognition.

And how do you think those without any 'family' would feel about that?

Only three times in 24 years did I see some actual occasion being made for the announcement of promotion:
Falklands - at a beercall
Germany - at a beercall
Odiham - at a tea break

But the best occasion was a couple of months ago when, in a not so small office with two other people, all that was said was:

"The Job's yours if you want it?"

It aint just you crabs. I discovered that I had been promoted to Major when I read the Daily Telegraph I bought in the NAAFI at Hohne.

I think A_A may have a clue here. The blue letter replaced the old system so there was no element of surprise as in days gone by.

I recall a New Year's Eve ball at Cottesmore - we used to return to work after Boxing Day - at midnight the band was quietened, the dancers stopped, and the statish produced the SIGNAL.

Promotions, honours and awards were all read out in front of both recipients and wives. One engineering officer, single, had retired early. He was ordered to return and he did, still sleepy, wearing his issue pyjamas and woolly dressing gown and slippers - panache if not style. He was then told of his promotion to sqn ldr and his posting too. In those days postings followed promotion with neither choice nor notice.

There was also perhaps discontinuity between the issue of medals post-WW2 and their effective resumption 30 or so years later.

As for me it was a week before anyone noticed I had been promoted to Cpl - they only did when someone pointed out that I was wearing the wrong colour dustcoat in the bay (Jnr Tech and below wore brown, Cpl and above wore white). No one handed me my Flt Lt tapes on promotion and no one noticed when I wore SO2 tapes either (although one kind sqn ldr did point out that I wasn't calling him Sir any more :}). No one noticed when I had turned down assimilation and sign on to 55. Maybe it was just me? I made a point of ensuring that if promotion ever happened to any one whom I was responsible for then they would be appropriately recognized.

I had the pleasure of presenting promotions to two Jnr Techs. Both times they were marched in by the WO and a charge sheet read out - neither picked up that they were called Cpl instead of Jnr Tech. Then a heart felt well done by both myself and the WO and into the tea bar for a round of applause by the Flt/Sqn. In another situation one of my guys was in the FI when I found out he was being promoted to Sgt. Went to the effort of a similar 'well done' to find out that the deskie had already told him. Bumped into the deskie in the bar and asked about it - apparently they had (still the case?) tell the individual first so he already knew!!

We can moan when there isn't a system to do this or we can get on and do it ourselves. Call it leadership / man management - or as I did - just plain politeness and gratitude towards the individuals. :ok:

The most valued promotion I look back on was when an officer I had respect for caught up with me outside a hangar one morning and informed me that I was improperly dressed from that point onwards, shook my hand and sent me on my way to stores for the insignia. Low key, but well done and meaningful.

Fg Off Courtney Mil was bollocked in the "Officers' Wardroom" onboard the TEV Rangatira in Stanley Harbour for being improperly dressed and ordered to buy a round for all those there present. Flt Lt Courtney Mil then had to borrow appropriate insignia from a phellow phlyer. Very fitting really.:cool:

Or on posting:
 

Compare and contrast:

After 4 years in one post, come the Friday, I thought I should say good bye to the boss. He looked up from his computer "Oh, you're off then, good bye."

With

Al Bowman, CBFASI, who had a dining out night brought forward, the shift patterns changed, and insisted I attend. After 6 months and numerous dining in nights my tropical mess kit was looking distinctly shabby but a great night and you felt valued.

Or in more recent memory, the staish at Coningsby had very regular presentations in the BB suite for medals and awards with everyone invited.

I recall one station commander who did this and then announced:

" I have received the half-yearly promotions signal and it would appear that tonight we are celebrating the feast of the passover! Let's get on and drown our sorrows."

YS