Red Arrows - toxic culture
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67287479An investigation into a toxic culture in the RAF's Red Arrows display team has found predatory behaviour towards women was "widespread and normalised".

Examples included unwanted physical contact, sexual texts, invitations to engage in sexual activity, and women being seen as "property". A "bystander culture" meant such behaviour went unchallenged, it found. Chief of the air staff, Sir Richard Knighton, said he was appalled by the findings and "unreservedly" apologised.

The non-statutory inquiry was launched in 2021 after three women went to the then head of the RAF about complaints they had made which had not been addressed by their chain of command. The inquiry covers a period dating back to 2017. The RAF admitted part of the problem may have been a view that members of the display team were "special". The RAF said the "high profile of the team, their regular exposure to VIPs, celebrities and an admiring public… promotes the view among some personnel that they are special and that normal rules and behaviours do not apply to them".

Air Chief Marshal Knighton offered his "unreserved apologies" to anyone who experienced unacceptable behaviour - and in particular the three women. He admitted the reputation of the Red Arrows had been damaged as a result by a "minority", but said few of its leadership, air and ground crews from that time were still serving on the squadron. He said there were no plans to disband the elite flying display team and that a change of culture, leadership and safeguards had been implemented to address the widespread and normalised "unacceptable behaviours" uncovered.

They included unwanted physical contact, unwanted text messages of a sexual nature, unwanted invitations to engage in sexual activity and "male sexual entitlement" towards women, who were "being viewed as 'property' of either individuals or the Squadron".

here were two incidents of exposure of genitals, the RAF said. Many of the specific examples, along with all names, have been redacted. The RAF said many examples of sexual harassment were not challenged. The inquiry found there "was a bystander culture... and an unwillingness to take action that could be viewed as unpopular". It noted a "high propensity of extra marital relationships between serving personnel" which may have contributed to a "low opinion of female service personnel". The inquiry highlighted a drinking culture - with so called unacceptable behaviours by male members often fuelled by alcohol. Alcohol was seen as a mitigating factor but should have been treated as an aggravating factor, the RAF said.

The RAF said women had normalised the behaviour they experienced, and "many said they had 'got used to it'", with some modifying their own behaviour to reduce the risk of experiencing such actions. It noted there was a sense of loyalty, with incidents dismissed because people did not want to ruin someone's career or disrupt the squadron. It said: "All of the females expressed their concern, without solicitation, that they were not showing moral courage by not speaking out and they could be enabling the situation to happen to other women, but they had to balance this against the reality that they felt likely to suffer a detriment on a day to day basis and they had worked hard to get where they were and they did not want to sacrifice their position."

Two pilots serving with the Red Arrows were dismissed from the team and the RAF following an initial investigation in 2022. Five other members of the team, which includes ground staff and totals 120 personnel, have faced "administrative actions". A separate military police investigation concluded that none of the allegations highlighted between 2017 and 2021 met the threshold for criminal charges.

Is the report available?

https://www.raf.mod.uk/documents/pdf/rafat-nsi-report/

https://www.raf.mod.uk/documents/pdf/rafat-coc-report/

Well having just read the whole thing, it just looks like ‘words’ riddled with buzzwords and acronyms!

Clearly there was wrong doing here and in all my dealings with RAFAT during a 25 year career, I am not the least bit surprised. On a ‘normal’ squadron (if there actually is such a thing) there are always incidents that occur and these are often dealt with within the chain of command. Crucially if serious enough they can always be escalated up to the wider station level to ensure that occurrences are dealt with properly and away from the squadron’s influence. As a SNCO I have had occasion to send a drunken pilot off to bed with a “Sir, I think you had enough and should leave now” which on that particular FJ squadron I could do because the Boss would back us in keeping his squadron in a good place.
The difference here is that RAFAT have always done things ‘their way’ and the pilots considered beyond reproach. The engineering side similarly view themselves as being in some way ‘the best of the best’ and have often been caught out doing things outside of that mandated in operational and maintenance documentation (their recent incidents have brought this to light but to no avail), because they are in some way special or unique. This has tragically led to the loss of two of two members of RAFAT. Add to that they were living in their own little ‘bubble’ at Scampton and you can see how this situation came about.

Any other squadron would have been disbanded long ago for less than this. One hopes that now they are at Waddington they will learn to conform to the ‘norms’ of service life and follow a better path.

I have not yet read the report, been very busy, BUT:

at a guess "lessons learned" and "steps to ensure such will not happen again" might just figure in it.

Back in the day, I did have some dealings with the RAFAT and I think it would be fair to call them a ‘Marmite’ organisation. People come and people go but in my experience the pilots were either really good guys you would want to share a beer with or absolute as*****s who never ceased to tell everyone how good they were at the first opportunity. I think the concept of ‘The Scampton Bubble’ has a degree of merit and I would agree that the move to Waddington could help the healing process.

Red Arrows - toxic culture
 

Red Arrows: Predatory behaviour widespread and normalised - RAF - BBC News

So now the Reds have been disgraced yet again is it time to disband them and replace with something new?

Sorry, Red2, but no. This is a report into what happened last year. A very bad year for the Reds, but they have been restructured, and the new team is getting on with doing it properly, on the ground as well as in the air.

That reads like a “line to take” from senior leadership. And just as convincing.

To quote from the Times report:

…Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the chief of the air staff, apologised to the victims and said he had been left “appalled” by the report.

He admitted that “a handful” of those who had served in the Red Arrows during the period from 2017 to 2021 when sexual harassment was normalised remained on the team but he denied the inquiry amounted to a cover-up.

The Times understands there are three people still on the team who served when unacceptable behaviours were “widespread and normalised”…..

Victims said they were left “furious” by the RAF’s heavily redacted report and one said it was “utter nonsense” they had not been offered a meeting with Knighton.

​​​​​​​“I haven’t heard anything from them. I haven’t been offered a face to face. I lost my career because of this,” said one.

Reds Breakdown
 

Whenever the report mentions ‘The Red Arrows’ I am sure that the public just thinks of the pilots.Two pilots got kicked out but 9 other ‘members’ of the unit were disciplined.
I do acknowledge that as some of the pilots were behaving poorly morally, that may have been seen by other members of the unit to be acceptable behaviour =Leadership failure.

Do personnel join the Reds for the ‘right’ reasons…..?
What are the ‘right’ reasons?
Would you want to and for what reason?…………….
What questions would you ask aspiring members and would you believe their answers…?

If you put the team on a pedestal, tell them they are ‘the best’ and let them live and operate separately to the rest of the service this will lead to a elitist view of themselves- something the Service itself used to actively encourage.
That culture permeated throughout the unit and led to a lax attitude to the Service ethos and lo and behold it spread to other areas of behaviour…When faced with temptations normal self discipline can start to weaken and then the behaviours as reported are a natural consequence.


I met members of the public at Airshows who didn’t even know the team were in the RAF as “they don’t wear military uniform” ( yes, really).
Why not put them back into service uniform and flying suits: ‘The RAF Arrows’ anyone?
But they would just look like any other members of the RAF then….and perhaps begin to behave in a more disciplined and less entitled manner.

I am very sad to see the damage this report has and will cause to the RAF as a whole.

Part of a bigger team…
 

Get rid of the Red Suits and Blue overalls; wear standard RAF uniform.
But then they would be indistinguishable from ‘ordinary’ RAF personnel…? 👍 :D
Might prick the bubble of separateness elitism and disregard of service norms, discipline and ethos.

Page 15 article F.

You have to be kidding me, there is NO excuse for working on or operating aircraft and carrying out safety critical tasks while under the influence of alcohol under ANY circumstances, and to significantly reduce that is NOT addressing the problem, it needs to be stopped completely. Random breath tests for all ranks comes to mind.

https://www.raf.mod.uk/documents/pdf/rafat-coc-report/


..

The Mail running with this:
RAF faces £1million payout to former head of recruitment after being ordered to discriminate (dailymail.co.uk)
I hope she gets every penny...

What stone has he been under for the last 20 years?

The cast of Yes Minister are long dead, but we all know what they meant when they were "appalled" - "it's appalling" - "I'm appalled"

Was he appalled by the report or the actions which required its writing?


43 Squadron sans the 'Fighting'?

More tax money paid out

It's hardly a new broom with the new Red One as he seems to have made a career out of the Reds. Now he is the boss he will have to make sure his eyes are open all the time!

I am trying to think how they could have possibly generated worse publicity for themselves, at a worse time?

it stinks of privilege and total arrogance.

They do a lot of good for GB Ltd, but this gives ammo to those who think they should form part of the next defence cuts.

But that’s a report in the ghastly Mail, with a fair chance of gross exaggeration.