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A distinct lack of Light Blue in the signatories though - are they all on track for an OBE a place in the House of Lords?
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Open Letter from Retired Senior Military Leaders to the SoS.
- Thread starter Spearmint
- Start date
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Three years of Wokeston in charge has stripped the RAF of its core values and ethos and the ability to speak up when things aint right.
SausageFingers
LAC
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When all is failing, blame it on 'woke' and the seals will start clapping.
What next, is King Canute going to call the sea 'woke' because his feet got wet?
Years of lack of government investment have let to this, not 'woke'. It's easy to blame woke because it has no specific meaning, but rather dangerously points the finger at each other. I would have thought the leadership would have seen that... given recent incidents.
What next, is King Canute going to call the sea 'woke' because his feet got wet?
Years of lack of government investment have let to this, not 'woke'. It's easy to blame woke because it has no specific meaning, but rather dangerously points the finger at each other. I would have thought the leadership would have seen that... given recent incidents.
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Would of made more of a difference if these people had made their valid points whilst still in positions of influence, instead they have secured their pensions etc first and will be appropriately ignored now they are no longer in those positions of influence, seems once again career before core values for those who have remarkedly found a conscience now they have left, just my humble opinion based on past efforts by retired hierarchy.
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Have to give it to whoever wrote it. Armed conflict ain't pretty. Unlike these pretty boys and girls with their groomed beards and ponytails ..
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I don’t know if Rasta hats are being worn on parade yet but perhaps someone could confirm that?
In this old fools mind, having someone choose to ‘differ’ from the rest of their team indicates that they most likely will ‘differ’ from the order to harm the King’s enemy…
In this old fools mind, having someone choose to ‘differ’ from the rest of their team indicates that they most likely will ‘differ’ from the order to harm the King’s enemy…
UlsterExile
Sergeant
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Hear hear!!!!!!
Unfortunately I don't think it will get any better, and even if we did have a conflict in Europe (god forbid) i don'k think it would change peoples mindset. We'll have people demanding vegan boots and saying they can't go as they don't agree with the conflict etc etc. We still have individuals in positions of power (so to speak) who blatantly disregarded the rules. The RAF has lost its way and there are too many officers and dare i say it WO & SNCO's are out for themselves and afraid to do the right thing.
I lost it with a WO, 2 x FS and a SNCO who were clearly having an issue with interdepartmental politics. This actually was affecting a reservist who I had mobilised to support for a extended period of time (over 6 months). The short story is that i wrote an e,mail to them all and my opening line was " I make no apologies for the tone of this email as you clearly do not want to speak with me". I TOLD them that the reservist would not be arriving at their location until i had a POC, accommodation was booked and they were actually being employed for the reason they had been asked for not what they thought they would be good at!!
Needless to say i received a call from the WO and the 2 FS as a conference call. insubordination was suggested and that my tone was unacceptable etc etc blah blah!!!!! As i told them my career was over when i left and have no sights on promotion or seeking praise for doing my job, what i am here for is the reservists !!!!!!!! so if you want to take action knock yourself out I don't care, but what will not be happening is a reservist coming to your location to assist you. needless to say it was a very heated call.
I got the result i wanted and actually received a separate call from the WO apologising for the lack of direction and support. I left them with my advice "just do the right thing its not hard". I as FTRS should not be telling WO's and FS off for not doing their job, and they were not even my trade !!!!!!!!
Its not the RAF I joined.
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Religion certainly wasn't a factor for me when I was in...I delivered awesomeness whether I was in a state of grace or not.
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Agreed but it's always been that way stay a loyal senior "in uniform man" until demob day then speak out on selected issues once the none executive defence company directorship slot has been sorted. Their views would carry far more weight, in my opinion, if they had the minerals to express them BEFORE removing the unifrom.
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Civil Service is very much like this too where they get terribly offended if you dare to suggest that they should do their job. Love to suggest ideas then loathe to actually implement them as that involves liaising with other areas and sometimes telling them to do their job. It frustrates the bloody life out of me.
Only last month, I raised a concern over a commercial partner not doing something that cost hundreds of man-hours putting right. Instead of being thanked and assured it was being looked into, I was told I was negative and then berated for not having bothered to arrange a visit for myself to the site in question (not that I could actually influence the amending of a contract between the state and a commercial partner). I took great pleasure in informing said senior person that I had requested a visit last August and after several chase-ups, was still waiting. I then got told by my LM that I should put up and shut up.
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The Process:
Identify issue - consider Pension effect - wait/defer - exit Service - cushy as required - bleat.
Identify issue - consider Pension effect - wait/defer - exit Service - cushy as required - bleat.
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Sounds like your Line Manager shouldn't be whee they are if they can't lead properly. Fair enough, some things can't be changed for whatever reason but you can at least influence things in the meantime to a degree to drive certain required behaviours. Especially so if a contract is up for renewal and more than one external party are able to fulfill it.
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It doesnt work like that in my area. Plenty of dinosaurs still ruling the earth, having never worked anywhere else in 30+ years, still with the fixation that WFH is bad because they cant see you and therefore cant control you. Emperors New Clothes attitude, where you dare not say anything for fear of being ostracised and have your career effectively ended. If you are ambitious, you tow the line, say nothing, shit on your staff, impose dress policies made up by one individual, use the removal of hybrid working to threaten anyone who dares ask anything..
There are good guys, and some of those at the very top do appear to be pushing through positive change, but the local SLT are a bunch of nodding dogs who either still reside in the 20th century or are simply too scared to say anything that would prevent their next promotion.
You get my drift?
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I do indeed and it sounds like the kind of place I couldn't work in as I have no fear in raising my head above the parapet, to respectfully challenge the shit ideas club.
Come and join the Dark Purple side, we have hybrid working, dress as you want, can look how you want (Mohican!) and nice cookies.
UlsterExile
Sergeant
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You wonder how we actually get anything done. I raised an issue when I was on site at BAE Warton (which i was sent there by the PT) to look at spares for the Harrier and see what was sitting in warehouses etc. i was an experienced Cpl at the time and was 99% sure it should not be happening. But yes i was told to get back in my box as it was outside my remit and i was not sent there to look at that, but another task. The fact was BAE actually approached me to ask my advice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And for the Harrier mafia out there it was something to do with the forward mounting bracket bolts, and what colour they should be or something to do with the colour. I rang HMF and spoke to a very experienced C/T who was usually very hostile but on this occasion i needed his advice and TBF he was really helpful. Didn't matter as i was told to jog on and do the job i was sent up there for.
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Similar to Ulster Exile’s scenario (post 16), I was, for the most of my last Laarbruch tour, a rigger Sgt heavily involved in ALL of the RAFG Harrier Pipe Audits and because of this I noticed several pipe fretting trends across the RAFG fleet. I raised this through drawing a diagram for where pipes fretted and also had an opinion of why they were fretting in certain areas. The theory was agreed with by the BAE rep and OC ASF who also said I should submit a GEMS to record it.
Some 18 months later, and after I had left the RAF, the eventual response was rather scathing in that I should only do what I was told and not to interfere with or dare to criticise IPT business. I should say that my response to the individual writing those remarks were rather ‘unguarded’ compared to if I’d still been in - and I’m not talking about service writing protocols.
Some 18 months later, and after I had left the RAF, the eventual response was rather scathing in that I should only do what I was told and not to interfere with or dare to criticise IPT business. I should say that my response to the individual writing those remarks were rather ‘unguarded’ compared to if I’d still been in - and I’m not talking about service writing protocols.
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Off topic.
Was this trend the one at the point where at the fuselage a hydraulic pipe crossed paths with a FireWire route?
If it was, I've seen what can happen because one of ours lost a hydraulic system after the FireWire had literally buzz sawed through the pipe with the pipe failing in flight. The temp solution was to put a little blue plastic grommet on the FireWire to prevent contact.
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Can’t say I remember a FireWire issue.
My observations were that in a lot of the pipe clamps a lot of old oil mixed with dust and grime (from field Ops) to form a fine cutting paste that literally wore through the titanium pipes - mostly inline with the front of the engine and Cold Ducts - both are high frequency Vibe areas. The areas that weren’t affected were in the Wing where the pipe clamps were protected by PRC inside the clamps keeping the pipes and clamps clean and dry.
My observations were that in a lot of the pipe clamps a lot of old oil mixed with dust and grime (from field Ops) to form a fine cutting paste that literally wore through the titanium pipes - mostly inline with the front of the engine and Cold Ducts - both are high frequency Vibe areas. The areas that weren’t affected were in the Wing where the pipe clamps were protected by PRC inside the clamps keeping the pipes and clamps clean and dry.