Public perception of the RAF

[penfold93]

Public image? Who gives a toss, I just want my mortgage paid and my pension when I leave. The public have no idea of what you or I do, and that doesn't worry me in the slightest.
The public are as fickle as the press they get their opinions from.

Isnt this sort of attitude the reason why we get such bad press and go some way to explain the attitude of the newbiesDT_Xtremez_42:
We need to promote ourselves I am proud of the fact that I am in the RAF and when asked i will get past the 'so what do you fly' response and explain as much as I can about the RAF, it was not that long ago that wearing uniform out and about, travelling etc was the norm but thanks to the IRA, Islamic Fundamentalists and other low lifes this practice has been discouraged. At least this got the military in the public eye is it just a case of out of sight out of mind?

 

[mad_mo]

We need to promote ourselves

For the past 5 years of the Southampton Boat Show, The RAF have had a fair sized stand. If I recall there were about 7 personel there last year and quite a good crowd puller.

Some might say, why at a Boat show, why not!.

 

[True Blue Jack]

Isnt this sort of attitude the reason why we get such bad press and go some way to explain the attitude of the newbiesDT_Xtremez_42:
We need to promote ourselves I am proud of the fact that I am in the RAF and when asked i will get past the 'so what do you fly' response and explain as much as I can about the RAF, it was not that long ago that wearing uniform out and about, travelling etc was the norm but thanks to the IRA, Islamic Fundamentalists and other low lifes this practice has been discouraged. At least this got the military in the public eye is it just a case of out of sight out of mind?

That is quite possibly the most sensible post so far. Some time after the Good Friday Agreement the then CAS pushed a directive out to Station Commanders that we were to be encouraged to wear uniform in public. That lasted all of a few months until 9/11 forced us to hide away again.

The best recruiting tool is to make ourselves as visible as possible and not just pop our heads above the parapet on Remembrance Sunday.

 

[TheHogwartsBEngO]

I was struck recently by the thought that the only publicity the Army gets these days is the headline 'X number of troops killed in Iraq/Afganistan'. One wonders how the army are recruiting anyone at all when the public perception is becoming: "Join the army: All you'll ever do is go to hot, sandy places and get shot".

The RAF's publicity is pretty dire too. I have recently enjoyed being once again able to field the question "What do you do?" by puffing out my pride-filled chest and saying "I'm in the RAF!". 9 times out of 10 it is met with "ooh really? what do you fly?"

Anyhew, the RAF recruiting campaign that worked on me is one I personally think is one of the best - it works on many levels. It showed a modern fast jet tearing through the sky and then the pilot suddenly dealing with a serious emergency - lots of buzzers, bells, warning lights, "Mayday Maday", shots of aircraft in a spin. The action freezes and then the tag-line "There are no break-down services at 20,000 feet" and then the line "Engineers wanted". It then showed the troubled jet making a safe recovery before the old "Rise above the rest" slogan.

I saw that advert at the pictures before a summer Block-buster. I phoned the RAF careers helpline the following morning. (I always knew I couldn't be a pilot due to being a 4-eyed speccy git; my Dad was a techie but that add gave me the impetus to find out more).

 

[firestorm]

Sorry Penfold, I don't agree for the points I stated.
You can't make a disinterested public interested. What does it matter?
The public love you, so what? Will it get you a bigger pay packet or a better pension? Being "respected" by the public won't pay your mortgage and the public are so ill informed and apathetic anyway.
Been there, done that and I am the wiser for it.

 

[Slider]

I think the point being made isn't for anyone's personal advantage, but for the RAF as a whole.

If the public image isn't improved, there will be fewer recruits and therefore a less capable air force. It could end up with there being no RAF at all and have us as just another branch of the army.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I see it.

 

[Swingwinger]

I think the point being made isn't for anyone's personal advantage, but for the RAF as a whole.

If the public image isn't improved, there will be fewer recruits and therefore a less capable air force. It could end up with there being no RAF at all and have us as just another branch of the army.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I see it.

Good and fair point made. No recruits =no future air force.

 

[firestorm]

..............or how about the airships working harder to retain those already in?
The current policy of filling the leaking bucket, as opposed to fixing the hole doesn't work.

 

[Swingwinger]

..............or how about the airships working harder to retain those already in?
The current policy of filling the leaking bucket, as opposed to fixing the hole doesn't work.

Another fair point, but we still need folk walking in the door.

 

[Rich_P]

Just going to throw this into the discussion. At my College at least once a year there is a bunch of colleges/unis that come in and try to get people to go to such places after they finish College. Interestingly, they're also accompanied by the Royal Navy and the Army who are using it as a recruitment opportunity to get people into their services by showing that there are various useful trades you can do in the services and get the various quals that would be useful later on outside the forces.

Oddly, the RAF has not been present at any of these occasions to date. So much for making an effort to be in the public eye! DT_Xtremez_35:

 

[penfold93]

Sorry Penfold, I don't agree for the points I stated.
You can't make a disinterested public interested. What does it matter?
The public love you, so what? Will it get you a bigger pay packet or a better pension? Being "respected" by the public won't pay your mortgage and the public are so ill informed and apathetic anyway.
Been there, done that and I am the wiser for it.

I still think you are being a bit narrowminded (but thats your opinion), however raising the RAF public profile can only be a good thing, surely if we gain public support there will be more people to fight our corner to get better housing, better medical care, increased recruiting so more troops so less OOA and more support for an increase in pay. The I'm alright Jack approach does not foster the esprit de corps that the other services have

 

[firestorm]

Public support is a red herring and the govt can turn the public against you so very easily.
I wish this (or any) govt really cared about those in its employ. The bare fact is the better our conditions are, the more taxes rise to pay for them and thats a vote loser. They lose votes then they are off the gravy train.
If they really cared we all wouldn't be in the almighty mess we are in now.

 

[Talk Wrench]

I think the point being made isn't for anyone's personal advantage, but for the RAF as a whole.

If the public image isn't improved, there will be fewer recruits and therefore a less capable air force. It could end up with there being no RAF at all and have us as just another branch of the army.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I see it.

This is EXACTLY the point i was trying to get accross on the first post of this thread.

Posted by Firestorm
Public support is a red herring and the govt can turn the public against you so very easily.
I wish this (or any) govt really cared about those in its employ. The bare fact is the better our conditions are, the more taxes rise to pay for them and thats a vote loser. They lose votes then they are off the gravy train.
If they really cared we all wouldn't be in the almighty mess we are in now.

Although Firestorm is 100% on the nail's head.

It really is a double edged sword.

TW


TW

 

[Rocket_Ronster]

The out-sourcing question was beautifully illustrated,many thanks. The true following of this is a semi-privatised Air Force. Cheaper labour on the free market,weighted against losing all the skills and independance of doing it `ourselves`. Unfortunately when these skills are gone,they`re either gone for good or cost a fortune to re-instate.

On the plus side,if they still can`t get lads through the door in a free market,either the wages will have to shoot up or the terms and conditions will have to improve. (Either that or the powers that be will contract out air defence of the realm to the lowest bidder- Russians going up to warn off the Bears anyone???)

 

[Craig855s]

Was that the one filmed over at Bruggen? It had a Phantom "ejection" and something bursting into flames or something like that?

Oh, and all the linies were Flight Sergeants, Warrants and Officers - DT_Xtremez_42:

There was another aswell. Found it on the tube whilst looking for videos of our flying flick knives in action

Clicky

Northern Q scramble to defend from aliens no less.

Then there was a program on Scottish ITV following trainee aircrew at the GR OCU at lossie, i think a program about a whole camp would be a great idea

 

[Rich_P]

I think we need something like this in ad campaigns.....

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pK83hXtLP9E

What do you think?

 

[Bluntend]

I think we need something like this in ad campaigns.....What do you think?

Only snag is that advert featured more people than are currently serving in the RAF - you'd need to borrow people (and probably aircraft) to even come close...

 

[Rich_P]

Yes, perhaps, but the point is how it displays that it isn't all down to flying! Sure it has some aircraft flying in scenes, but it also shows some of the other trades.

 

[Bluntend]

Yes, perhaps, but the point is how it displays that it isn't all down to flying! Sure it has some aircraft flying in scenes, but it also shows some of the other trades.

I'm not saying its a bad ad, just that it would take a lot of people from the RAF to pull something like that together. Despite the punchyness of the US ad, apparently the yanks are having difficulty recruiting (especially into the Army) and are now offering people 'golden handshakes' for signing up.

 

[Datalink Squirrel]

I remember a Daily Mirror article in the late 90s (98?) about a woman pilot in a Tornado F3 squadron at RAF St Andrews who intercepted a Russki. Reading the article she:
Detected the snoopers approaching NATO airspace to the north of the UK;
Started her aircraft, without the aid of ground crew;
Gave herself authority to scramble;
Taxiied to the runway, without directions from ATC;
Gave herself clearance to take off;
Deduced the direction she required, as no navigator was on board;
Flew through controlled airspace, without help from ATC;
Found the interlopers, without help from the UK AD system, including AEW;
Formated with them (steady there!);
Then did the reverse all the way back without any help at any stage.
Not her fault, just the way it was reported, presumably with all the usual accurate information provided by MoD. And we still wonder why the RAF only has pilots and aircraft. Sorry, are we still flying Lightnings?