Ho Hum! My favourite topic this and along with the mis management of RAF Ops Staff careers by the TG9 mafia, the primary reason why I PVR'd to progress my aviation career in civvy street.
A previous OC FOTS (*********) openly declared his reluctance to recruit from TG9 preferring instead to recruit from the aircrew world. To quote him directly from one of our conversations he quipped that he would far prefer to commission a MR 'Siggie' with 9000hrs in the back of a dimsod than a highly experienced FOM as in his opinion he had concluded that TG9 candidates tended to act like assistants and what he wanted was officers. I felt that some of the early TG9 graduates from FOTS had badly let the side down and effectively closed the door for others for a while.
Sadly I could not disagree with his sentiments, it seems that much of the whinging and whining from TG9 pers on this thread appears to come from people with an axe to grind and a word of caution to you gentlemen/ladies, you're not that good either. In defence of that statement I myself realised, when I was promoted to Sgt, that my ops knowledge and skills was rather basic and not appropriate for a SNCO. Yes I could lead, prioritise, think laterally, multitask yadda yadda yadda but my aviation technical knowledge was simply not up to scratch, and believe me when I say I was VERY knowledgeable. so I went out and enrolled on the JAA ICAO Ops Officer/Flight Dispatcher Licence course which has provided me with the enhanced knowledge I sought. For TG9 pers sadly, as the Ops specialisation is joined at the hip to the ATC filth, you will never receive the training that you need for your job at higher level as all the emphasis on training and career development remains with the controlling side of the trade. I did recommend various suggestions for Ops pers in the last TG9 review but I doubt any of it has been taken on board.
How many of you can hand on heart read and understand synoptic charts, SIDS and STARS and make informed decisions from them if you need to replan a schedule to an unfamiliar airfield. Do you understand aircraft systems and theory of flight, can you navigate and route plan so that you will safely deposit your aircraft at it's destination, - no of course you can't because you haven't been trained! There is a lot more to Flight Ops than sitting in Stn Ops filing flt plans on ALFENS, updating airborne times, issuing PPRs, booking diversion airfields and so on. In the RAF you are never in a position to make an operational decision you merely act out other peoples instructions.
Returning to the origional point, Flt Ops as a branch is currently laughable, it lacks direction, training and ethos. Humility too I think. At no point since it's inception did I encounter a commissioned OpsO who I viewed as competent, undoubtedly nice people but as operators 'kin useless and unwilling in the main to take guidance from the people with experience, but I will caveat that statement by saying that the majority of OpsO's were re-branchees that brought across a lot of baggage. Before my departure from Aunty Betty's employ my experience of the Abo OpsO's was in the main very posititve but many were very dissillusioned and believed they had been sold a pup. My last tour in the Service was on a FJ Sqn and I resisted having an OpsO on the Sqn, although other sqn's weakened thankfully mine did not, preferring instead to listen and consider my reasoned arguments. They concluded like me that there was no place for a commissioned OpsO as I would do the job far better and was cheaper. However a sister sqn took one on board, nice girl but effectively jobless, she got sqn secondary duty crap the aircrew didn't want.
Furthermore, Flt Ops, being part of the Ops Spt Branch are in competetion with Feds, ATC, Fighter Control, Regt and Int for Sqn Ldr slots and funny old thing there are a lot of SLOPS posts filled with ATC, FC and Regt officers. Consequently a lot of these people now regard SLOPS posts as part of their career entitlement. With that kind of interference what chance does Flt Ops actually have.
At first I was the biggest fan of Flt Ops, at last a chance of a defined career structure and a pop at a commission if appropriate. Sadly through consecutive mis-management, poor standard of recruit and an insufficient training course - and don't tell me that a 14 week course which is actually 9 with 5 weeks of 'bonding' trips and jollies to Ops rooms various is up to the job 'cos it ain't!- this cracking opportunity to think laterally and provide the service with ops specialists has been allowed to whither, and the ATC filth have not helped at all.
Since arriving in civvy strasse the one thing that comes across loud and clear is the playing field is far more level, your core competencies are what matters and I know of plenty of ex RAF types who are unable to find worthwhile well paid employment as it is viewed that their skill set is insufficient. RAF Ops is not all that it's cracked up to be. I will be honest, since leaving the RAF only now do I believe that I am starting to learn, I now work for a cargo airline as an ops controller doing the job I should have been doing in the RAF.
Moderated by SSH.. No names please short fella
