Training
All RAFVR(T) officers are required to attend and pass the Officers' Initial Course (OIC) held at the Adult Training Facility (ATF), a lodger unit at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, usually within the first 12 months of their appointment. This week-long course covers the basic roles and responsibilities of an RAFVR(T) Officer and very few fail. Those successfully completing the course are awarded their commissioning parchment and are confirmed as a commissioned officer (although under the current system, all VR(T) Officers are commissioned from the day that they pass their interview, and the commissioning scroll is dated to that day) and are treated similarly to regular Officers. Another 1-week course at the ATF, the Officers Senior Course, is required for those seeking to command a squadron. RAFVR(T) officers involved in CCF or ATC Units may undertake extra training before becoming appointed as an Officer Commanding of their unit, although this training is not compulsory for officers associated with the CCF. Some also take specialist training for certain activities: physical training (PT) or shooting for example.
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They are supported at ATC unit level by fellow RAFVR(T) officers, as well as uniformed ATC Warrant Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers and a cadre of Civilian Instructors. Although not in the chain of command, the wings are supported by a Wing Executive Officer of Sqn Ldr Rank in the RAFR. At CCF(RAF) contingents, RAFVR(T) officers are able to call upon the support of the regular RAF Squadron Leader tasked with looking after their area, and also upon the services of the regular RAF 'TEST' sergeants mapped to their specific school. Volunteer Gliding Squadron (VGS) and Air Experience Flight (AEF) officers are supported directly by HQ Air Cadet Staff, and the unit's parent RAF station. Read more about this topic: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) Famous quotes containing the word training:“When a man goes through six years’ training to be a doctor he will never be the same. He knows too much.” “... the time will come when no servant will be hired without a diploma from some training school, and a girl will as much expect to fit herself for house-maid or cook, as for dressmaker or any trade.” “The area [of toilet training] is one where a child really does possess the power to defy. Strong pressure leads to a powerful struggle. The issue then is not toilet training but who holds the reins—mother or child? And the child has most of the ammunition!” |