Its been a tough week, mostly because I woke up last Sunday with a rotten throat infection, no voice and a headache and the bug has bugged me ever since. No fun attending mtgs feeling rubbish but the good news is that I still managed to have fun by visiting cadets and staff which cheered me up no end. I just hope I havent infected anyone else! As a result of the bug, I had to miss the CACWOs Conference of Reg and WWOs but I understand it was hugely successful and our WO cadre are fully on board the 2020 Strategy train. I also missed the chance to join some Trent Wg staff on some trg courses so apologies to them, too. Monday was office based trying to clear tasks before the Xmas break and Tuesday was dominated by a Town Hall briefing to all the HQ staffs on current and planned initiatives. First time I have called them all together at once and seems to have worked well, albeit next year I will try to find a room with heating! As I was still not 100%, I sent apologies to the RFCA Vice Chairmen (Air) dinner but still travelled to London for an early night prior to the RFCA Annual Briefing Day. That was very good, with presentations by very senior chaps, including VCDS and CGS. The good news was just how much positive mention was made of the Cadet Forces and I was able to promote some of the exciting work we are doing as part of our Strategy and in support of our AOCs wider work on the training and engagement fronts. Worked from my hotel room for the afternoon and then set off to Tower Hamlets to present the Sqn with the Earl Roberts trophy for shooting excellence as well as other awards to cadets. A great evening, which included leadership exercises, archery and shooting demos. Thank you to all concerned - a very new but nevertheless very impressive Sqn. The next day was back-to-back mtgs, first with the RAFBF, then with CE CVQO, and then the 1*Youth and Cadets SG. All very productive but all created a bit more work for me to follow up on, so hopefully I will find time to do so before Xmas. Today is a quieter day and we bid farewell to my SO, Tim, at lunchtime. He is on his way to Cosford to help run the School of PT and we have welcomed Flt Lt Piers Lirons to the SO role. I hope he can cope with me! Just one final thing to mention and that is the incredible and hugely positive response we have had to my post regarding potential support to any LGBT members of the ACO. The conversation so far has been incredible, with over 18000 engaging within 48 hrs, lots of positive discussions on non-official cadet sites, and Wg Cdr Admin reporting lots of ideas and comments coming through to the confidential email addresses. The overall theme has been that the ACO can be proud of its well-deserved reputation for inclusivity and, where any negative issues have been highlighted, we will take forward to ensure that every member of our great organisation feels valued and welcome. This exercise has proved to me the power of social media in energising lots of people to engage on important topics and I am sure it will not be the last time we seek your views in this way, albeit I remind everyone that complaints or concerns should still be addressed through the appropriate chain of command to allow resolution at the lowest level possible. I close by thanking you all for the amazing work you are doing week in, week out, in your communities. I see regular stories of air cadets doing good in all sorts of ways and I am very proud to be associated with the very best of British youth and the volunteers who enable them to achieve so much. Have a great weekend, wrap up warm, and stay safe.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 08:01:51 +0000
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