Uncontrolled copy not subject to amendment
Uncontrolled copy not subject to amendment
The Chaplain’s place in the
Air Training Corps
Our Vision “To provide appropriate pastoral care for all personnel within the Air Cadet Organisation irrespective of religious belief or status”.
Our Mission“To represent the Kingdom of God and its values, to meet the pastoral, spiritual and moral needs of the Air Cadet Organisation and to enable that body to practise its various faiths”.
It is good to know that you have agreed
to become a Chaplain within the Air
Training Corps and that you believe in
the value of what you will be able to do
within your local Squadron! You are
joining an organisation which has had a
most productive and successful history
and continues today with 1,000 units,
serving 40,000 Cadets and ably supported
by 10,000 adult volunteers, as well as
being sponsored by the Royal Air Force
The Air Training Corps has its origins in
the Air Cadet Defence Corps, which was
formed under the auspices of the Air
League of the British Empire and the
earliest Squadrons paraded in October
1938. The administration of each
Squadron was in the hands of a
committee of local citizens, thus
establishing the twin military and civilian
streams of support which continue to the
present day. In 1941, in order to provide
the means of giving part-time training to young people destined to join the Royal Air Force, the Air Defence Cadet Corps was renamed the Air Training Corps and enjoyed a strength of 210,000.
The 50 Squadrons which were first formed as Squadrons of the Air Defence Cadet Corps and have been incorporated in the ATC are permitted to include the word “Founder” (usually abbreviated to “F”) before the word “Squadron” in their title eg 38F (Perth) Squadron.
Following the war, and a subsequent reassessment of the needs of the young people of the day, the present style of training was introduced and within it you have an important part to play. But perhaps you don’t altogether know what is expected of you, or the differences which you might experience in this new role within you ministry.
In this, as in every other part of an ordained Minister’s life, we are called to be first of all faithful rather than successful, and this booklet hopes to point out some of the obvious differences and offer reassurance. In the ATC it is often a sowing situation, rather than a reaping one, but we do indeed reap from time to time where others have sown.
What the ATC Does
The ATC is a national voluntary youth organisation which promotes a practical interest in aviation and the Royal Air Force.
Although it is not a recruiting agency for the Royal Air Force as such, and no one is obliged to join the Service, many do and make it their first career choice. Air Cadets currently provide about a third of all RAF Recruits.
Perhaps more importantly, it provides a great deal for almost
40,000 young people between the ages of 13 and 20 fostering the spirit of adventure and helping them to develop qualities of leadership and good citizenship. It does this through some 1,000 Squadrons up and down the country, each run by its own team of
volunteers, headed by an officer of the RAF Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch).
These aims are constant and universal and are set out in the Royal Warrant as revised in 1967:
a) To promote and encourage among young men and women a practical interest in aviation and the Royal Air Force.
b) To provide training which will be useful both in the Services and in civil life.
c) To foster the spirit of adventure and to develop the qualities of leadership and good citizenship.
However, it is also known that the leaders and Cadets themselves have a common aim of achieving a purposeful attitude to life, at an age when characters are
being developed.
Therefore, the
opportunities are there
for Squadron Chaplains
to play a significant part
in motivating those
qualities which derive
from Christian Faith.
Many activities are open to Cadets but, of course, it is the flying opportunities that distinguish the ATC from other organisations. Each Cadet is guaranteed at least one flight per year but if they show aptitude they can spend far more time in the air.
As well as experiencing air experience flying and gliding, Cadets can win a place on the prestigious Air Cadet Pilot Scheme, a competition open to cadets of 16 years and over who have already studied the principle of flight in their local Squadron.
Sport is well represented in the Corps’ activities as well as adventure training, and in the latter, teamwork is emphasised, as it is in many aspects of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme undertaken in many units.
The Air Training Corps, whose Air Commodore-in-Chief is HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is run by a Central Headquarters, based at RAFCollege, Cranwell in Lincolnshire. There are 6 Regional Headquarters and 36 Wing Headquarters that cover the whole of the UK and its 1,000 Squadrons. There are also 11 Air Experience Flights (AEF), 27 Volunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGS and 2 Adventure Training Centres at Llanbedr and Windermere.
A retired Group Captain or Air Commodore commands each Region and this is a fulltime appointment. A volunteer reserve Wing Commander commands each wing with the assistance of a fulltime wing executive officer (normally a recently retired RAF Squadron Leader).
Nearly all of the staff are volunteers. They hold either a reserve commission within the Royal Air Force, or as far as the ATC is concerned, work as Adult Non-Commissioned Officers or Civilian Instructors at Squadron level. And so the people with whom you will come into contact are of all ages – from Cadets to member of the Squadron staff, as well as parents and friends who will be active in the Civilian Committee. With little persuasion they will take you into their circle and lives, and so we hope you will find your ministry with the ATC a pleasant change from the normal, and more of a joy than a chore!
The Commandant Air Cadets is responsible for ensuring that facilities exist in the Air Training Corps for the spiritual and moral welfare of its members and that includes Cadets, Officers, Adult NCOs and Civilian Instructors. This responsibility is exercised through the Corps Chaplaincy Service, which is represented at Air Cadet Council, Regional, Wing and Squadron level.
The Corps Chaplain heads the Service and he is directly responsible to the Commandant Air Cadets for the day-to-day running of the Service, and he is also chairman of the Chaplains’ Committee of the Air Cadet Council. See Annex C
The aim of the Chaplaincy Service is best achieved through the Chaplain’s participation in his or her Squadron’s training programme and through the conduct of religious services at Squadron Parades and local Church Parades. It is the responsibility of the Squadron Commanding Officer to encourage Cadets to pursue the religious faith to which they belong and to further this purpose, the CO is to secure the services and the appointment of a suitable Chaplain.
ATC Chaplains are honorary appointments. They are not commissioned and therefore do not wear uniform and, of course, they receive no pay but are eligible to receive certain allowances. The nomination for appointment
to Squadrons and Detached
Flights is made by the Wing
Chaplain, on the
recommendation of the
Squadron Commander, the
Civilian Committee, and with the
approval of the appropriate
ecclesiastical authority and
appropriate clearance from the
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).
Appointments of Chaplains are officially recognised by the issue of a Certificate of Appointment signed by the Commandant, Air
Cadets, and presented to the new Chaplain by the Wing Chaplain at a formal Squadron Parade Night. The Chaplain will also receive a badge, which should be worn on a preaching scarf, and this badge depicts a falcon within a circlet bearing the words “Air Training Corps” surmounted on a scroll bearing the Corps’ motto “Venture Adventure”, all in gilt and mounted on a Maltese Cross in white metal. See Annex G.
It is the responsibility of the Squadron Commander to make provision in the training programme for the Chaplain to meet all members of the unit, and it is the duty of the Chaplain to motivate, in uniformed personnel of the Crown, those qualities required
which derive from the Christian Faith.
If the Chaplain is to function effectively, then he/she must believe explicitly in the task he/she is about. He should have clearly in his mind what the purpose and function are, and then get on with
them! It is not good enough merely to say that the ATC is one of
the finest youth organisation, we must be clear in our own minds why it is a fine organisation, and within that body, what it is that clearly calls for a Chaplain’s contribution. In other words, what is it that we are called to do?
What is our special input that cannot be effectively supplied from any other source?
Reliability and courtesy are the foundation of the Chaplain’s relationship with the Squadron and he can best accomplish his/her function if he/she becomes integrated in the unit’s life. He/she can do this through studying and understanding the training being undertaken by the Cadets, and by attending classes of instruction and absorbing the contents of the various training manuals.
He/she is best able to fulfil his ministry if he/she is seen by all Squadron personnel to be a dependable and efficient member of the Squadron Staff. In addition, of course, he/she will be a more dependable member of staff if he/she can be sure of support, and it
will be good to know that no Chaplain stands alone in the ATC. There ought to be no sense of isolation; of being left to get on with what lies ahead.
The Corps Chaplain is ably supported by a team of six Regional Chaplains who in turn support their Wing Chaplains, whose job it is to support and guide their Squadron Chaplains, whenever there may be difficulties. The ATC is very conscious of the valuable contribution made by Chaplains at all levels. If there should be any feeling of isolation, it must reflect to some extent on the Chaplain, who should avail himself/herself of the support provided.
So what support can the Chaplain expect from the uniformed section of the ATC?
Starting at the Squadron. Officers
appointed to the Corps hold
commissions as officers in the
Training Branch of the Royal Air
Force Volunteer Reserve and are
governed by the Regulations
prescribed for that Reserve, in so far
as the same are applicable to them,
and subject to such modification as
the Defence Council may direct.
Squadron StructureThe officer in charge of a Squadron is normally a Flight Lieutenant and under his/her command will be other officers, also commissioned in the RAFVR(T), who fill such posts as Squadron Adjutant and Training Officer. Each unit normally has Adult Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and various Civilian Instructors whose main role is that of instruction in their particular specialities.
A Squadron may also have a Detached Flight operating, for the most part, at another location but perhaps coming to the parentSquadron for special occasions such as an Enrolment Service and the Annual Inspection.
A Squadron is expected to have 30 Cadets on its roll. A Detached Flight may be a means of developing a new Squadron in a different location or it may be a more permanent part of the parent
Squadron. Some Detached Flights have their own Chaplain. Either way it will be important for you to discuss with the CO your role in relation to the smaller unit.
Each Squadron Chaplain has a Squadron Commander (CO).
COs vary between those who give every support and encouragement to the Chaplain and, rarely, those who give very little support perhaps through failing to appreciate the role of the Chaplain, or through antipathy towards the Church. Should you find yourself facing the latter situation, do talk to your Wing
Chaplain. He may either visit your Squadron or ask the Wing Staff Officer responsible for the Squadron to talk to the CO about his responsibility towards you.
We value those who voluntarily give of their time in a busy ministry to support the ATC at all levels, Squadron, Wing or Region and that is why in the regulations concerning Chaplains it clearly states;
“Chaplains are to be kept up to date on ATC matters by being given copies of Squadron, Wing and Regional Orders, and by being given access to the standard regulations of the Corps, and to training handbooks”.
This makes them very different from members of the Civilian Committee and Civilian Instructors the latter, of course, being members of staff.
So what is the Chaplain’s role at grassroots level?
Many Squadrons have fixed intakes of Cadets by recruiting two or three times per year. Other Squadrons admit boys and girls whenever they appear. It is suggested that the most effective method is the fixed times of the year where they move Cadets through a standard course of instruction. This offers the Chaplain definite opportunities of meeting with the various batches of
recruits and addressing them prior to their enrolment.
Enrolment is similar to signing the declaration and taking the oath of allegiance in the attestation of adults. Before a Cadet can become a full member of the Corps and wear its uniform, he/she must be enrolled whatever his/her religious faith. Enrolments should take place regularly as probationers qualify, and should take place at the CO’s Parade with the whole squadron present. See Annex A.
The Enrolment Service may not be suitable for all Cadets and it may be that the name of Jesus Christ is omitted in some circumstances ie in predominantly multifaith Squadrons. It is a matter of resolving whatever is the best way to be sensitive to those Cadets of non-Christian faiths and at the same time being true to your own integrity as a Christian minister.
Many Squadrons make a practice of offering an ATC crested New Testament (from NM&AFBS) to recruits; this is presented to them with their Record of Service Book (F3822) at the enrolment parade. It should be noted that Record of Service Books must be signed by the Chaplain. Important as these sessions are to prepare Probationers for enrolment, that is only the tip of the Chaplain’s work within the Squadron or hopefully so!
On appointment,Chaplains are encouraged to visit the unit at least once per month and there should be a place in the training programme for the Padre’s Hour(although that is how it is referred
to, it does not necessarily last for that time and “Padre” is how you will normally be addressed within the Squadron and when visiting an RAF Station and so you should get accustomed to it!). In addition, do remember that on each visit to the Squadron you should sign the staff register.
Within your duties there are three main topics to be considered, the Christian Faith, Moral Issues and Good Citizenship. It is not intended that Padre’s Hours should become “confirmation classes” but there is the opportunity in these days of limited RE in schools, to ensure Cadets have a basic knowledge of Christian understanding of the character of God, of the nature of the person of Jesus Christ and of the contents of the Bible.
If these sessions are to be alive and a living response to whatever is happening in the world around us, then there must always be a spontaneity, which the strictures of an arranged syllabus can suppress. However, having said that, it is good to have something to work with in these busy days and some searching and preparation will be essential if our thoughts are to flow clearly! Some discussion starters on moral issues are contained in Annex B.
A booklet with the title “Patterns for Life” (Air Cadet Publication 9), and based on ACP 1 is available at the Squadron and can be used for Padre’s Hours.
The Training Officer is the appropriate person to arrange special dates for Padre’s Hours.
The Chaplain should be conscious of the age difference of Cadets (normally 13 to 20 years) and tailor the discussion topics accordingly. He should also make a special point of meeting with all new probationers, as previously suggested, and, perhaps, take a particular interest in any Cadets likely to leave the Squadron to join any of HM Forces.
There is no certificate or award to say how many Padre’s Hours a Cadet has attended, but surely if the Padre has done his stuff only moderately well, there must be a difference between such a boy or girl and those who have never seen a minister as a friend, and never really knew what the Church believes or stands for. All ATC Cadets
should have a foundation for their thinking about other people, their own lifestyle and the problems with which every society must deal and this might well start through discussions in the Padre’s Hour.
There are many ways of giving useful service to the nation, but none can be more valuable than helping young people to grow into responsible citizens. This is an area of training which is often overlooked or given minimal cover and it is one in which the Chaplain might well be encouraged to share. This is Citizenship Training.
We know that from small acorns, great oak trees grow. So it is that from Air Cadets, great citizens grow and, the Chaplain, through the Squadron Commander can play a positive part in being the link person with the local community. The Corps has a specific Citizenship Training Syllabus, which is the Squadron Commander’s responsibility to implement. It is described in Air Cadet Training Instruction No1 in ACP 20A and it involves three main issues.