THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE COLLEGE VOLUME LXXVIII MARCH 2007 THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE COLLEGE CRANWELL VOLUME LXXVIII MARCH 2007 EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Group Captain I R W Stewart BSc RAF Editor Flight Lieutenant C E Sloan RAF Officer and Aircrew Cadet Training Unit Royal Air Force College Cranwell Lincolnshire NG34 8HB The opinions expressed in the articles in this journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy and views, official or otherwise, of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell or the Ministry of Defence. Setup and printed by Media Services, Serco Defence, Science and Technology, RAF Cranwell. The Journal of The Royal Air Force College - 1 FOREWORD by Group Captain I R W Stewart BSc RAF Royal Air Force College Cranwell continues the long tradition of preparing men and women for a career in the Royal Air Force. Here at Cranwell, 2 ideals collide and make up the cocktail that is the Officer and Aircrew Cadet Training Unit (OACTU). These are the need to maintain the traditions that originate from the founders of the Royal Air Force whilst at the same time embracing new concepts. We are adopting the far-reaching changes necessary to prepare our officers and aircrew cadets adequately for a lifelong career in a military that remains committed to operations around the globe. At the same time we work under the constant gaze of the founders in the gallery of the College, whose influence crosses from one generation to the next. This journal takes a look at how we shape the future by taking ideas born from a tradition of nearly 90 years and forging them into a practical training programme that embraces the latest educational concepts. Group Captain I R W Stewart BSc RAF Is GC OACTU and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Royal Air Force College In preparing people for a career that may span over 35 years, there is one Cranwell certainty, and that is that ambiguity persists. All our personnel will face ambiguity from the day they leave the College. To that end we can do no more than recruit, select and train the type of people who will be best placed to face up to the realities of the world and relish the challenge. We teach the men and women to survive and thrive. They must survive in the work place, survive as leaders and survive the challenges that are aimed at the very centre of the Royal Air Force. These survival skills are taught at the Officer and Aircrew Cadet Training Unit and taken forward into a career that will inevitably be full of surprises. Physical fitness, field skills, leadership and mental dexterity are all tools of the trade. More than just training, the College transforms the cadets into the future commanders of our Service. Quoting from the Air Power historian, Dr J Hayward, command in war is a remarkably complex, almost indescribable, deeply human relationship between those who lead and those who follow in circumstances usually dangerous, chaotic and frightening. Command in war requires a leader to do things never required of the most ambitious and competitive businessman or woman; to remain functional in the face of mortal peril; to inspire subordinates to act with courage and aggression; to carry out the violence necessary to ensure victory; to provide restraints on that violence in order to meet decent standards of morality, justice and legality; to assume direct responsibility for the lives and health of all involved. In addition to command, the functions of leadership and management merge as qualities bestowed on our officers both on and off the battlefield. All three functions feature heavily on the training courses run here at the College and go to equip our cadets to deal with the ambiguity of the exciting life they will lead. I hope you enjoy the articles in this journal and catch a glimpse of some of the many activities that take place at the College that remains responsible for transforming cadets into our future leaders. EDITORIAL Editing the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Journal is a great privilege but it also brings with it a great burden of responsibility. Finding the right balance of articles that reflects the diversity of the College pillars in today’s RAF is a difficult task and is dependent upon the hard work and creativity of a few individuals. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of those officers within each pillar of the College that ensure we have something to publish. This year’s Journal also sees a move away from the ‘magazine’ feel with fewer advertisements to a publication that I believe reflects the ethos of the College more eloquently. If you have any comments with regard to the contents of this year’s Journal or indeed if there is any item you would like to see in future, then please contact the Editor-in- Chief or alternatively I can be contacted at: OACTU Flight Lieutenant Chris Sloan is an Royal Air Force College Cranwell IOT Leadership Instructor and editor of SLEAFORD Lincolnshire NG34 8HB the RAF College Journal. 2 - The Journal of The Royal Air Force College CONTENTS ROYAL AIR FORCE CRANWELL SENIOR APPOINTMENTS......................................................... 4 ROYAL AIR FORCE COLLEGE DIARY ......................................................................................... 4 VISITS TO THE COLLEGE IN 2006 .............................................................................................. 5 AWARD WINNERS 2005/2006...................................................................................................... 6 HONOURS AND COMMENDATIONS IN 2006 ............................................................................. 10 BATTLE OF BRITAIN SERMON.................................................................................................. 11 IN MEMORIAM .......................................................................................................................... 12 AVM GRAY LEADERSHIP ESSAY PRIZEWINNER ..................................................................... 13 NO 55(RESERVE) SQUADRON AND THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN.................................................. 15 THE OFFICERS AND AIRCREW SELECTION CENTRE - A SNAPSHOT ..................................... 19 NO 45(RESERVE) SQUADRON HISTORY AND TRAINING......................................................... 22 DCAE (CRANWELL) MARKS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA IN THE TRAINING OF RAF ENGINEER OFFICERS ................................................................................................. 23 MARKETING MATTERS FOR RAF CAREERS ............................................................................ 27 CENTRAL FLYING SCHOOL LIAISON VISIT TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AIR FORCE ........ 28 THE QUEEN’S REVIEW GRADUATION PARADE ....................................................................... 31 LEADERSHIP AND OFFICER DEVELOPMENT........................................................................... 35 REFLECTIONS ON NUMBER ONE IOT FROM THE SHOP FLOOR............................................. 37 THE JACK HOLT MEMORIAL AWARD ....................................................................................... 38 OCA WEEKEND ........................................................................................................................ 38 INTERCOLLEGIATE GAMES v L’ECOLE DE L’AIR SALON DEL PROVENCE ............................ 39 INTERCOLLEGIATE GAMES v ROYAL MIITARY ACADEMY SANDHURST ................................ 40 INTERCOLLEGIATE GAMES v KONINKLIJKE MILITAIRE ACADEMIE BREDA ........................... 41 INTERCOLLEGIATE GAMES v OFFIZIERSCHULE DER LUFTWAFFE FÜRSTENFELDBRUCK.... 42 INTERCOLLEGIATE GAMES v BRITANNIA ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE DARTMOUTH ................. 45 A SQUADRON - EX IPLT AND EX SOUTHERN BORDER ........................................................... 49 B SQUADRON - THE HISTORY OF IOTC1 ................................................................................. 51 C SQUADRON - SETTING THE STANDARD............................................................................... 54 D SQUADRON - THE DRAGON LIVES ON… ............................................................................. 56 E SQUADRON - VISIT TO RAFO GHALLA.................................................................................. 58 AN INTRODUCTION TO SERE................................................................................................... 62 OVERSEAS TRAVEL IN THE AIR CADET ORGANISATION ........................................................ 63 The Journal of The Royal Air Force College - 3 ROYAL AIR FORCE CRANWELL SENIOR APPOINTMENTS COMMANDANT ROYAL AIR FORCE COLLEGE & DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT AND INITIAL TRAINING (ROYAL AIR FORCE) Air Commodore R B Cunningham MBE ADC MA RAF CHIEF OF STAFF & DEPUTY COMMANDANT ROYAL AIR FORCE COLLEGE Group Captain M R Waring MA BSc FCIPD RAF GROUP CAPTAIN OFFICERS AND AIRCREW SELECTION CENTRE Group Captain T P McWilliams FRIN RAF GROUP CAPTAIN INSPECTORATE OF RECRUITING (ROYAL AIR FORCE) Group Captain M L Page Grad Dip MS RAF GROUP CAPTAIN OFFICER AND AIRCREW CADET TRAINING UNIT Group Captain I R W Stewart BSc RAF OFFICER COMMANDING ROYAL AIR FORCE CRANWELL & No 3 FLYING TRAINING SCHOOL Group Captain S P Townsend MA RAF COMMANDANT AIR CADETS Air Commodore G Moulds MBE RAF COMMANDANT CENTRAL FLYING SCHOOL Group Captain S P Ayres BSc RAF OFFICER COMMANDING ROYAL AIR FORCE LEADERSHIP CENTRE Group Captain J A Jupp OBE MA BA RAF CHIEF OF STAFF AIR CADETS Group Captain W M N Cross OBE RAF (Retd) OFFICER COMMANDING NO 1 ELEMENTARY