As Google did not help , I thought someone here might know!
I have just seen some news footage of the funeral today of an RAF Regiment guy. Three of the guys in the burial party were wearing a single (ala L/Cpl in the Army ) stripe on their 'Best Blues'. New one on me and it is not mentioned on the RAF website!!
Now all we need to do is lose the Chief Tech rank and make them Flight Sergeants and turn all our Flight Sergeants into WO2.
Now that sounds like a moral boost and a defence cut (no pay scale increases, just parity in rank across the services) at the same time. I wonder where this new rank fits in amongst the (confusing...to me anyway) SAC/SAC (T) and JT structure, the technical types were always the 'cleverer ones', and now have even more hoops to jump through to make Cpl.
When I joined we had 'timed' promotion up to C/Tech (about 12 years if I recall correctly), then after a year of me passing out a J/T, they got rid of it! Most of my oppos took 10 years to get two stripes (those that stayed the course) many of us found the only way to get promotion under the terms we joined up under, was to remuster out of the A/Fitt trades, as they were when we joined.
I remember hanging on to my stripe until the SWO "insisted" I changed!
Perhaps they should get rid of the 4 prop badge and revert to the inverted tech stripe system.
I remember hanging on to my stripe until the SWO "insisted" I changed!
Perhaps they should get rid of the 4 prop badge and revert to the inverted tech stripe system.
I think they should keep it the right way up with some form of 'tech' designation, ala the new SAC. It always caused trouble when working with the other services, how can a 'Junior' Technician be the senior man out of a group that included both 'Senior and Leading' Aircraftsman!!!
I had a similar problem after when as Aiman Aircrew, having a 'shitehawk' over your stripes actually made them worth less, not 'more' as I had been led to believe when I was applying. Luckily, I did not progress any further, so did not have worry about MALM being a sort of WO2
I am afraid some of the army ranks would confuse you even more especially Cavalry and foot guards, in my old regiment l/cpls wear 2 stripes a full cpl wears 2 but with a regimental badge just above on the right sleeve on blues and No 2 dress only.
Another oddity with cavalry is the squadron quartermaster sgt wears 4 stripes with a crown above but that is a appointment not a rank he is actually a staff sgt who in our lot are addressed as sir or sgt major.
steelsporran wrote:Perhaps the simplest way would have been for rock apes to be J/Ts instead of lancejacks.
There is no Junior Technician rank in the RAF any more. The rank was made obsolesent about 4 years ago in the technician trades.
Once an SAC is fully qualified and experienced in his/her trade they receive an encircled 3-bladed prop instead of the normal 3-bladed.
There may be a few 4-blades out there but they will be old JTs who were promoted before the rank was made obsolete have not been promoted to Cpl.
Jim
PS: Another Army rank quirk is that in the Welsh Guards if you wear 2-stripes you're not a Corporal you're a Lance Sergeant.
Jim, if you watch the Queens Birthday parade you will see some sgts with 3 white stripes they I think are lance sgts or full cpls, there are some with 3 gold stripes they atre full sgts.
That I believe applies to all the foot guards regiments, fortunately we never got to close to them
, I thought someone here might know! 
) stripe on their 'Best Blues'. New one on me and it is not mentioned on the RAF website!!
