Originally Posted by Charlie_Cong

With the stipulation of 2 years as an SNCO alluded to above in mind, if you are in a jam hen it might be worthwhile finding exceptional precedents. Given that the FANY managed to commission and mobilise two girlies in their early 30s who had no previous military experience, there is a shortcut somewhere.

IIRC correctly the commissioning process took < 6 months and was via London OTC. So it can be done, somehow. The AOSB hurdle, however, is more likely to be a sticking point.

CC, you know me. I live for exceptional precedents.

However, having battled on this fella's behalf against the DE system for more than a year (pace The Duke), facing denials by them of his existence, mislaid paperwork, assurances given yet forgotten,* lack of spaces on AOSBs,** conceptual/procedural problems on their part in dealing with anyone who is not coming from an OTC (or so it seems), I think that pushing him as an exceptional case would be as futile as an under-resourced land campaign in Asia.

I think the advice might have to be: await your AOSB. It might come, one day. And if it does not, in a few years' time you will still be relatively young and will be able to flick across as an LE.

* The Corrs come to mind.

** Seriously, with a lack of TA officers, how can this be?

Well, if you're that disillusioned, have you considered giving him your commissioning, or embarking on some kind of job swap? He gets to lord it behind a large shiny oak desk, give Mussolini-style wildly gesticulating speeches from the garlanded platform you erected in the TAC especially for the purpose, and scream in frustration at the annoyance of dealing with Byzantine MS processes.

In turn, you get to loaf around with a couple of stripes, bomb around in a stripped down landrover on field weekends and spend your working weeks with a blissful disregard for TA homework.

The sale of commissions is illegal, I haven't read anything about gifting or lending your commission in TA regs. All you need to do is swap rank slides and come to a gentleman's agreement to split the pay.

You wouldn't need to slice off his face and wear it as your own, or set up house with his shapely wife or anything... but it would help.

Originally Posted by Charlie_Cong

The sale of commissions is illegal, I haven't read anything about gifting or lending your commission in TA regs. All you need to do is swap rank slides and come to a gentleman's agreement to split the pay.

Aha, you advocate the HAC route, which of course has nothing to do with the TA. As a point of order I think they pay rather than are paid, though...

TA P&P 2012 Para 1.1.16 b - in my Corps we still run what we call an LECB and send Officers on the LEOC but they are Soldier Entry in truth. There is a rumour out there about Cpl's attending AOSB and if they pass going straight to Sandhurst without needing to complete Mod 2 & 3 but yet to see any paperwork on it!

I'll caveat all that goes after with, "OK it was 10 years ago".

I was a reg WO in a TA unit and we had a regular CO. Being selected for commission consisted essentially of passing TA Phase 1 training, then having a recommendation from the CO, a chat with the Honorary Colonel to see if your face fitted, and some civvy academic quals. HNC seemed to be the minimum, but I'm sure a good egg with operational experience might get round that. All this resulted in the nod from the regional brigade, same from CoC above regimental level, in our case 11 Sig Bde.

However in this age of more regulation, all that may be complete pap, and....OK it was 10 years ago.

Ah yes GBS, but that was the "Gentlemen Farmers", was it not? Now sadly no more. Did your CO have the initials MF? He was a thoroughly good chap.

All you need to do is swap rank slides and come to a gentleman's agreement to split the pay.

Depending on trade, there's no way a half-decent Cpl would split his pay with a poxy Lt. Capts and above, maybe, but really, what's the point? When I was a STAB, ORs would just bin it if it wasn't fun. I imagine TA offrs these days have mind-numbing amounts of paperwork and sod all fun.

How are post-tour reports supposed to be folded into the SJAR process ? I had two recommendations for 'an LE commission' from both the CO and IO of the unit I was attached to in 2007, on account of working at SO2/SO3 level, yet my TA unit has pretty much ignored them since I came back. 'You're too old for a DE and too junior for an LE. Bugger off'.

FP

Originally Posted by Dr_Evil

His issues are AOSB and time. Despite a chronic TA-wide shortage of officers (albeit not in my unit), there do not seem to be enough spaces available on AOSB to get this fella commissioned pronto.

I was offered a briefing date ~6 weeks after Westbury received completed paperwork (That was with Christmas in the way, so ~4 working weeks, not sure how long they take for Christmas there) and Main Board lead times are similar having spoken to someone a few weeks ahead of me in the process. It did not seem to matter TA/Reg as everyone I spoke to seemed to be being offered the same.

Unless he's already booked on Mod2 (Or you can get him on one PDQ) then he's already looking at a Summer 2013 commission date so he's got all year to get AOSB and Main Board completed for a Spring 2013 Mod3...

For what it's worth, and adding the caveat that it was a good deal more than 10 years ago, my ol' man was commissioned from Sgt to one pip wonder. He made some mention of a TA Selection board, but I get the impression it was a formality (something about a handshake and 'gotcha')...

Originally Posted by FrogPrince

How are post-tour reports supposed to be folded into the SJAR process ? I had two recommendations for 'an LE commission' from both the CO and IO of the unit I was attached to in 2007, on account of working at SO2/SO3 level, yet my TA unit has pretty much ignored them since I came back. 'You're too old for a DE and too junior for an LE. Bugger off'.

FP

Your JPA generated SJAR has the provision to attach your operational insert, which should also be referred to in the SJAR itself. Your inserts could state that you have a marvelous line in party tricks involving loaves and fishes but unless the recommendation if followed through and put in your SJAR it counts for little.

Ultimately, your promotion or selection for commissioning is very much a unit level thing. If your OC or CO don't want to write you up for it, then you are stuffed (at that unit, for the duration of their tenure).