I'm beginning to start believing it:
Thread here: http://www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=97475#1976087
msr
TheCheerfulSubbie said:
In fact, feck it, I'm going to have an uncharacteristic rant.
For the love of Christmas, can someone please cut down on the amount of administrative work we seem to have to do on a daily basis?
I've just finished my 3 year SSC, and I'm not staying. It's the nugatory, pointless work that's slowly sapping the life out of the job.
For Junior Officers, life is busier that that it ever was. If I'm not preparing to go to either Iraq or Afghan, I'm trying to cram in training for the guys, JOTES, MK1 (an entirely separate rant), JOTAC, trying to unravel the complex and bewildering JPA system so soldiers can actually be administered correctly (I though we had clerks for that?!) , CR's, pointless equipment care inspections on kit so old it's now unsupported by the manufacturer, so it fails.... it goes on.
Last week, I had to write a RASP for a range that the Squadron had used the week before. Same range, no change. But the system demands a completely new RASP. Every time. Why can't there be Standing RASPs/EASPS for each sub-Unit activity, with users only required to submit nominal rolls if there's no change to the activity taking place? What is the point of repeating yourself ad nauseam, every time?
The Unit was also visited by a Senior Officer last week. Nice enough fellow, but seemed utterly unaware of life on the ground. "Chaps....." he harrumphed. "What you young officers need to do is, if the blokes are down, grab them and go up into the hills this weekend for a spot of bonding and hillwalking...."
Granted, when he was a YO in 1969, you could probably do that. But firstly, if I take Cpl Smith away from his wife again, she'll probably leave him. By the time I've found a qualified JSMEL, completed a Risk Assessment, gained clearance from the Brigade to actually leave the camp gates, argued with the contractor about what nugatory paperwork I should fill out for a "pay as you die" packed lunch, wrangled a minibus from a Whole Fleet Manager, found someone under the age of 31 with a D license to actually drive, it's time to start repacking kit and heading back to a Sandy Place. I can, if I wish, order the Troop out on exercise and thrash them over the hills all day in green kit, but put on a pair of Rohan walking trousers and I suddenly need to destroy a forest of paperwork to do something which is meant to be easier and more fun?! How does that work?
The thing that really, really annoys me is that we are all old enough to remember a time before this when life was easier. You could do things without fear of being sued. You could get vehicles for training because they were in your garages, not centrally stored in the middle of nowhere. You could get your men administered by a trained military clerk, not some student on the phone at JPAC who earns £5 and hour and cares even less. I could ensure my soldiers were well fed by the Master Chef, not fekking Sodexho, who would rather see blokes starve than see profits fall. And there always used to be enough play in the system so if you needed something doing, a crate to the right person, and it would all be ok. Not any more. We're being held hostage by civilian companies and I'm fed up with fat, un-cooperative men in Sodexho jumpers, smoking rolls ups, telling me I can't train my soldiers because of some bullshit contract.
And yet, this isn't a mythical time many decades ago. Oh no, this was as little as 4 years ago. In the name of savings, and budgets, we've sold out on what makes us work as an Army. Yes, we're replicating civilian best practice, but we're not civvies. We're soldiers, and until the budget managers realize that, you're going to lose a lot more blokes. And girls.
And relax............. In a nutshell, less paperwork and contractors, please.

For the love of Christmas, can someone please cut down on the amount of administrative work we seem to have to do on a daily basis?
I've just finished my 3 year SSC, and I'm not staying. It's the nugatory, pointless work that's slowly sapping the life out of the job.
For Junior Officers, life is busier that that it ever was. If I'm not preparing to go to either Iraq or Afghan, I'm trying to cram in training for the guys, JOTES, MK1 (an entirely separate rant), JOTAC, trying to unravel the complex and bewildering JPA system so soldiers can actually be administered correctly (I though we had clerks for that?!) , CR's, pointless equipment care inspections on kit so old it's now unsupported by the manufacturer, so it fails.... it goes on.
Last week, I had to write a RASP for a range that the Squadron had used the week before. Same range, no change. But the system demands a completely new RASP. Every time. Why can't there be Standing RASPs/EASPS for each sub-Unit activity, with users only required to submit nominal rolls if there's no change to the activity taking place? What is the point of repeating yourself ad nauseam, every time?
The Unit was also visited by a Senior Officer last week. Nice enough fellow, but seemed utterly unaware of life on the ground. "Chaps....." he harrumphed. "What you young officers need to do is, if the blokes are down, grab them and go up into the hills this weekend for a spot of bonding and hillwalking...."
Granted, when he was a YO in 1969, you could probably do that. But firstly, if I take Cpl Smith away from his wife again, she'll probably leave him. By the time I've found a qualified JSMEL, completed a Risk Assessment, gained clearance from the Brigade to actually leave the camp gates, argued with the contractor about what nugatory paperwork I should fill out for a "pay as you die" packed lunch, wrangled a minibus from a Whole Fleet Manager, found someone under the age of 31 with a D license to actually drive, it's time to start repacking kit and heading back to a Sandy Place. I can, if I wish, order the Troop out on exercise and thrash them over the hills all day in green kit, but put on a pair of Rohan walking trousers and I suddenly need to destroy a forest of paperwork to do something which is meant to be easier and more fun?! How does that work?
The thing that really, really annoys me is that we are all old enough to remember a time before this when life was easier. You could do things without fear of being sued. You could get vehicles for training because they were in your garages, not centrally stored in the middle of nowhere. You could get your men administered by a trained military clerk, not some student on the phone at JPAC who earns £5 and hour and cares even less. I could ensure my soldiers were well fed by the Master Chef, not fekking Sodexho, who would rather see blokes starve than see profits fall. And there always used to be enough play in the system so if you needed something doing, a crate to the right person, and it would all be ok. Not any more. We're being held hostage by civilian companies and I'm fed up with fat, un-cooperative men in Sodexho jumpers, smoking rolls ups, telling me I can't train my soldiers because of some bullshit contract.
And yet, this isn't a mythical time many decades ago. Oh no, this was as little as 4 years ago. In the name of savings, and budgets, we've sold out on what makes us work as an Army. Yes, we're replicating civilian best practice, but we're not civvies. We're soldiers, and until the budget managers realize that, you're going to lose a lot more blokes. And girls.
And relax............. In a nutshell, less paperwork and contractors, please.
msr