Organisation structural changes to RNZAF

[baronbeeza]

Although I am yet to work out what the media are on about here.

www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/66833370/spitfire-display-marks-air-force-changes

LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff.co.nz
Kiwi spitfire pilot Doug Brooker talks about the history of his beloved WWII Spitfire and demonstrates with a flyover at Whenuapai airbase.




Chief of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Mike Yardley inspects his staff during an official handover of Whenuapai air base to base commander group captain Timothy Walshe.
As a spitfire roared overhead, changes to the structure of the Air Force that will see several squadrons disestablished were made official.

At a ceremony to mark the introduction of a new command arrangement across the Air Force yesterday, chief Air Vice-Marshal Mike Yardley reviewed a parade at the Whenuapai base while the plane performed a flying display overhead.

Spitfire pilot Doug Brooker said the plane was beautiful to fly and had an extremely tight turning circle, as he tried to demonstrate in the flyover.

Wherever he went people wanted to talk about the plane as soon as he landed, he said.

"I had letters from little old ladies who told me about their father or uncles or someone that had fought in the Battle of Britain, the emotional attachment is quite extreme."

The changes to the Air Force's command and control, which will see new structures introduced at Auckland, Ohakea bases as well as the chief of Air Force's team, aims to streamline the way bases are commanded.

Base commanders at Auckland, Ohakea and Woodbourne, will be responsible for unifying effort across the base and will have greater control over flying activities.

The 485 Wing, 488 Wing, Operational Support Command and 209 Squadron will all be disestablished. No staff will be made redundant, however.

Yardley said the changes were on of the most significant alterations to the Air Force ever undertaken.

They should strengthen the leadership of the air bases, he said.

"Notwithstanding the improvements the new C2 will bring, it is somewhat inevitable that there will be teething problems associated with implementation."

However, he assured staff there feedback would be listened to, unlike previous changes.

Alongside the parade and flyover, Captain Tim Walshe was formally appointed Auckland Base Commander.

Walshe enlisted in the Air Force in 1984 and served twice in the Middle East.

[phil]

Well they have introduced this new concept where each base has a commander, who is a GPCAPT, and in charge of the base. After much thought, the powers that be have called this position 'Base Commander'. Pretty novel idea, eh?

And he's actually in charge of things, on the base. Unlike the previous incarnation of base commander, who was a WGCDR and not actually called 'base commander' but called CO Operational Support Wing, and was in charge of things like mowing the lawns and painting the lines on the roads. Not, you understand, that they did these things themselves, but someone had to be in charge of it I guess.

It must have been time for a change, because people had just about stopped referring to CO OSW as base commander after the change away from GPCAPTs about 14 years ago.

It's almost like we've come full circle. Although apparently it's different this time, to what it was last time we had GPCAPT base commanders.

[camtech]

Sounds like a giant jump backwards to make a small step forward.

[Bruce]

I notice the RNZAF has been advertising vacancies in TradeMe for the last few weeks for civilian "Airfield Managers" at Whenuapai and Ohakea. I assume from the above that they will take over the Grass-mowing and line-painting coordination roles.

[shorty]

Good to see that, according to that reporter (in the second to last line) the Air Force has also brought it's ranks into line with the Army, Navy (and Salvation Army too) with the adoption of the title of "Captain".

[camtech]

Rereading the article, I am appalled at the spelling and grammatical errors that abound. But, regretfully, it appears to be so common with todays journalists.

[isc]

Spell cheque.
From my visit to Woodbourne last year, it wouldn't suprise me if the CO had to sweep his own floor, and mow the lawn outside his office. Pretty well exactly the staff was 10% of what it was in 1964 (800 then). isc

[beagle]

yes sounds like it has gone full circle too. it seemed to be going ok years ago. why change something that fits the purpose.

[Peter Lewis]

Management 101:

You are a career manager.
You get appointed to a management job (I hate the term 'role').
To expedite your career path you need to show you are a better manager than the previous guy.
So, by definition, anything the previous guy did was wrong simply because he did it.
If he did left, you must do right; if he contracted out you must take it back in-house.

Of course, a few years later once you have been promoted further up the tree, who ever follows you into that same job will follow the same logic and also want to prove you were wrong - so they will change whatever you did. Most likely back to what it was before you came on the scene.

There are, after all, only a limited number of available options.

[isc]

When you start employing managers is when the salaries head up $100, 200, 300,000 and more, what you thought that you saved...... Ooh well that's the way the money goes. isc

[ErrolC]

I assume there are more official photos around


Chief Of Air Force @caf_NZ

Spectacular Spitfire display. @nzairforce

/photo/1

Sent from my D5503 using proboards

[tbf25o4]

The command structure changes resulted from the ANZAC day accident in 2010. the Court of Inquiry and the external review of the accident found that
there was no direct 'command' chain from the operating units on each base until reaching Air Command. The reversion to the 'old' Base Commander system places
a person who will be directly responsible for the units operating on each of the bases.

[phil82]

Mar 3, 2015 15:21:03 GMT 12 phil said:

It's almost like we've come full circle. Although apparently it's different this time, to what it was last time we had GPCAPT base commanders.

We have!

[phil82]

Mar 3, 2015 17:56:39 GMT 12 shorty said:

Good to see that, according to that reporter (in the second to last line) the Air Force has also brought it's ranks into line with the Army, Navy (and Salvation Army too) with the adoption of the title of "Captain".

I actually rang Aunty Herald recently and asked if they employed a "Spell-checker". "A what?" was the reply!

[phil82]

In the Air Fives, it has always been and always will be not what you know now, but what you can remember used to be! The direct entry management type officers waving their MBAs don't actually know this of course, so they reinvent the wheel. They do have a name for experience though, it's called "corporate knowledge." The late , great Stan Quill was , as an Air Commodore, appointed to the newly reorganised "Support Branch" as an "Assistant Deputy Director" when there was no actual director! I'm fairly certain that there a good number of people who are familiar with the following Quote: “We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganised. … I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation.” Deaj vu all over again!

[isc]

It's not always that the CO can control every thing. Both Mum and Dad were in Radar during WW2. Unless the CO was actually part of the Radar staff, he could not enter any of the actual Radar installation. On one station the CO was shot and injured when he tried, the LAC on guard was admonished for not shooting to kill, it was of course dark (black out dark). Quite often the highest rank would be a corporal. Don't think we have no go areas like that these days, thing were a little different 70yrs ago. isc

[phil]

Mar 5, 2015 19:20:41 GMT 12 isc said:

"Don't think we have no go areas like that these days, thing were a little different 70yrs ago. isc

I think it is fair to say that most COs are safe from being shot when visiting their units these days.

[isc]

The CO might be safe, but the way the worlds going, the ones on sentry duty might be needing live ammo if some of the threats come nearer home. isc

[Radialicious]

I never understood the dissolution of the position of Base Commander. It happened after my time so I never really thought too much about it. In recent days however, I have been shaking my head after reading a caption to a photo of the new T-6 on display at Avalon. The two officers that accompanied the machine were quoted to be "personing" the display. What is wrong with if, two RNZAF staff are in fact men, in saying that they were manning the display? Even if they were man and woman, or two women, couldn't staff, staffed, staffing, host, hosts, hosted etc etc be used rather that the utterly ridiculous word of personing? Jeez, back in my day, if we needed to contact anyone about career progression, vacancies or promotion, 'Manning' was your first point of call.

[phil]

Mar 5, 2015 23:55:12 GMT 12 Radialicious said:

I never understood the dissolution of the position of Base Commander. It happened after my time so I never really thought too much about it. In recent days however, I have been shaking my head after reading a caption to a photo of the new T-6 on display at Avalon. The two officers that accompanied the machine were quoted to be "personing" the display. What is wrong with if, two RNZAF staff are in fact men, in saying that they were manning the display? Even if they were man and woman, or two women, couldn't staff, staffed, staffing, host, hosts, hosted etc etc be used rather that the utterly ridiculous word of personing? Jeez, back in my day, if we needed to contact anyone about career progression, vacancies or promotion, 'Manning' was your first point of call.

I almost commented on that stupid wording on the RNZAF FB page. Personing? Hmmm, from an organisation with the classifications Aircraftman and Leading Aircraftman, and the trade HCM.