Executive Summary Introduction
The RAF Families Federation (RAF FF) is funded by the RAF to gather evidence of issues and concerns affecting all RAF personnel and their families. Following the renewal of our contract in June 14, we were specifically tasked to engage with the RAF Reserve community. As part of that process, we ran an on line survey and conducted ‘live’ workshops to gather evidence of the RAF Reserves’ experience.
Survey Responses
We received 302 responses to the survey, representing approx. 12% of the entire Reserve cadre. Of the 302 respondents, 68% were Part-Time Volunteer Reserve (PTVR), 28% were Full-Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and 4% a mixture of Sponsored Reserves (SR), Additional Duties Commitment (ADC) and Volunteer ex-Regular Reserve (VeRR). These respondents represent 11% of the PTVR cadre, 13% of FTRS and 2% of the ADC/SR/VeRR cadres. Of the total respondents, 91% were aged over 30, 84% were male, 16% female: 75% were non-commissioned and 25% commissioned, and 63% were married or in a partnership. Where appropriate, we have broken out the responses to some questions between PTVR and FTRS given the significant differences in ToS and philosophy between the two groups. We have also made comparison where appropriate with the Reserves Continuous Attitude Survey (ResCAS), published in Jun 15, and the most recent AFCAS results.
Key issues and Responses We focussed on the following areas:
• Reasons for joining the RAF Reserves • Employer Understanding/Interaction • Training available • Pay & allowances • Career Management & Interaction with the regular RAF • Satisfaction levels as a reservist • Mobilisation as a reservist • Morale and likelihood of continuing in the Reserves
We gave respondents the opportunity to add comments to many of the questions; these totalled more than 40 pages. The comments we have included in our report are, as far as possible, a balanced reflection of the responses – good and not so good – against each question.
A summary of the responses to some of these key themes is:
• Do you believe the contribution made by the Reservists to the RAF is valued? 57% Yes 23% No 20% Don’t know
www.raf-ff.org.uk 3
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