ROYAL AIR FORCE OFFICERS CRITCISED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18468, 21 May 1928, Page 4

ROYAL AIR FORCE OFFICERS CRITCISED.

“ There were isolated cases of complete ignorance on very elementary Service matters with which any efficient officer should be acquainted.” The above is one of the strong comments made by Air Vice-Marshal Sir I. L. B. Vesey, Director of Organisation and Staff Duties at the Air Ministry, in the fourth report on Promotion Examinations in the R.A.F., issued in April. Defects which chiefly led to loss of marks were:— Carelessness in reading- instructions and questions on the examination papers. Use of slang, bad composition and spelling, and illegible writing. Bad diagrams. Irrelevance. The comments of the examiners included the following:— A number of candidates thought that a float, plane, or flying-boat could fix its position by the stars. Many made “the unwarranted assumption” that after a forced landing they could telephone their units. Many referred to “propeller” instead of “airscrew,” and slang words such as “prop” and "dud” were frequently used. Sketches were either not attempted or done very poorly by the majority of candidates. With regard to Air Force Law, it is stated that "the general standard of knowledge displayed was very poor.” Many papers showed faulty construction of sentences, indifferent punctuation, and a use of ill-chosen words and phrases. A few candidates revealed an astonishing ignorance of elementary geographical facts and principles.