Selecting For Woke
The RAF's Officer Selection Procedure Is In a Mess
As the Cold War ground to a halt, I was sent on an Intelligence Officer’s course in Ashford. As the wall came down and the Warsaw Pact ceased to function as a military threat, we continued to study their weaponry, organisation and tactics, not least because many of the world’s problem countries had been lavishly equipped with Soviet equipment. Many still are.
That wasn’t all we covered; anti-terrorism was high on the agenda (about 20% of the British Army was still combatting terrorism in Northern Ireland). However, that didn’t fill the void that the end of the Cold War brought to professional soldiers like me. Post the Gulf War, cuts were in the offing and there was an understandable worry about what the purpose of the Army (in particular) was. We didn’t know then that we’d be sent to the Balkans, Iraq (again) and Afghanistan.
By tradition the last session of the course was a glimpse ahead into what new foes we might face. It was given by a senior intelligence officer. He drew our attention to Islam, a religion spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific. A billion believers, some 20% of the then-world’s population. 300 million or so Muslims spoke Arabic as a first language. He pointed out that their standard of living was significantly lower than ours and that their religion did not sit easily alongside secular western culture. He suggested that some Muslims might act to redress that.
His point was, of course, that there are always threats and that military intelligence officers should keep abreast of them. When things go wrong in the world they go wrong quickly. Quantifying threats is always tricky, and it’s getting harder. A threat comprises intention and capability. Capability is relatively easy to measure for formal warfare, although there are still mistakes like the notorious “bomber gap”. Intent can be deduced at the nation-state level (that’s what diplomats and spies are for). Gauging the intent of subnational movements is far, far harder. Identifying potential lone actors is even worse; MI5 does a fine job. Unfortunately it’s not hard to make a bomb, buy a knife or turn a car or lorry into a deadly weapon, particularly if the perpetrator embraces martyrdom. The simple, stark fact is that Islamic extremists do just that.
So when a cadet seeking to be commissioned into the RAF was suspended for saying that Islam is the greatest threat to the UK’s security, he had a point. People can argue about what else constitutes a security threat. A bond market crash, Russia, China, Iran and this entire government are all up there, along with Ed Miliband and the eco-loons. Which is the largest or most serious? Who knows - it’s a matter of opinion?
It’s true that the vast majority of Muslims are not radicalised, but they are not saintly. Muslims comprise some 7% of the UK’s population, but make up 18% of the UK’s prison population. The 257 Muslims in custody for terrorism comprise 68% of the convicted terrorist population. (Most of the rest are far-right). Certainly the prison population and incarcerated terrorists are disproportionately Muslim.
Then there is the public perception. According to census data, in 2011 the population was about 5% Muslim; that proportion has increased by 50% or so in a decade. Some, many or most of them are well integrated, speak good English and work hard. But some don’t. Muslims are not universally well integrated into UK society. Some deliberately separate themselves, the burqa being an obvious example. Too many have been involved in the child abuse rings of Rochdale and elsewhere. That this failed integration is putting pressure on the UK’s cohesion is clear. Disintegrating countries are not secure. Again, the officer cadet had a point.
He (or she) also demonstrated a fair bit of moral courage in making the statement; officer cadets are well educated and think before they speak. A wrong answer in selection and their dream of being a jet jockey is over. The cadet was suspended for challenging a consensus and having the guts to question power. That says an awful lot about the RAF officer selection procedures. (You may recall that they have been caught discriminating against white applicants in 2023, such is the drive on meeting diversity targets).
That attitude of preferring those parroting the perceived RAF line over those with moral courage to speak out (a fundamental requirement of leadership) is typical of the rot that has pervaded the armed forces for too long. You may recall that the RAF can’t guard the perimeter of its airfields against eco-loons. No one was sacked, as I wrote last year. The Station Commander is still in post, being replaced in July and no doubt continuing her ascent of the greasy pole. It’s all of a one with the Army’s Ajax programme, the ludicrous outsourcing of selection and recruitment and the Navy’s inability to keep ships at sea.
The Cadet has had a spot of luck; they’ve been suspended from a process designed to turn them into a uniformed apparatchik, not a military leader. They’ll find better, more rewarding employment elsewhere.
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The final stage of the officer selection process involved RAF personnel at RAF Cranwell.
The last session with RAF personnel was run just before Christmas 2025.
It has now been 'out sourced' - it's unclear how this is achieved.
The intelligence vetting here is in knowing what to say and what to not say.