Chap 15
DISCIPLINE
CHAPTER 15
DISCIPLINE
SECTION 1 – GENERAL
989. Acquaintance with Regulations, etc.
Sponsor: ACOS Pers Pol (RAF)
(1) Every officer is to make himself acquainted with, obey, and, so far as he is able, enforce, the
Armed Forces Act 2006, the Queen's Regulations for the RAF, and all other regulations, instructions and
orders that may from time to time be issued. He is also to conform to the established customs and practices
of the Service.
(2) Every airman will be held personally responsible for making himself acquainted with:
(a) The Queen's Regulations for the RAF.
(b) Station Standing Orders published under QR 65.
(c) Such station and other local orders and instructions as are necessary for the due
performance of the duties appertaining to his Service employment, and
(d) Such orders and details of duties as are posted in his station. He will further be required
to conform to the established customs and practices of the Service.
(3) A copy of Queen’s Regulations for the RAF is to be held available for reference by airmen and
is to be kept by unit HR staff or in such other place that the CO may decide. COs are responsible that the
copy is kept up to date and that airmen are notified by means of Station Routine Orders or otherwise where
the copy is kept.
(4) Ignorance of duly published regulations, or orders, will not be admitted as an excuse for their
non-observance.
(5) The contents of paragraph (2) above is to be published in unit routine orders at 3-monthly
intervals.
990-992. (Omitted)
993. Occupation of Public Accommodation.
Sponsor: ACOS Pers Pol (RAF)
(1) Personnel will be required to occupy, and to meet by deductions from pay the charges for,
public accommodation where this is appropriate for Service reasons, or where suitable alternative
accommodation is not available.
(2) Single and married unaccompanied personnel in the following categories are to occupy public
accommodation:
(a) Airmen under 18 years of age unless granted permission by COs to reside with
parents/guardians; those wishing to reside in any other location are to obtain written consent from
parents/guardians before seeking permission from COs.
(b) Airmen undergoing training on courses for which there is a requirement to live in, as
determined by CAS.
(c) Officer cadets in circumstances defined by CAS.
(d) Officers and airmen serving at certain units overseas. (The authority under which living-
in is to be regarded as mandatory on overseas stations will be laid down by the unified commander
or by the single Service commanders in committee.)
(e) Officers and airmen in circumstances when training, operational, security, welfare or
management factors are overriding.
QR(RAF)
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Chap 15
DISCIPLINE
(3) In applying the general principle at clause (1) above and in determining who should be ordered
to live in under the terms of clause (2)(e) above, COs should avoid unnecessarily restricting the freedom of
choice of their personnel. Except for those categories at clause (2)(a) to (d) above, personnel should not
normally be ordered to live in public accommodation unless operational efficiency, security or the good
name of the Service would otherwise be jeopardised, or administrative circumstances (eg persistent lateness
in reporting to work because of transport difficulties) make it necessary. However, the option to live out in
private accommodation may be exercised only provided that:
(a) Permission is granted by the CO.
(b) Suitable private accommodation is available within reasonable commuting distance of
place of duty.
(c) Where accommodation is to be shared with other Service personnel on a communal
basis, arrangements are in accordance with the spirit of para
997 which defines relationships with
subordinates.
(d) Rooms and bed spaces are not retained on camp.
(e) Responsibility for the payment of rent including any rent outstanding at the time of, a
move on posting or detachment and any damages claimed by the landlord, rests with the tenant
(Personnel are advised to include in any tenancy agreement a Service clause which will allow a
break at short notice, including the termination of any lease.)
(4) Personnel wishing to exercise their option to vacate public accommodation are to give a
minimum of 21 days notice of their intention to do so. They are to state the address of the premises at which
they intend to live and are to give notice of any subsequent intention to leave that accommodation and live
elsewhere.
994. Definition of ‘CO’ for Disciplinary Purposes.
Sponsor: ACOS Pers Pol (RAF)
(1)
The law, in the form of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (The Act), places a CO at the centre of the
Service Justice System and confers a range of powers on him. The Act also defines higher authority as any
officer in the CO’s disciplinary chain of command who is superior. Volume 1 Chapter 2 of the Manual of
Service Law (MSL) provides comprehensive guidance on the meaning of commanding officer and explains
how a person’s CO, for any purpose under the Act is identified. This regulation provides a summary of the
relevant parts of Chapter 2 and associated guidance.
(2)
The CO is at the apex of a unit’s command and control structure and it is in the CO that the
union of command and the responsibility for discipline is embodied. A station commander, appointed by the
Air Secretary, is an obvious example of a CO but there are a range of circumstances where the appointment
of a CO may be less obvious. The key criteria for deciding whether a person is a CO are the type of unit, its
function and location. QR 995 Definition of a Unit enlarges on this theme.
(3)
There are a number of general principles that apply in relation to a CO that are designed to
ensure that a CO is clear for whom he has disciplinary authority and who is his higher authority. Further,
every Service person and relevant civilian should have a CO for disciplinary purposes, who in the case of the
Service person is normally the CO of the unit of which he is a member.
Status of CO exceptions to general rules
(4)
When an individual is for the time being in Service custody or detention at the Military Corrective
Training Centre (MCTC), the officer in command of the MCTC is to be his CO for all purpose under the
Act. This is to allow the CO of the MCTC to exercise discipline over all persons in his unit. Similarly, when
an individual is serving a sentence of detention in a Service custody facility other than MCTC, he is to be
attached to the unit responsible for that facility. Personnel arrested and held at units other than their own
may continue to be commanded by their own COs or, their CO may decide that it would be more
appropriate for the CO of the unit holding the individual to deal with him. This could be achieved by
attaching the individual to the unit concerned or by making a bespoke appointment. Such specific
QR(RAF)
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