Billy Baxter

An officer quite senior to me took 10 min out of his day just asking me how I was and reminding me to feel free to call if I had any Q's as WFH is hard & I'm still new. Not my Reporting Officer. Just a colleague being decent. It's the small things that make a big difference 👍

@RLCCorpsSM I'm more worried that 'Ask my girl' made it onto the list as a phrase that needs to be translated... Anyone that still thinks that's appropriate needs more intervention than a 'gender neutral language' crib card can provide.

So This👇is interesting……#MilTwitter a good idea ? Patronising? Current ? How would you describe it? #PhasesChecker

@jsargentr Training is just the lexicon used in Defence policy. The main point is the identification of need and the subsequent fulfillment. At no point have I argued that War college isn't required. Just pointed out that the requirement shouldn't be determined by previous existence.

Strong argument against ACSC from @wavellroom. I think article misses key advantage of course offering a year of soft power networking, vital to operational success, and building a truly purple way of working. wavellroom.com/2022/10/11/its…

@UnimportantO That's pretty much how it goes. The answer is whatever the boss says it is ACSC is still a course, ergo it's still good and worthwhile

@erin_hr Capitcha tests these days are brutal... Might make me cut down online shopping though so not all bad 😅

@tonynewman1971 @MPH7MPH @MartinSLewis @MoneySavingExp Our provider has set £249 for electricity and £999 for Gas. That's a lot of trips to the shop as you can only put £49 on a time - but looks like it's going to save £££ overall. I think its worth giving up on the pre-April rate now to start loading up before Oct

@WilBaxte @MPH7MPH @MartinSLewis @MoneySavingExp What’s the max you can load onto a pre payment ? 👍

Trying to write my energy need-to-knows for tonights MSE weekly email and wow there is sadly a lot people need to know. I wasn't meant to be doing it this week, i was coming back to the email next week, but felt this is something i needed to write.

@NatashaMDay It's normal to feel a bit down after a set back. But anyone can keep piling on work and then burn out/fail to deliver. It takes more self-awareness, resilience & strength of character to recognise our limits and work within them 👍💪

@combat_boot @SRDMaguire So beards would be dropped as a discussion point and focus would shift to accountability for large projects and deliverables.... It's a good thing I don't want to (read can't) grow a beard anyway 😅

@SRDMaguire It’d be a whole lot easier just to approve beards, accept 4 weeks chaos & harrumphing. Everyone would get bored, most ppl wouldn’t bother. Then we can get back to working out why we have no AFVs, no viable CIS, completely decrepit & mismanaged accommodation & a failed HR system.

Time to admit my 'book buying' and 'reading' hobbies are unrelated...

@B_Yes_Dev @combat_boot @thinkdefence I just made an observation that SM wasn't the most effective way; I mean none of the actual decision makers are reading Tweets. But I never said that doing it in work was easy. We can be frustratingly slow/resistant to change. The shame is it feels easier to leave than stay & try

I do find it amusing that Army finds itself so far adrift in many ways from being 'a reference Army' and yet discussion on small things like beards generates massive online traffic. Displacement activity perhaps?

@SRDMaguire @thinkdefence

@combat_boot @thinkdefence You're right, I meant non-anon accounts don't comment on much below the conceptual. Other than unanimously positive things of course (charity, unit/community engagement etc). That's not necessarily a bad thing. SM isn't the most effective way to influence org change.

@WilBaxte @thinkdefence I don’t get anywhere near the conceptual level, I’m all about schimfing at the tactical & operational level. We need more chat on here, but FB & Twitter are filled with old ppl. However, both of them are still better than rank being pulled, even passively, in the other place.

@Mr_Andrew_Fox Can't be fixed quickly 🙄 I should proof read more 😂

@Mr_Andrew_Fox Satisfaction w/the Army decreases year on year. Recruitment targets missed annually. Lack of long-term investment (infrastructure) that can' be fixed quickly. Pay stagnation, erosion of benefits. Beards as a debate has become symbolic, rather than about facial hair itself.

@Mr_Andrew_Fox But I think the biggest shame is how much energy is wasted on it - as we both agree - much bigger issues to get after. A statement from new CGS on his opinion/decision (either way) would be welcome. That way we can get on with more important things.

@Mr_Andrew_Fox You can write strategic policy documents saying how you will achieve this in the future. But actions speak louder than words. Culture is set by what you do, not what you say. Women in CGC and Battle braids hasn't destroyed the Army's will to fight. Either will a bit of stubble.