Aerobicrunner
Member
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I was chatting with a CWO the other day and he stated to me that he was at a recent Snr RMS Clk meeting and one of the topics of discussion was the dislike of the word Clerk in our trade name. The connotation of clerk seems, in my opinion, and according to the CWO many others' opinion, to undervalue what we provide in terms of service to the rest of the military.
In the past, the use of the word clerk may have been more appropriate as, in many cases, that was all you were....type this or file that, were the words many of us heard often . But in this age of information and technology, many SSAA's (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Airwomen) of all ranks type their own messages, memo's and, of course, emails. Even the recruiting pamphlets used to entice individuals and to inform them about the trade, seem to me to use archaic terms and questionable civilian job equivalents, i.e. "Typist and Word Processing Operator." I think that this sometimes results in individuals not selecting the trade. Pictures showing RMS Clerks in typical office fashion are far from the reality of what we do in todays military. In addition to all the normal outside the trade work that we do, the prime job function, IMHO, has evolved to the more robust descriptions of resource management support practitioner (Pte-Cpl*); coordinator (MCpl-Sgt*); advisor (WO-MWO*); or director (CWO*) {*my ideas of functionality in rank}.
What do you think about our occupation name? Do you have other ideas about the direction and function of our occupation? Where do you think our occupation should be in terms of professionalism and training (i.e. civilian accreditation such as: Certified Human Resource Professional {CHRP}; Certified Payroll Management Professional {CPMP}; Professional Logistician {PLog} etc)?
Looking forward to all your comments and the lively debate that should ensue.
In the past, the use of the word clerk may have been more appropriate as, in many cases, that was all you were....type this or file that, were the words many of us heard often . But in this age of information and technology, many SSAA's (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Airwomen) of all ranks type their own messages, memo's and, of course, emails. Even the recruiting pamphlets used to entice individuals and to inform them about the trade, seem to me to use archaic terms and questionable civilian job equivalents, i.e. "Typist and Word Processing Operator." I think that this sometimes results in individuals not selecting the trade. Pictures showing RMS Clerks in typical office fashion are far from the reality of what we do in todays military. In addition to all the normal outside the trade work that we do, the prime job function, IMHO, has evolved to the more robust descriptions of resource management support practitioner (Pte-Cpl*); coordinator (MCpl-Sgt*); advisor (WO-MWO*); or director (CWO*) {*my ideas of functionality in rank}.
What do you think about our occupation name? Do you have other ideas about the direction and function of our occupation? Where do you think our occupation should be in terms of professionalism and training (i.e. civilian accreditation such as: Certified Human Resource Professional {CHRP}; Certified Payroll Management Professional {CPMP}; Professional Logistician {PLog} etc)?
Looking forward to all your comments and the lively debate that should ensue.