Training New Angels?

[The Unknown Angel]

Well, I have a problem.

If a sixth Angel was added to a Angel squadron, how would they be trained? I know where'd they'd be trained, (Eagle Base) but I'm not quite sure how'd it work out.

My first thought is that she'd get instruction from a regular pilot who's not an Angel, and meet the Angel squadron she'll be assigned to after training is complete, but I'd think that'd be too jarring for getting someone into a team who's supposed to work together nearly flawlessly.

So, either of two things could happen:

1. Two Angels would join the potential Angel in training exercises at some point, to get a feel for how the main squadron works.
2. All the Angels from that squadron would join the potential Angel in training exercises at some point. That'd require something like Matt Crowler's Guardian Angels so Cloudbase would remain protected. (Which I am seriously considering including in my stories, with his blessing of course.)

I'm kinda leaning towards the first, because that's what'd make the most sense, and work for what I'm writing. But I'd like to hear some other opinions.

[Elentari]

You're thinking like a civilian.

Military personnel all the time are thrown into the deep end so to speak after they have done the training (and sometimes not even that).

The 6th Angel would have completed all the training the other 5 Angels did. She'd be trained initially in simulations and class instruction and then in an Angel Interceptor. The original 5 Angels would have been trained the same way by instructors very familiar with the aircraft.

Military personnel on average in Australia undertake new postings every 2-3 years, and the expectation is they will integrate with their new team, or on promotion (seamlessly if possible) assume command and take over.

True most jobs are like that, but I think the responsibility and expectations of military service means integration is more critical....especially in a war situation.

Something to think about?

[The Unknown Angel]

Thanks for your thoughts.

Military personnel all the time are thrown into the deep end so to speak after they have done the training (and sometimes not even that).

I asked one of my friends that, and he said essentially the same thing. After going through training, she'd join the main squadron to get fully certified. I'm going to go with that until otherwise indicated.

The 6th Angel would have completed all the training the other 5 Angels did. She'd be trained initially in simulations and class instruction and then in an Angel Interceptor. The original 5 Angels would have been trained the same way by instructors very familiar with the aircraft.

My apologies for omitting that important bit. The introductions to the other Angel Pilots would occur sometime near the end of their time at Eagle Base.

However, I may have thrown a spanner in the works. In the story I'm working on, I plan on introducing a new Angel Fighter, the Angel Multirole Combat Fighter. How would that change things up?

Military personnel on average in Australia undertake new postings every 2-3 years, and the expectation is they will integrate with their new team, or on promotion (seamlessly if possible) assume command and take over.

I don't think that'll be too much of a problem with regards to the Angels. Something tells me that due to the circumstances of their job, they'll rarely, if ever, be assigned to another squadron.

[The Unknown Angel]

I thought of another problem.

According to the page on Koala Base...

Whatever his or her level of training, the candidate joining Spectrum must follow a mandatory training period at a Spectrum training facilities. There are four of them, all focusing on specific fields of expertise:

Does this mean that each candidate only goes to one training base for their entire training career? That doesn't make much sense, does it? Of course, some would go solely to Koala Base, but one would think think most agents would go to 2-3 bases in total? (In my case, Koala base for basic training-White Owl to give some espionage skills-Eagle for flight skills, what I mentioned above.)

[Elentari]

Here's how it is in real life (from an Oz viewpoint)

Other ranks. Most military personnel do a basic training (often called recruit course) at where ever their branch of the armed forces recruit school is based. (See officer training note below). Once they have passed that, they go on to train in whatever field they have signed on to do.

I assume from the canon Spectrum personnel biographies that in the case of field agents and pilots they have already been handpicked for those occupations before joining Spectrum. This is not always the case with the various military organisations at the moment. Some sign on fully qualified in their chosen field (like musicians for example), and others almost start from scratch at a specific military school (communications, engineering, medical, cookery, supply and pilot training etc).

Some of these schools are at the same location as the recruit school or officer cadet academy, some are elsewhere. Also, so these qualifications are recognised outside the military some training may be at civilian tertiary education schools.(including university for officers) which also determines their location.

Officers. Also is the matter that field agents and pilots for example would be joining as officer cadets. They would not be attending recruit training but officer academy training and whatever occupation training they had signed up for.

Australia's defence force often combines training that is generic to all three services (army, navy, air force) in a single school. For example, cooks and stewards have many occupational similarities between the three services, but there is a specific component for the navy trainees due to providing these services on ships.
(The possibility of introducing multi service training was suggested in the Halloween fanfic 'The Defaulters' Car Park').


A Spectrum Viewpoint.

The original TV series did not include training for other services or different occupations so it was easier to write up Spectrum training under the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle. There is no reason why personnel under training can't do it all at Koala Base....or a different base if anyone wants to write one into the story. For logistic and training schedulling and even financial reasons it makes sense to put many (if not most) of the training schools on the one mega training base. My impression of Koala Base was it was quite small.

However at the moment in real life often general officer training and the practical aspect of pilot training would likely be in different locations as the requirements are VERY different for both.

It's not the basic and initial technical training that is done at many bases but once training is completed, it's the climb up the promotions ladder with more on the job training plus promotion exams that causes the posting of personnel every few years. This probably only confuses things in a Spectrum story and could be omitted.

If you introduce a new interceptor the new Angel could be introduced as a test pilot bringing the jet to Cloudbase for evaluation?

Your comment: 'I don't think that'll be too much of a problem with regards to the Angels. Something tells me that due to the circumstances of their job, they'll rarely, if ever, be assigned to another squadron.'
This is where Spectrum differs so greatly from real life. I doubt there is a service person in possibly even the world who wants to stay in the same location and same job for the whole of their military career. The expectation is you stay for a while, learn the ropes, then use these skills to move onwards and upwards. :-)

Are we assuming that the Angels are set at Cloudbase forever? There are five aircraft there yes, but job rotation would stop boredom and only seeing the same faces day after day (apologies to the Captains.....but the same rotation would probably benefit them too).

Sorry for such a long post. It has irked me for years at how simplistic (and sometimes downright wrong) elements of the GA world can be. Time I got off the soapbox! LOL

[The Unknown Angel]

Sir,

Forgive me for asking, but how do you know this much? Did you serve in the armed forces, or have you read up a lot? Either way, it's much apricated.

I assume from the canon Spectrum personnel biographies that in the case of field agents and pilots they have already been handpicked for those occupations before joining Spectrum. This is not always the case with the various military organisations at the moment. Some sign on fully qualified in their chosen field (like musicians for example), and others almost start from scratch at a specific military school (communications, engineering, medical, cookery, supply and pilot training etc).

Something I should note is that the US Air Force is currently taking advantage of the current furlough and trying to hire pilots from airlines, something very similar to the Angel's backgrounds.

(The possibility of introducing multi service training was suggested in the Halloween fanfic 'The Defaulters' Car Park').

And it was acted upon in "Model Spy" when Destiny and Symphony joined Scarlet and Blue for a ground-based mission as agents. Although they posed as models, I can think of a few interesting situations where a undercover pilot is a good idea.

A Spectrum Viewpoint.

The original TV series did not include training for other services or different occupations so it was easier to write up Spectrum training under the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle. There is no reason why personnel under training can't do it all at Koala Base....or a different base if anyone wants to write one into the story. For logistic and training schedulling and even financial reasons it makes sense to put many (if not most) of the training schools on the one mega training base. My impression of Koala Base was it was quite small.

I've decided to write Eagle Base in for a few reasons.

1. She's becoming a pilot first and foremost, and Eagle Base is the pilot school for Spectrum.
2. She's from England, and the Eagle Base is (relatively speaking) close to where she lives.
3. Since it's in a actual real-world location (Assigned to the MoD in the real world), I've pined it on Google Earth, so I know how she'd get there.

However at the moment in real life often general officer training and the practical aspect of pilot training would likely be in different locations as the requirements are VERY different for both.

It's not the basic and initial technical training that is done at many bases but once training is completed, it's the climb up the promotions ladder with more on the job training plus promotion exams that causes the posting of personnel every few years. This probably only confuses things in a Spectrum story and could be omitted.

My thoughts exactly.

The possible solution to the being only stuck at one base problem is having different specialists brought in from the other bases as-needed.

But the induction into Spectrum seems to be the ultimate dead-end for officers, especially Angel Pilots. While they'd certainly be promoted, it wouldn't mean much. Unless one wanted to get out of Angel Duty. I've already written in the possibility of female officers that aren't Angels, though I won't go into too much detail about them. (I want to focus on the 6 Angels.)

If you introduce a new interceptor the new Angel could be introduced as a test pilot bringing the jet to Cloudbase for evaluation?

I hadn't though of that before, but it'd certainly be a good idea. I did imagine she'd be the first one trained on the new fighters.

Your comment: 'I don't think that'll be too much of a problem with regards to the Angels. Something tells me that due to the circumstances of their job, they'll rarely, if ever, be assigned to another squadron.'
This is where Spectrum differs so greatly from real life. I doubt there is a service person in possibly even the world who wants to stay in the same location and same job for the whole of their military career. The expectation is you stay for a while, learn the ropes, then use these skills to move onwards and upwards. :-)

Are we assuming that the Angels are set at Cloudbase forever? There are five aircraft there yes, but job rotation would stop boredom and only seeing the same faces day after day (apologies to the Captains.....but the same rotation would probably benefit them too).

It's been mentioned, and shown, that there are six aircraft assigned to Cloud base, 5 main plus a backup.

Most people assume they only exchange places if they're absoutley needed somewhere else. It's certainly not a regular thing. I do want them to move around to other locations. While I want to keep it tight and focus on the initial five and my sixth Angel, I'd think having them do some globe-trotting would be a fun plot element. Spectrum is certainly big enough.

Sorry for such a long post. It has irked me for years at how simplistic (and sometimes downright wrong) elements of the GA world can be. Time I got off the soapbox! LOL

Nah, it's all good. I do like thinking about the logistical elements of Spectrum. A friend of mine who's worked on an aircraft carrier and I are deconstructing Cloudbase.

[Elentari]

Actually I’m female. I’ve never had the honour to serve but I’ve had close ties for decades (family and otherwise) with the military.

I found this Wikipedia entry about the first woman to command a RAAF flying squadron. She didn’t fly fighter jets but C130 Hercules transport planes, but she was a trailblazer none the less. You might find it interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Corbould

Comparing Model Spy to The Defaulters’ Car Park is like comparing apples to oranges.
Model Spy was a top secret Spectrum mission to uncover the Mysterons in a very ‘un-Spectrum ‘ setting.
The Defaulters’ Car Park is a piece of Halloween fluff that as a background to the story, suggests the World President has decided to implement combining training for non-combatant occupations in Spectrum with those of other world military forces.

Like your planned Eagle Base, the setting for The Defaulters’ Car Park is a real military base, as is the location for fanfic Ghost and Captain Scarlet and the Parking Inspector, and (at a pinch) Your Call Is Important To Us…. Using Google Earth to select the location for Eagle Base is a good idea!

I imagine specialists can be assigned to Cloudbase on short term postings (or contracts if they are civilian experts).

Yes, Gerry Anderson’s shows kind of placed his characters in the same jobs forever. It had to be kept simple as they were shows for children, but of course older fans (and some of us are getting very older indeed) like to see them progress and develop….while hopefully not taking things too far from canon. Perhaps the story of RAAF pilot Linda Corbould might offer some ideas. Checking out related occupations in the RAF/USAF (recruiting pages etc) might also yield results.

Glad you like the test pilot idea (whether you use it or not). Globetrotting Angels – sounds interesting but there is NO way Cloudbase can be left unprotected.

[Marion]

I can think of several fanfics on the website which have featured Spectrum's initial training (and some ongoing training).
Logic would suggest the Spectrum agents have been and continue to be trained, whatever their role in the organisation, even if it is only to keep them sharp and ready for action.
HOW they're trained is not something the Anderverse bothered to tell us (to the best of my knowledge), so we're free to make up whatever we want - always bearing in mind that it should not contradict what we are shown/told on TV and (as secondary sources) TV21, novels and annuals.
In some cases, what we are told from the various sources that are considered (to some degree) as canon, makes absolutely no sense, and even contradicts itself. Some of the Angels must have been at university before they were out of romper suits if they really did everything we're told they have done. In those cases, where I can't make sense of it, it is my solution to pick one storyline and build on that
For instance: Rhapsody studied law at London University (at least 3 years, usually from age 18), spent time (working?) in Manchester and was a secret agent in the FAB with Lady Penelope, and flew for a charter air freight company before joining Spectrum at 24 years of age.
It might just be possible, but all I can say is she must've found a way to get 48 hours out of every day!

[Skybase Girl]

I agree with Marion. Most of the bios of all characters in the GA universe are a bit divorced from reality. ( Alan Tracy from Thunderbirds Is a world class motor racing driver and astronaut before he’s even old enough to drink in a nightclub? Oh, please... ). It doesn’t get any better in the new Thunderbirds are Go, but at least Alan is a more entertaining character, despite the cut off jeans. But this does sometimes present a problem for fan fic writers. How to get round the plot holes, inconsistencies and sheer stupidities of canon? Well, my advice would be, ignore as much as you can. Do not dwell on matters that may not actually matter that much. Skirt around oddities and try not to contradict what may be canon.
Concentrate on your characters and what they are doing in the here and now, i.e, the story. Their backgrounds may not be all that important. It is important that the writer needs to know everything about his/her character in their head, but not everything has to be revealed to the reader, otherwise unless it’s really relevant to the story, it may just be an info dump. I would suggest plot, rather than background is the most important ingredient, although as a person who really struggles with plot, I accept it’s a difficult thing. I understand the need to get details right (and that’s where the internet is a truly wonderful thing), but I’ve learned from experience to steer clear of stuff I really don’t understand. If it seems too complicated, write a different story instead.

[The Unknown Angel]

Thanks girls for your help and advice. I've already begun writing some of them into the story.

With regards to the Angel's Backgrounds: I did some simple back of the envelope calculations, and they're possible, but it's a really tight fit.

I found this Wikipedia entry about the first woman to command a RAAF flying squadron. She didn’t fly fighter jets but C130 Hercules transport planes, but she was a trailblazer none the less. You might find it interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Corbould

Funny enough, the background for my Angel certifies her to pilot heavy weight-class aircraft.

Regarding Eagle Base: According to the article on Koala Base on this very website, it says that:

Eagle Base, attached to the W.A.A.F base at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, England, instructing in flying training and all-terrain driving technics.

Which rather nicely coincides with a real location. - https://www.google.com/maps/place/51%C2 ... 6944?hl=en

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoD_Boscombe_Down

I think it's probably the only Spectrum Base with a canon real-world location.

If I take the main Angel Squadron anywhere but Cloudbase, there will still be a squadron assigned to Cloudbase.

[The Unknown Angel]

Excuse me, but because I don't have the Angels comic strips at this time, I'm not entirely sure what exercises they went through.

For those of you that have and/or read the comic strips, what sort of excerises did they show the Angels doing during their training?

I'm rather curious about this exercise Symphony goes through.

http://www.spectrum-headquarters.com/ca ... aining.jpg

While it's possible to survive a 15,000ft fall without a parachute, it requires one to land on something softish, such as a bush.