Lt Cdr Phil Barron served as a Qualified Observer Instructor from Jan 23-Dec 24 at 825 Naval Air Squadron.  As an experienced A2 Lynx and Wildcat instructor of 22 years, his evident passions for instruction and aviation were reignited to such an extent that, by the end of his tour, he had achieved the first Royal Navy A1 instructor re-categorisation in 30 years. He was rightly recognised for this outstanding achievement, an exemplar to his fellow Wildcat aviators, but it is for his wider contribution to the training environment and instructional culture that he is deserving of this award.

When he joined 825, the training culture was under scrutiny for its untenably high Observer withdrawal rate of 45% in the previous 3 years. Stepping up to the role of Senior Observer to cover a 3-month period of gapping, Lt Cdr Barron targeted areas for improvement and played a key role in implementing a number of initiatives that saw this withdrawal rate reduced to zero during his tenure. His empathetic and emotionally intelligent approach was pivotal and his personal example set the standard for others as a respected, influential instructor. He drove a number of tangible changes through the Squadron’s Quality Improvement Action Plan, including an increase in external coaching, stress management workshops for trainees and staff, and tackling the much-maligned ‘Question of the Day’, replacing it with a more collegiate ‘Topic of the Day’. This latter deliverable required him to invest a significant amount of his own time to write over 50 5-minute briefs to be presented by trainee aircrew at shareholders each morning. 

Additionally, when Lt Cdr Barron joined, the Wildcat Maritime Force was facing a critical shortfall in Observers. This led to calls from higher Command that, as well as improving the training environment, they were to take more trainees and deliver them faster. Lt Cdr Barron embraced these competing demands and took it upon himself to act as the Course Officer for the largest Wildcat ab-initio course in 5 years, ensuring they were delivered to the front line in 16 months. This represented the quickest Operational Conversion the WMF has seen in its 10-year history; over 6 months faster than the previous 22-month average. 

An ever-willing volunteer, Lt Cdr Barron was never out of the top-3 Observers on the Force for flying output, spreading his experience across both the OCU and the Front-Line Squadron. He detached to HMS GANNET, Prestwick on 3 occasions, embarked in HMS IRON DUKE for Secondary roles training and delivered a high-end warfighting embarkation in the Fleet Flagship, HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH. For the majority of his tour, he was the Observer Training Officer, responsible for overseeing all Observer conversions as well as QOI training and standardisation. From this role, he continued to champion the Squadron’s cultural improvement initiatives, helping to engender them through the wider Force training and planning teams. Furthermore, as the lead D&I advisor, he was fundamental to developing the culture across the Squadron to be a fair and rewarding workplace for aircrew and engineers alike. 

Lt Cdr Phil Barron is rightly deserving of the Central Flying School Trophy for his outstanding contribution to transforming an instructional culture that has delivered results far in excess of even the most optimistic predictions.   

2005/06  Captain Derek Jones

2006/07  Sqn Ldr Anthony N Clements

2007/08  Sqn Ldr Peter Howlett

2008/09  Hawk Synthetic Training Facility RAF Valley

2009/10  Sqn Ldr Selwyn Williams

2010/11  Captain Dieter Harms

2011/12  Alexander John Hurrell BA cfs

2012/13  The Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Training Unit (SARTU) RAF Valley

2013/14  Ian Douglas Fogarty AFC qfi

2014/15  Royal Air Force Puma HC2 Aircrew Training Team

2016   Tayside Aviation Ltd

2017  Wg Cdr Harry Palmer

2018  awarded twice:
      Sqn Ldr John Benson-Cooper RNZAF
      653 Sqn ACC

2019  673 Sqn ACC

2020  Lt Cdr David Westley RN

2021  Flt Lt James Hobkirk RAF

2022  Master Aircrew Stephen Duncan

2023  RAF Central Gliding School Instructor Training Team

2024  Lieutenant Commander Robert Hunt RN