July 2010 Newsletter

Per Mensis The newsletter of 2524 (Oakington) Squadron

July 2010

Did you know?

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In August 1943 the ATC reached its peak size, with 1753 Squadrons and 220,960 Cadets.

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There are currently 33,100 cadets in the ATC.

Cadets undertaking an exercise at Wing Field Weekend

Squadron takes them all on at Wing Field Weekend Wing Field Weekend is one of the highlights of the Wing’s calendar. The weekend is a competition between all Squadrons in the Wing where teams of cadets complete exercises and activities with the aim of being named champions. It also incorporates the annual Wing Review where the cadets present are reviewed by a senior RAF officer. This year the event took place at RAF Wyton over the weekend of the 12th and 13th of June.

The events start at 11am on Saturday morning, so an early start is required so that all the tents can be set up and the camp unpacked. The sight which greats you when you get to the campsite is something akin to a music festival; there are people and tents everywhere! The camp site is on one of Wyton’s sports field and takes up the area of approximately two football fields. This tented village is the home to around 600 cadets, staff and Civilian Committee members for the weekend.

With the activities underway, the base is filled with squads of cadets in brightly colour Squadron T-Shirts marching around and the noise of teams trying to complete their tasks. This year the exercises included First Aid, Aircraft Recognition, Drill, a musical ensemble and code breaking.

One exercise saw the cadets trying to retrieve a key from a vertical pipe by filling it with water. This being a initiative exercise it was not as easy as just filling the pipe with water until the key floated to the top. The cadets first had to collect the water in buckets (which had holes drilled in them), before getting it across an area of “Shark infested custard” which they couldn’t step on using planks and tyres. Only when everyone was on the planks could they empty the buckets into the pipe. The pipe also had holes in it, so time was of the essence. In the excitement, several members of the Squadron team were eaten by the sharks when they stepped off the plank. Once the key had been retrieved, the cadets had to get back across the planks and unlock a box which contained some soft darts which then had to be fired at a target. If all of this wasn’t difficult enough, the exercise staff were also armed with water pistols to keep the cadets on their toes!

Cadets on parade at the annual Wing Parade at RAF Wyton

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July 2010

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2524 (Oakington) Squadron

Wing Field Weekend Team 2010 Cadet Warrant Officer Sophie Ellingham Flight Sergeant Phil Smith Sergeant Greg Hall Corporal Matt Bradley Corporal Victoria Redwood Cadet Connor Morris Cadet Nigel Mpakati Cadet Joe Moore Cadet Luke Farrer Cadet Keiran Harrow Cadet Tristan Johnstone Cadet Steven Sheath Cadet Toby Wilding Cadet Alex Milne Cadet Harry Shaw Cadet John Hunter

Saturday night was spent eating fish and chips (organised by the Squadron Civillian Committee) and watching the England / USA football match on a big screen. Once this was finished, the cadets were free to socialise with their friends from other Squadrons.

Sunday morning brought another early start. An excellent breakfast of Sausage and Bacon rolls was provided by the Civilian Committee and then the cadets got ready for the Wing Review. With around 500 people on parade, the review is an impressive sight. This year’s reviewing officer was Group Captain Walcot, the station Commander of RAF Wyton, Brampton and Henlow. More photos of the parade can be found on the Squadron website.

After the review was finished, the cadets had some lunch before changing back into Greens for their remaining exercises.

The day ended at 4pm with a final parade for the presentation of the prizes.

Although the Squadron didn’t win anything this year, we placed a creditable 18th out of 30. This was good considering the relative inexperience of the team.

Particular highlights were coming 4th in the musical ensemble, 7th in First Aid and 10th in the Aircraft Recognition.

Lecturing the Society On Thursday 13th of May, two of the Squadron’s cadets travelled to the Engineering department of Cambridge University to give a talk on the ATC to the members of the Cambridge Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Sergeant James Wayman and Corporal Victoria Redwood had been set the challenge only two weeks beforehand. Covering the Corps from its formation to the present day, they delivered their talk with such accomplishment that it was hard to believe that it was the first time they had ever done any public speaking of this nature.

The cadets were joined by Wing Commander Paul Bower, Officer Commanding Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Wing, who spoke to the branch members about the challenges facing the Corps in the coming years.

Flying Officer David Williams, who organised the talk, said “It is an honour for the Squadron to have been asked by the Cambridge Brach of the Royal Aeronautical Society to talk about the Corps. I was very proud of James and Victoria for their performance in front of such a knowledgeable audience.”

Sergeant James Wayman and Corporal Victoria Redwood are pictured at the Royal Aeronautical Society Lecture, and with (L to R) – Wing Commander Paul Bower, Hugh Field (Branch Chair), David Whitehead (Branch Secretary)

Squadron T-Shirts Squadron T-Shirts should soon be available. They should cost approximately £15 and will be available with the cadet’s names on. We will try and get some trial sizes to allow the cadets to choose the size most suitable for them, as any named shirts will have to be paid for in advanced as they will not be able to be returned to the Squadron for resale.

Tesco Schools vouchers update Thank you for you donations of Tesco School vouchers. Despite the last minute request we managed to collect over 1000 vouchers! Rather than spend the vouchers on a few small items we have banked them so that they are carried over until the next promotion where we will hopefully be able to collect more vouchers and get some larger items of equipment.

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July 2010

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2524 (Oakington) Squadron

Taste of White Water leaves cadets wanting more 11th

On Sunday the of July, 6 cadets travelled to the Cardington Artificial Slalom Course (CASC) at Bedford for the annual Wing white water kayaking taster day.

The course is a concrete channel into which fibreglass “rocks” are placed to create a white water course. The course itself is set up to be relatively easy so that people who have never been kayaking can have a go, whilst having a few sections which allow the more experienced kayakers to have some fun. The whole course is manned by staff members who are on hand to right the kayaks or pull the cadets if they have a mishap.

Around 100 cadets from around the wing enjoyed the sun and managed to get multiple runs down the course, with their confidence growing with each run. The event was so popular that two days are being considered for next year to allow the cadets more time on the course.

Histon Feast Support Each year a committee of villagers from Histon organise a week of activities to raise money for local charities. The Squadron has been helping out at the feast for a number of years and this year cadets decorated a float for the parade on Sunday the 4th of July and then helped marshal the Fun Run the following Saturday.

This year the parade, which had 23 floats in total, raised £1,651. The Squadron will this year be receiving some of this money to help pay for project work carried out by the cadets.

Adult Instructors – We Need You! Adult Instructors are vital to the smooth running of every Squadron. Without them we cannot run parade nights and the cadets cannot take part in weekend activities and camps.

We are currently looking for volunteers to join the Squadron, particularly as Civilian Instructors (or CIs).

CIs are the backbone of the ATC without which we wouldn’t be able to function.

CIs can get involved in every activity that the ATC offers. They come from all walks of life and do not have to have any previous military or cadet experience. The only requirements are enthusiasm and a sense of humor!

Training courses are always available, so whether you fancy learning how to coach shooting or how to kayak, there’ll be something of interest for you.

So if you looking for a new challenge, want to learn some new skills or just help the cadets get the most out of their time with the ATC, please get in touch with the Squadron so that we can give you a better idea of what’s involved!

Cadets man the Squadron’s float at this year’s Histon Feast parade

Goodbye to Cadet Warrant Officer Ellingham After eight years of service with the Squadron, Tuesday the 6th of July was the last parade night for the Squadron’s most senior cadet, Cadet Warrant Officer Sophie Ellingham. Sophie has had the chance to complete the majority of the activities that the ATC has to offer, including leadership courses, two overseas camps and numerous annual camps.

Sophie has always been one of the leading sports cadets in the Squadron and also in the Wing, having represented the Wing and Region at Netball, Hockey and Athletics, and this year reaching the Corps Netball team.

Sophie has been an integral part of the staff team for the last few years, and has decided to stay on with the Squadron as a Civilian Instructor. We look forward to welcoming her back in September!

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July 2010

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2524 (Oakington) Squadron

Focus on – Classification Training Upcoming Events

July 10th -17th – Annual Camps Sun 18th – Gliding Thurs 22nd – Squadron BBQ Thurs 29th – Climbing at Mepal

August Weds 18th – Visit to 33 Sqn

September 11th-12th – Great Cambs Run

What is the Classification system?

The Classification system is used to measure a cadet’s progress through the academic Syllabus.

What are the levels?

Junior Cadet – All cadets become Junior Cadets when they first join the Squadron.

Second Class Cadet – When cadets are enrolled they become Second Class cadets.

First Class Cadet – When cadets have completed training in Airmanship, The ATC, The RAF, Initial Expedition Training, Map Reading and Radio Communications they become First Class cadets.

Leading Cadet – Cadets have to pass exams in Navigation, Principles of Flight and Airmanship Senior Cadet – Cadets have to pass three exams from a list including Rocketry, Pilot Navigation and Airframes.

Master Cadet – Cadets have to pass three further exams from the same list as at Senior Cadet level.

Instructor Cadet – Once cadets have passed their Master Cadet exams and completed an Instructional Methods course they become Instructor Cadets.

What do cadets get out of the Classification system?

Cadets learn a mixture of skills that will be useful in cadet activities such as map reading, and also learn about aviation. Their work also counts towards a BTEC Diploma in Aviation Studies which is awarded when they become Master Cadets. This diploma is worth 4 GSCEs at grades A-C. When does training take place?

Classification training takes place throughout the year but tends to be more concentrated during the winter months when the weather is at its worst.

Meet the Staff – Sergeant Jamie Houghton I joined 141 (Boston) Squadron in September 2001, rising through the ranks and being appointed as a Cadet Warrant Officer on my 18th birthday. While I was cadet I went many camps including the overseas camp at Gibraltar. I was also heavily involved with shooting, achieving Corps Marksman standard eight times! I moved to Cambridge for work in 2006 and joined 104 (City Of Cambridge) Squadron. My cadet service ended in January 2007 and I had some time away before joining Oakington Squadron as a Civilian Instructor in August the same year. After a year as a CI I applied to become an Adult Sergeant, passing by board in December 2008.

My roles on the Squadron are to organise the Squadron’s BTEC and First Aid training. I am also a qualified Weapons Instructor and Range Conducting Officer so I am involved in a lot of the shooting training the Squadron carries out.

E-Mail: 2524@aircadets.org

I work at Marshall Aerospace as an Airframe Fitter. I joined the company as an apprentice in 2006 and am now fully qualified. I have spent most of my time working on Hercules aircraft, where we strip the aircraft down to bare metal before inspecting and rebuilding it. I am about to take on a new challenge in the company’s Business Aviation division working on Business Jets.

Web Site: www.2524atc.co.uk

Outside of the Squadron I am also a Community First Responder for Magpas.

Well done to…

Sergeant Greg Hall – Solo Gliding Scholarship Cadets Tristan Johnstone, Keiran Harrow, Luke Farrer, Jonny Ashwell, Luke Barber – First Class Classification Cadet Nigel Mpakati – Leading Cadet Classification