A busy start to 2014 at 2146 Squadron

It has been a very busy start to 2014 for 2146 (South-East Bristol) Squadron. The New Year saw the return of our Squadron padre after a period of illness and the introduction of our new Squadron Warrant Officer, Warrant Officer Simmons. WO Simmons has stepped down from his position as the Wing Warrant Officer to join and support our Squadron.

Our year kicked off with some cadets being awarded their classification badges, from the tail end of 2013. Also, many were awarded Youth First Aid Badges from the two day course ran on the squadron in November. New cadets joined the squadron, which saw numbers begin to rise. Our new Squadron Warrant Officer led drill sessions, which enabled our new members to quickly get up to standard.

Throughout the course of January, our Squadron was visited by a member of staff from another squadron for weapons training. We were all given an introduction to the .22 rifle used by cadets, and some of us even passed the weapons handling test, allowing us to shoot live ammunition on a range. First Aid training was also carried out through the month, with all cadets receiving HeartStart awards for basic first aid skills.

On Sunday 19th January, several cadets from the Squadron attended the Wing Soccer trials. One member of the Squadron was successful in making the Bristol & Gloucestershire Wing team.

Throughout the first three months of 2014, two cadets on the squadron have been training for Ten Tors. Ten Tors is a weekend challenge for young people in the South West region, hosted by the British Army and occurs in Dartmoor. Our two cadets have been training for the 35 mile challenge, which will take place in early May.

Air Experience Flying restarted after a period of the Tutors being grounded. On February 2nd, four members of the squadron went to Colerne for a flight each, where we were able to experience flying in a small aircraft and aerobatics, with some hands on experience. February also saw some cadets receive the opportunity to put into practise the skills used at weapons training to go to a range in Yoxter.

On Saturday 15th March, Stockwood Vale Golf Club was the location for our Squadron Annual Dinner. Cadets were presented with certificates and badges from 2013, and some were awarded special trophies. Wing Commander Cox was present to speak of his experiences with the ATC and 2146 Sqn in particular. He presented the awards to the cadets. That very same weekend, four senior members of the squadron all passed their respective NCO courses at HMS Flying Fox. The weekend entailed drill, leadership challenges, presentations and lessons in which they were taught various leadership and communication skills, as well as their responsibilities as NCOs.

Also in March, our squadron were fortunate enough to have been allocated slots for clay pigeon shooting, rifle shooting and gliding. The rifle shooting took place in Yoxter, where cadets were able to shoot live rounds on an outdoor range. Both gliding and the clay pigeon shoot occurred in Hullavington, Wiltshire. The weekend at the end of the quarter was a fantastic way for many of our cadets to apply some of the skills learned during the start of the New Year, and also to try something new.