Posted on

NCO & Duke of Edinburgh Training Success

Sixty five cadets and staff from across the South West Region travelled to Okehampton Battle Camp this weekend for personal development and training.

About 40 cadets were put through their paces, learning about and being assessed in their drill & uniform standards, leadership and presentation skills. It was a long weekend of training but they managed to maintain their enthusiasm and good humour!

A number of staff and senior cadets came to learn about how to successfully deliver the Duke of Edinburgh Award and undertake Expedition Assessments. Their success on the course enables us to increase the number of Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions we are able to support, improving our delivery of the “Cadet Experience”.

Well done and thanks to all who attended. Particular thanks go to the Directing Staff, without who these courses cannot run.

Posted on

High achieving DofE Squadron sets its sights higher

Twenty two RAF Air Cadets from 2328 (Bishops Cleeve) Squadron have attained Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Awards since 1 April 2017 - which is an impressive 58% of all Bristol and Gloucestershire Wing’s Awards achieved by just one unit.

Not content with these excellent results, Officer Commanding 2328 Squadron Flight Lieutenant Richard Jennings, has his sights set on achieving thirty Awards by the end of March 2018. This will require a lot of effort including two more qualifying expeditions before the season closes at the end of October.

The Royal Air Force Air Cadets are one of the UKs leading operating authorities for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Any young people interested in taking advantage of this, as well as the other fantastic opportunities on offer, should get in touch with us today to find out where your nearest unit is.

Posted on

Bronze Expedition Success

This weekend eight cadets from four different squadrons (614, 2328, 2342 and 2419) were out on qualifying and practice expeditions for their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

They started by climbing Robinswood Hill at Gloucester and finished at Painswick after a comfortable night under canvas at Moreton Valence. 

The weekend was organised by Flight Lieutenant Richard Jennings, Officer Commanding 2328 (Bishops Cleeve) Squadron, who offered the activity to cadets at other units so that they could complete their Awards. The Expedition is often the most difficult section to complete - well done to all cadets who took part. For four cadets this exped was the last section and so should shortly receive their Bronze Awards. 

The Air Training Corps is one of the biggest National Operating Authorities for the Duke of Edinburgh Award and most cadets achieve one or more awards before they leave.

Posted on

2002 (Kingswood) Sqn Parent’s & Prizegiving Evening 2017

On the evening of April 6th 2017, 2002 (Kingswood) Squadron paraded in front of their proud parents.

It was a fantastic evening where the parents were treated to an excellent continuity drill display, followed by cadet presentations and a demonstration of their award-winning First Aid.

Also in attendance was Guest of Honour, Major J Flexman of the United States Air Force.

The event was successfully capped off with an award ceremony, followed by cheese and wine (for the parents!).

Posted on

Cadets Give Early Boost To Duke of Edinburgh Achievements

This weekend fourteen cadets from 2328 (Bishops Cleeve) Squadron were on their Bronze Qualifying Expeditions on the first day of the new Duke of Edinburgh’s Award year.

Five more cadets have completed the Bronze Training Framework in preparation for their practice expeditions.

The qualifying cadets are well on their way and will soon complete their Awards, helping to give an early increase on the number of Awards achieved by the Wing in 2017-18.

Posted on

Operation Fortitude 2016

The expedition, code named Operation Fortitude, saw the cadets walking in four groups, codenamed Gold, Juno, Utah and Sword after the D-Day landing beaches assaulted by the allies on 6th June 1944.

The cadets carried all their equipment, slept under canvas at different sites and covered a distance of over 60 kilometres. During their time in Normandy, the groups visited a variety of D-Day sites and paid their respects to the fallen by laying wreaths at military cemeteries.

After completing the expedition, the cadets visited Pegasus Bridge, where they met Madam Arlette Gondrée, the proprietor of the world famous Café Gondrée. The Café was one of the first buildings to be liberated on the night of D-Day by British Forces. Madam Gondrée, who was a young girl when the allies launched Operation Overlord, she took the time to speak to the cadets about her experience..

This is the fourth Expedition led by Sgt E Smart and his team to the area, and to date the wing have deployed 99 cadets from twenty different squadrons from around the Wing.

Posted on

Ready to go for Duke of Edinburgh Awards!

Staff who attended the recent Introduction to DofE and Expedition Assessor Accreditation Courses are now ready to deliver the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to cadets in the Wing.  
For the second year in a row over 100 cadets belonging to 23 different units completed Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards. Congratulations go to 2328 (Bishops Cleeve) Squadron who achieved eighteen (15 Bronze and 3 Silver) Awards and top the 2015-16 Wing table closely followed by 93 (City of Bath) and 2442 (Westbury on Trym) Squadrons.

Thanks go to all the staff who helped cadets achieve Awards in 2015-16 and in particular our dedicated band of volunteers, who rain or shine, assisted on expeditions.

With personnel on the BEL course achieving their Silver NNAS Awards, some to complete supported expedition assessments and hopefully others attending the forthcoming Lowland Leader Award course - the stage is set for 2016-17 when even more cadets from all units can achieve a Duke of Edinburgh Award - a qualification highly valued by many employers.

Posted on

Cadets follow the stars

Walking the Mendip Hills at night was the challenge for cadets from 2146 (South East Bristol) and 2152 (North Bristol) Squadrons. After first establishing a campsite, the cadets and accompanying staff used the stars and land relief to successfully navigate across Beacon Batch and Black Down in the dark. Weather and conditions were ideal and all the cadets enjoyed the experience.

Posted on

Cadet Rescues Dog

047_39263Mayne_047Congratulations all round for a team of Air Cadets who acted on initiative and were able to reunite a much beloved dog with its family. The young Labrador concerned was out for a walk with friends of the family on the Mendips on Bank Holiday Monday during which it wandered off beyond the scope of its familiar whistle which caused consternation when she didn’t return. Some time later, after asking everyone they met to keep an eye out for her, the only people who did more than nod was Cpl Farr and his team who were on a DofE expedition in the area. Cpl Farr and Cdt Whiting spoke in detail with the family. Farr took the families telephone number and immediately passed the word back to his superiors requesting them to remain vigilant. Some time later, the dog was spotted by Cpl Agbabi and Cpl Farr tried to catch her but she again ran off. Not daunted by the prospect of a chase, Cpl Farr used this advantage and herded the labrador in the direction of the family. Eventually Cpl Farr was able to shout to the family and the dog returned to them safely. They were very relieved to see the dog again but were even more impressed at actions of Cpl Farr and his team. DofE is an excellent way of learning and encouraging personal development which leads youngsters to integrate more fully with the community.

Posted on

May Day on the Mendips…

Thirty eight cadets completed Bronze and Silver DofE Expeditions over the May Day Weekend on the Mendips.

For most it was their final practice before travelling to Normandy to undertake actual expeditions around the D-Day sites at Whitsun. The cadets now move on to detailed route planning and getting to grips with French maps before a final kit check.

Experienced instructors, many have been to Normandy twice previously, are guiding the cadets.