Regional Newsletter Issue 3 (2013)

S&NI Newsletter

2013 Issue 3

Newsletter DateJun 2013

In this Issue:

1. Replica Spitfire Unveiled

2. Royal opening of Outdoor Centre

3. Junior Leaders 14

5. 1740’s New HQ Opened

6. 287 - Under New “Management”

7. The Magnificent Sevens

8. Whitelees Hillwalk

9. Small Bore Winter League & W JTaylor Shooting Competition Results

10. Shawlands visit Police Dogs

The RAF Association have an annualaward for Air Cadets, where the

RAF Association organise and sponsora fully-funded camp to RAF Akrotiri inCyprus for 10 cadets. The trip isplanned to coincide with the dates thatthe RAF Aerobatic Team (the RedArrows) are on training detachment.

This year it was the turn of Scotlandand Northern Ireland Region AirCadets to participate. The Cadetsselected were accompanied on the tripby Sqn Ldr H McAdam and Flt AHartnell and leading the team was astaff member from the RAFAssociation, Ms A Henson, assisted byRAF Association members (ServingRAF personnel ) located at RAF Akrotiri.

The cadets nominated for the Awardwere CWO R Fitzsimmons, Sgt S Hirst,Sgt R Gilchrist, Sgt J Greenaway, CplS Wallace, Cpl W McLennan, Cpl DWilson, Cpl C Thomson, Cdt R Ferrieand Cdt V Hain.

On 17 Apr 13, 10 cadets and 2 CFAVsfrom SNI Region arrived in Cyprus,many of whom who had never travelledoutside of the UK.

The first full action packed day includeda visit to the RAF Police dog section,meeting with the Station Commander,Gp Capt Group Captain J E Linter OBEMA RAF who agreed to be in the officialcamp photograph. Later the camppersonnel rested at the Station Beachand was invited to the 1 (Overseas)Sqn Annual Formal Inspection.

In the days that followed; the cadetsand staff visited Curium Beach offStation, participated in Clay Targetshooting and improved shootingskills in the Dismounted CloseCombat Trainer at EpiskopiGarrison. The cadets and staffalso visited Paphos, a smallcoastal Harbour town, a shoppingcentre on the outside of Limassoland the landmark Aphrodite’sRock.

The highlight of the trip for all was theviews from the cliff top watching theRed Arrows train for their 2013display, which will be their 49th displayseason. Red 10, Sqn Ldr M Lingexplained the routine and answeredthe many questions the cadets had.Once the display was over the cadetstook time to visit the memorialdedicated to the two Red Arrows pilotswho had lost their lives recently. Theywere then transported to Gate 7, to getup close with the Hawk aircraft. Thecadets were shown around the Aircraftby an Engineering Officer, whoexplained how the pilots maintainedtheir positions in the air and how thefamous smoke is released. The cadetswere extremely lucky to be in the rightplace at the right time, as the RedArrows pilots were completing a photoshoot, which the cadets were invited tojoin in with.

During the last few days, the cadetswere able to meet with the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft pilotsand watch one pilot being suited upand then take off at the USA OliveHarvest facility, The camp personnelalso had a fantastic time on the StationGo-Kart race track and had a BBQwith the Station RAF Associationmembers, the local RAF AssociationAphrodite Branch and 1 (Overseas)Sqn personnel. At the end of campBBQ the cadets presented Ms AHenson of the RAF Association a RAFAkrotiri Station wall plaque, as a tokenof their appreciation and to give hersomething to remember RAF Akrotiri,as it was to be her final trip with theRAF Association Award Camp.

RAF Association Award Camp – 17 – 24 Apr 13

DEADLINE FOR ARTICLES FORNEXT EDITION IS JUN 30th……

S&NI Regional NewsPage 2

A full-size replica Spitfire has been erected as a memorialto 71 pilots killed during training in the Second World War.

Supermarine Spitfire Mark 1 was unveiled by 100-year-oldformer aircraft mechanic John "Dinger" Bell in a publicgarden in Grangemouth, close to the site of a former RAFairfield.

Young pilots from around the world were based inGrangemouth during the war and 71 of them died just duringtraining flights at the base.

The idea for the memorial came from cadets in the 1333(Grangemouth Spitfire) Squadron Air Training Corps. It cost£100,000 which was raised through campaigns led by theGrangemouth Spitfire Memorial Trust (GSMT).

Chairman Iain Mitchell said: "The young men who trained at Grangemouth were among the bravest the world has ever seen,and it is a huge honour for us to be in a position to commemorate their sacrifice with this stunning memorial. It's the first of itskind in Scotland and we can't wait to share it with everyone.”

Replica Spitfire unveiled in Grangemouth

On Sunday 12th May 2013 at The Cameron Barracks,Inverness, Highland Wing of the Air Training Corps

held their annual Wing Parade. An event that broughtsquadron’s from all over the Highland Wing area to paradetogether. Over 100 cadets took part in the parade whichwas inspected by the Lord Lieutenant for Ross andCromarty incorporating Skye and Lochalsh, Mrs JanetBowen, who was escorted by Highland Wings WingCommander, Wing Commander Brian Munro.

During the parade Mrs Bowen made several presentationsto Wing staff including two Lord Lieutenant Awards forMeritorious Service to Squadron Leader Jim Hair andSquadron Leader Alastair Armitstead, along with an AirCadet Certificate for Meritorious Service to the WingChaplain the Reverend Alan Lamb.

Mrs Bowen was the reviewing guest of honour for theparade and took the parade salute along with FlightLieutenant Andy Hartnell. The parade was led by WingCommander Brian Munro.

Highland Wing Parade

After an inspection by Regional Commandant Group CaptainJim Leggat, Banchory Squadron has been chosen to

represent Scotland & Northern Ireland Region in the Sir Alan LeesTrophy, a trophy that recognises overall achievement and isawarded to the best Squadron in the UK.

The Squadron first won the MacRobert Trophy, an award tosignify efficiency within North East Scotland Wing. By winning thiswe were automatically put into the running for potentially beingnominated to represent the Region.

By being nominated by the Region, this signifies the high standardthat Banchory is working at in every aspect of the organisation.

The Squadron must now organise another inspection, this time forCommandant Air Cadets; Air (Continued on page 3)

Banchory Win Regional Efficiency Trophy

S&NI Regional NewsPage 3

Cadets, uniformed staff and civilian instructors from the 5Ayrshire Air Training Corps (ATC) Squadrons attended the

opening of the Tamar Manoukian Outdoor Centre at DumfriesHouse on the 5th of April. Also attending were Group CaptainJim Leggat, Regional Commandant of the Scotland & NorthernIreland ATC, Wing Staff Officer Squadron Leader HelenJohnston and staff from 661 Volunteer Gliding School fromKirknewton.

The Earl and Countess of Strathearn, William and Kate, joinedHRH Prince Charles at Dumfries House to open the newoutdoor centre. The centre provides accommodation and teamactivities for 52 young people and six adults. Weekends will bededicated to supporting the uniformed youth services and thecentre will also be open to schools from across Scotland.

The royal party also met representatives of Youth United. In

2009 HRH the Prince of Wales brought together the largestvoluntary youth organisations under the banner of YouthUnited to develop more joint working and to think about howopportunities for young people could be increased. Memberorganisations include RAF Air Cadets, the Scout Association,Girl guiding, St John Ambulance, Army Cadet Force, SeaCadets, Boys' Brigade, Girls' Brigade and Volunteer PoliceCadets.

Prince Charles spoke to Flt Sgt Blair Wilson about his flyingexperiences in the Air Cadets and Kate chatted to Sgt LaurenMurdoch asking her what she enjoyed about the cadets. It wasa great experience for the young cadets.

Air Cadets attend Royal opening of Tamar Manoukian Centre Outdoor Centre

Commodore DawnMcCafferty.If the Squadron issuccessful in winningthe Lees Trophy it willbe a first for theSquadron and ahistoric moment forboth the Wing andRegion.

We wish them everysuccess!

(Continued frompage 2)

S&NI Regional NewsPage 4

At the start of April 2013, 2 air cadets from West Scotland Wing AirTraining Corps successfully completed one of the longest and most

arduous courses that the ATC has to offer.

Cadet Sergeant Kieran McDonald-Seran from 62 (North Glasgow) andCadet Flight Sergeant Lewis Templeton from 1740 (Clydebank)startedthe nine month long leadership course in mid 2012.

Phase 1 of the course consisted mostly of Leadership Theory and alsoweapons safety which is vital for the second part of the course, after athorough selection process

Phase 2 of the Junior Leaders course covered in depth training in Fieldskills and Patrol techniques.

Phase 3 of the course was held over a weekend and the students hadsome prompts of what they should or should not do in pressuredsituations thus preparing them for Test Phase.

Test phase is a gruelling week in the field that tests students bothphysically and mentally. Followed by a presentation and a written examall three of which are assessed by the Directing Staff.

Overall the course ishighly beneficial and theskills and content taughton the course are

Junior Leaders Course 14

second to none. The students were also able to apply for an ILM level 3 inleadership and management as well as being more self confident.

The course may be difficult but is life changing and memorable, especiallybeing dropped into battle by helicopter!

Congratulations to the following NE ScotlandWing personnel who successfully completed the

SA(SR)07 course at RAF Leuchars last weekend.

Flt Lt J Drummond - 2288 (Montrose) SqnPlt Off A Miller - 2367 (Banchory) SqnSgt P MacKenzie - 875 (Westhill) SqnCI C Stoker - 2365 (Brechin) Sqn

A full on, two weekend course that resulted in 11 new RCOsacross the region and more importantly 4 new short rangeRCOs within this wing.

Well done to you all for passing.

NORTH EAST SCOTLAND WING GAIN 4 NEW RANGE CONDUCTING OFFICERS

REG 1st AID COMP - SAT 1st JUNREPORT IN NEXT ISSUE…………

S&NI Regional NewsPage 5

On Wednesday the 8th May Rear Admiral Gregory OBE Lord Lieutenant ofDumbartonshire performed the official opening of the new cadet centre at

Beardmore Street in Clydebank. The Beardmore Street facility replaces thenow demolished 'spooner hut', which had been in place since the 1960s.

The Centre is home to Clydebank Detachment of the Argyll and SutherlandHighlanders Battalion Army Cadet Force (ACF) and 1740 (Clydebank)Squadron Air Training Corps (ATC).

Some 40 Cadets were joined by friends and family and invited guests for theevent along with the Provost of Dunbarton Douglas McAllister, the ChiefExecutive of West Dunbarton Council Mrs Joyce White, Councillor DenisAgnew and Colonel AK Miller CBE Chief Executive of Highland ReserveForces and Cadet Association.

During the course of the evening the Lord Lieutenant presented CadetSergeant Major Gordon Smith of the ACF and Cadet Warrant Officer KeithCarcary of the ATC with their Lord Lieutenant Cadet Certificate and Badges and was introduced to the 8 cadets of the ACFDetachment who assisted at a fire in Overtoun Court on the 29th April.

Lord Lieutenant Mike Gregory commented "This has been atremendous event with enthusiastic army and airforce cadets in a stateof the art cadet training centre which will be a major benefit to the youthof Clydebank".

The invited guestswere then shownround the newfacility by thecadets whodemonstrated theirflight simulator, ITsuite and Duke ofEdinburgh's AwardExpedition kit.Guests were alsoshownphotographs oftheir successfulClay Target Teamand viewed theiraward winningaircraft models.

Flight Lieutenant Derek McIlroy, Commanding Officer of 1740 SquadronAir Cadets, said, "This is a tremendous evening for the cadets and staff as they see the end results of their time, patience andhard work in setting up the new centre. We hope that our new facility will be popular with young people in the area and they willcome down to see what opportunities we can offer them".

Opening of Clydebank Cadet Centre

In near perfect playing conditions and on great playingsurfaces the South East Scotland Wing Inter Squadron

Sevens took place at Netherdale in Galashiels. ElevenSquadrons descended on “The Back Pitches” by the RiverTweed and in the shadows of the Eildon Hills to battle forthe title of “Champions 2013” and the right to take homethe Syme-Davidson Cup.

With seven full Squadron teams and four Squadronsforming two composite teams the scene was set for theusual battle for supremacy and of course bragging rights.Having won the title for six out of the past seven years

1716(Roxburgh) Sqn were probably the biggest hurdle facing anyteam

The draw produced straight knock out competition with a Platetournament for the Squadrons exiting in the first round.

2180 (Galashiels) Sqn emerged from the early round with a strongwin over the 287/1739 Composite Sqn Team and overcame asstuffy 1232 Dundee Sqn in the Cup Semi Final. The Gala team keptclean sheets in both matches

1716 Roxburgh Sqn emerged from the top half of the draw as afterplaying a preliminary round due tom the odd number ofparticipating teams. As usual 17162 put is some strong play butdidn’t have it all their own way as they (Continued on page 6)

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVENS!

S&NI Regional NewsPage 6

On Monday 18th March, 287 Squadron had an influx ofnew staff- but for one night only! Cadet Rae Prestage

came up with the idea of holding a rank auction in aid ofComic Relief, so she was tasked with organising the wholeevent.

The bidding for ranks took place before final parade onThursday 14th March, with all the top positions in theSquadron up for grabs. Then, on the Monday night, all thestaff got the chance to release their “inner Cadet” as the newstaff took control and the staff were forced to stand on parade.

Taking the opportunity to get their own backs, the new“Cadets” made a special effort to be as annoying andmischievous as possible, asking obnoxious questions,turning the wrong way on parade and generally misbehaving.However, the new staff were also able to take a bit ofrevenge, as they forced the staff to participate in a bit of drillpractice!

At the end of the night, the new OC, Flt Lt King, made severaldemotions and promotions, with all the officers and NCOsbeing stripped of their ranks, and several Cadets makingsome surprising leaps. Cadet Smart was promoted to Flt Lt,which as everyone commented, doesn’t happen every day!

Overall, the evening was a great success, with in excess of£100 raised for Comic Relief. More importantly, the staffwere given the opportunity to let their hair down for a nightand have a great deal of fun. It’s safe to say, however, thatthe Cadets won’t be desperate to join the adult staff team anytime soon though!

Due to ACO media communications procedures, it wasdecided to delay the publishing of any articles and photosabout the rank auction until they had undergone a rigorousscreening procedure. That process is now complete, and allphotos are available to view on the Squadron’s Facebookpage (www.facebook.com/287sqnatc).

The new Squadron executive was (l-r) Sgt (ATC) Prestage, FltLt. King and Flt Lt. Reilly

Cadet Smart wearing his red nose on parade

battled past a strong 870 Sqnside in the first round and the

1145/2463 Composite Sqn team in the semi-final.

So the scene was set once more for a Galashiels v Roxburghfinal. Within two minutes of kick off Gala and raced into a twotry lead and as a result of a commanding performance withsome blistering pace and ferocious defence 1716 were lefttrailing 31-0 at half time.

The Gala Squad looked set to continue their first halfdominance with Capt. Cammy Moffat further extendingGala’s lead with a try in the first minute of the second half.However Gala did not have it all their own way in the secondhalf with Kyler Simpson inspiring his squad to run in threetries to Galas one in the second half. Kyler was awarded awell deserve “Player of the Tournament”. It was with somerelief on the Gala Coaches faces that the final whistle blewand the cup would return to 2180 Sqn for the first time since2002.

(Continued from page 5) SEScot Wing Rugby Convenor, Fg Off Nik Wielbo of 2180 Sqnwas asked to present medals and the cup as he is leaving the AirCadet Organisation to join the Royal Navy on 6th May as a Pilot.This was in fact the first time Nik had his hands on the Cup - theclosest he had come as a player was as a Runner Up in 2003.

Winner of the Plate were a plucky 2311(Glenrothes) Sqn whowon a very tight Plate Final against 870(Dreghorn) Sqn.

FOR 1 NIGHT ONLY - 287 IS UNDER NEW “MANAGEMENT”

S&NI Regional NewsPage 7

On Friday night 19th April a training visit was held forcadets training for the Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze

Award Service Section. This involved "going to the dogs", tobe exact, visiting Strathclyde Police Dog Section in PollokEstate where the cadets had very interesting visit finding outabout how the dogs are trained and were given ademonstration.

The cadets who went were Jawad Ali, Declan Cusack,Natasha Glancy, Faraz Hussain, Daniel Kavanagh, KarimMansoor, Momin Mehmood, Quys Mohammed, BismahPasha, Yusaf Qureshi, Grant Speirs and Kiera White. Thanksgo to Fg Off Yasmeen Khan CI Khalid Ali and Iain Shovellerwho took them.

Shawlands Squadron Visit Police Dogs

On Sunday 21st April a training day was held for cadetstraining for the Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award.

This involved doing a navigation exercise round the windfarmusing maps and compasses along the tracks and going "offroad" so they could experience rougher terrain before thenext training day in May which will a lot more demanding.

The party also experienced rain and high winds so they nowunderstand the importance of adequate clothing andfootwear.

The cadets who attended were Jawad Ali, Declan Cusack,Natasha Glancy, Faraz Hussain, Daniel Kavanagh, MominMehmood, Bismah Pasha, Yusaf Qureshi, Grant Speirs andKiera White. Thanks go to CI Guy Hansford who planned theevent. The other staff who attended were Flt Lt CraigGilmour, Fg Off David Kettyle and CI Iain Shovell.

Whitelees Hillwalk

327 (Kilmarnock) Squadron, Air Training Corps recently wel-comed Michael Docherty as a new Adult Sargent. Michael wasoriginally a cadet in the Squadron for 6 years during which timehe took part in a wide range of activities as well as attending acamp at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and flying in a Sea King.

After leaving the squadron Michael worked in various jobs atLoudoun Castle and at the Palace Theatre but the highlight ofhis career so far was working for Boston University in NewHampshire, America for "Camp Leaders" The camps were foryoung people aged 10 to 18 and Michael was involved in hik-ing, kayaking, canoeing, abseiling, sky diving and rock climb-ing.

Michael missed not being a part of the Air Training Corps andwanted to use his skills to give something back to the youngcadets in the Squadron. Michael has completed Basic Expedi-tion Training (BELA) and Wilderness First Aid. He also has theCommunity Sports Leader Award.

Michael will be involved in a wide range of cadet activities in-cluding adventure training, map reading & navigation, sportsand drill & discipline. He has also taken on the role of Duke ofEdinburgh Award coordinator.

Kilmarnock Squadron welcomesnew uniformed member of staff

That’s all for this Regional Newsletter. If you have any articles that you would like published in the next edition, thensend them to Regional HQ for the attention of Sqn Ldr John Walker RAFVR(T).

You can also submit news and photos to the following e-mail address [email protected].

E-Mail - Text in either Word document or plain text files. Photo’s, preferably jpg or png formats (files no greater than 2.5 Mbin Size please) and use E-Mail heading “Regional Newsletter Article” so that it is obvious as to the content.

In between issues of the Regional Newsletter, why not keep up to date by logging on to the Regional web site,http://www.aircadets-sni.org.uk or our Facebook page

Indeed we have a number of people who can submit news items directly onto the Regional Website (both staff and cadets).If you are involved in your squadron or Wing in newsletter creation or media comms and would like to become a staff / cadetreporter for your wing or squadron, please get your squadron commander to drop an e-mail to [email protected] withyour relevant details.

Note from the Editor

S&NI Regional NewsPage 8

The table below shows the W J Taylor Results.

An excellent performance by the S&NI Wgs and I amexceedingly pleased to see 3 of my Wgs in the top 5 of thiscompetition - Gp Capt J Leggat Reg Cmdt.

WING Score Position

West Scotland Wing 572 1Kent Wing 564 2No. 1 Welsh Wing 560 3North East Scotland Wing 559 4Northern Ireland Wing 536 5London Wing 521 6Devon & Somerset Wing 516 7South & East Midlands Wing 502 8Staffordshire Wing 491 9Essex Wing 477 10Norfolk & Suffolk Wing 424 11Warwickshire & Birmingham Wing 406 12No. 2 Welsh Wing 383 13Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wing 339 14South & West Yorkshire Wing 196 15

W J TAYLOR COMPETITION RESULTS

The results for the 2012 - 2013 Small Bore Winter League competition are as shown below

Competition 1, Division 1,champion team: 4 gilt 2452 Shawlands, team A

Competition 1, Division 1,second team: 4 silver 2452 Shawlands, team B

Competition 1, Division 1,third team: 4 bronze 470 Falkirk

Competition 1, Division 2,winning team: 4 bronze 1297 Stonehaven, team A

Competition 1, Division 3,winning team: 4 bronze 1297 Stonehaven, team B

Competition 2, first individual: 1 gilt Cpl Taimur Asif, 2452 Shawlands

Competition 2, second individual: 1 silver Sgt S Arif, 2452 Shawlands

Competition 2, third individual: 1 bronze F/S Greg Johnston, 470 Falkirk

11 squadrons entered a total of 18 teams. 5 squadrons successfully shot the 8 teams’ cards; 3 did nothing and 3 sent apologies:a particular problem this year was non-availability of smallbore ammunition.

Small Bore Winter League Results 12-13

Success for the wing team at the Scottish GarelochheadMarches this weekend with only one dropping out, leaving

13 cadets and 2 staff completing the walk.

The North East Scotland Wing Road Marching Team for 2013on their way out of Garelochhead camp on the first day of theweekend.

NE Scot Road Marching Team Success