1 / 3 1368 Squadron welcomed the second group of new recruits for 2021 last week. Here they are being taught drill by Cdt M, ready for the Remembrance Parades that they will be partaking in on Remembrance Sunday. 2 / 3 Flying Officer C has been teaching cadets Aircraft Handling for their Leading cadet exams. Once they pass, they will obtain the classification of 'Leading Cadet' and can go on to study for Senior. 3 / 3 The first batch of new cadets for 2021 have been training on the Air Rifles the past few weeks. They completed their Weapons Handling Tests which means that they can operate the Air Rifles safely and effectively. ❮ ❯ 📷 Cpl Cox, BSA Guns

Fantastic effort by both teams of our cadets last week on their Silver/Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme practice expeditions in Hope Valley. Favoured by unusually nice weather they got to experience the glory of the Derbyshire White Peaks area. What's more we were finally allowed to camp under canvas, and do everything the real way; three complete days with 2 nights camping. They were completely self-sufficient throughout and carried all their tents between different campsites, covering over 50 km distance and 1500m of ascent. Very impressive, really good levels of fitness and, well lets face it, very well trained ;-) 

Last week, the cadets did some drill practice, partly in readiness for parades that are coming up, partly to give new prospective NCOs some experience "at the front" and also to sharpen up Squadron discipline. Drill is a powerful aid to discipline. It develops a sense of corporate pride, alertness, precision and readiness to obey orders instantly. Good drill in aircraft is directly fostered by the habit of drilling smartly on parade. Thus, smartness on parade is not only a sign of good discipline, but a basic factor in raising the standard of performance in duties. Back in the (really) old days, the Air Cadets used to have its own Air Cadet drill manual. Nowadays this is all gone. The RAFAC aligns wholly to the RAF Drill manual called AP818 . To do it by the book, therefore, check out the book! (it's actually how the RAF teaches it).

It was more a marathon than a sprint but congratulations to Cdt W on finally getting a badge for representing Warwickshire and Birmingham Wing at X-Country.

Here's a DofE test for you. Can anybody spot what's wrong with the DofE 2-person tent on the left, here?

 "This looks like a nice place to start an expedition?", "Nah, I think I'll duck out of that", "Why not, it should be water off a duck's back to you?", "50 km and more than half 1.5 ascent of Snowdon. Sounds quackers to me. Who planned this route?", "Some idiots, I suspect.", "We can't duck out of it now though", "Could we not fake a COVID test?", "Umm, cunning. Won't they suspect fowl play?"

Good news from campsite. The staff have amazing options for breakfast (which is pretty important). The bad news is that it's completely out of bounds for cadets, not a chance. It's DofE time, which means you're on your own ;-) Better get food planning! But remember, life is better when you're camping with your friends (even if it is freezing cold and raining).