Well done to the 3 cadets and 1 staff from 1368 Sqn who took part in the gruelling 2 day Winter 2 Day RAF March.

Cadets from 1368 Sqn were awarded the best squadron in the Wing for Duke of Edinburgh Awards in 2023/24. The trophy was presented on Mon 22 Apr 2023 to CWO G who achieved her Gold DofE last year  There are 19 Squadrons in Warwickshire and Birmingham Wing. In 2022/23 we came close to winning the trophy, pipped by 2028 Sqn (Southam) by 2 points. It's a win-win though. The main thing is not the trophy but the benefit that participation in the Award brings to the cadets in the Squadron and the buzz that can come from the cadets after they plan and undertake things like expeditions with their friends. The Award Scheme remains one of the key pillars of our training programme. All cadets are expected to achieve the Bronze Award in the year they are eligible. We also have a pre-DofE badge for those in Year 8's who start with Initial Expedition Training (IET) as part of the First Class syllabus. The Air Cadets has historically been the largest operating authority of the Award scheme and

Monday saw cadets from 1368 Sqn have their formal annual inspection with the Wing Commander and Warrant Officer from Warwickshire and Birmingham Wing. This was a chance to show off their pride in the RAF Air Cadets by their dress and drill standards, and a chance for the Wing Commander to chat to cadets about their cadet experience and ambitions during the walk-around.  The inspection finished with a march past and salute of the whole Sqn including banner. A daunting experience for some of the cadets who've only been with us for a few weeks. We then did a normal training night of Cyber, Blue badge band using practice pads, full-band using real instruments, Radio procedure training using hand-held radios, flight simulator and, for those doing GCSE's, exam revision (we allow for exam leave policy but also provide option for cadets to attend but do school work during exam season).

Well done to Cdt W who represented Warwickshire and Birmingham Wing at the Regional Cross Country championships on 14 Apr 2024, and came away with a Silver medal (and another Wing Sports Blue).  Unfortunately this year the regional date clashed with DofE, hence many of our older candidates were tied up. Huge congratulations  to 495 (Sutton Coldfield) Sqn  for fielding 5 of their cadets in the Wing team and Sqn Ldr F for helping make it happen.

1368 Sqn ran its first DofE expedition of the season last weekend. There was a mix of actual and practice candidates and we opened it out to cadets who came from two other squadrons. Despite lots of schools now taking it up, DofE remains one of 1368's key pillars. Cadets start with Initial Expedition Training on parade nights and then move into planning and completing walks and camping in the local area. When it comes to Silver we start to move outside of the local area and we still like to complete Gold expeditions in wild country with a wild camp if we can. The great thing about DofE is that it all about teamwork. The challenge boosts self confidence and is great for the sense of comradery at 1368. Well done to Cpl R, Cpl F and Cdt S who all successfully nailed their actual expedition. Also Cdt M and Cdt T who stepped up to Silver like a breeze and Cdt P who continues to exhibit excellent map reading skills.

Designed to develop leadership and management skills in young adults through a military fashion, whilst gaining an ILM Level 3 Qualification in Leadership and Management, Junior Leaders is - physically and mentally - the hardest leadership course run at national level. There are over 40,000 air cadets. Around 100 get selected for JL each year, and many drop out. Not all make it through the grueling 6 weekends and 10 day final week. It's a good achievement for a Wing to have 3 cadets who pass the national Junior Leaders (JL) course in a year. All 3 of the cadets from 1368 Sqn successfully graduated JL 24. CWO G, CWO C and FS M all from 1368 Sqn earnt the right to wear the prestigious maroon lanyard. They stuck with it during the COVID downtime and have been the leaders of our golden generation of post-COVID cadets. A fantastic achievement for them.

Well done to 1368's Cdt's L, K and F from 1368 Sqn on achieving their Bronze Radio badges. This 2-day course followed on from their previous Blue radio success. Also a chance also to visit another unit (2286 Sqn in Cov) and meet cadets from another unit.  A good demonstration of how 1368's collaboration across squadron's can enrich cadet's experiences and opportunities for higher-level badges.

Well done to 1368's FS P on successfully graduating the  Qualified Aerospace Instructor Course (QAIC)   this week to earn the right to wear the distinguished light-blue lanyard. Also achieved a best syndicate award. QAIC is another of RAFAC's national course opportunities. With a vigorous selection process across the whole corps, it consists of 7 weekends of aerospace training weekends, culminating in a graduation week with support from top UK companies. Having missed out in in previous years, it shows how perseverance and dedication really can pay off. Another amazing achievement this week for a 1368 cadet.  https://www.aerosociety.com/news/tomorrows-top-guns/

Well done to the 10 cadets who all successfully achieved the St Johns Essential First Aid course before Easter hols. We also continued with band training and leadership blue badge. First Aid is one of the core training courses all cadets are expected to do within the first 6 months of joining. We do leadership training with all new cadets within the first year. Part of the reason is that they get a badge, and 1368 cadets love badges but the real reason is that it's fun and they make friends quicker when challenged to solve a practical problem as a team.   

1368 Sqn took opportunity of the clocks change and it being school holidays to relax into a bit of fun team sports on Wednesday.  This was a break from our usual Drill/Lessons/Cyber and Leadership/Band sequence as a lot of cadets away for Easter. Reminded me of how much they like sports.