Well done to the 1368 crew who did the Napton Horse Show community duty. Always a great day, esp. the loading up at the end. Another chance to practice radio (and search) procedures. 

With blue badge leadership finished and blue badge band happening in parallel for our older cadets, our junior intake undertook practical sessions on safe use of camping stoves last week. Great session with lots of enthusiasm from cadets. This is all part of getting ready for expeditions now that summer is here (well, it's sometimes here but we do have longer daylight hours!). Aspects of safer stove use include but are not limited to: Don’t leave a lit stove. Get water/food to stove before lighting. Don’t light into a confined space (carbon monoxide poising). Don’t light near a tent (fire risk). Never inside a tent. Make sure stove is stable with weight before lighting. If using screw on top, base needs a stabilizer. Consider moving to flat/hardcore surface. Watch out for stove tip, ensure you can exit fast to avoid scold. Don’t overfill pot, when it boils it may bubble over and make it difficult to turn down. Have cool water to hand for immediate burn mitigation. 20 mins lukewarm ...

Well done to the 4 cadets from 1368 Sqn that attended the Wing Method-of-Instruction (MOI) training day on Sat 11 May 2024; the first part of earning the yellow Instructor cadet lanyard. The cadets, who had all previously done the Presentation Skills course, took part in interactive, student centred learning - using activities that can be applied on squadron to deliver effective instruction to cadets across a range of media and resources. The cadets and staff enjoyed the discussions, questions and answers presented across the day. Next up is they need to prepare a lesson plan for delivery on the squadron. After successfully delivering, we then get a member of the Wing training team to come in and assess them for real. Normally we only get 2 places for this, so great to get the 2 scratch places.

Friday was a special day for 4 of our cadets who got to go to Buckingham Palace and meet the new Duke of Edinburgh. Billy Monger (the racing driver) was there and gave a talk. Great to share their experience. 2 more from the 2022 expedition will get their chance next time, hopefully (1 already in, 1 leaver just finishing off). Gold ain't easy but it is worth it. Squadron tries to get all our NCOs to enrol on Gold Award as soon as their 16+ as, if they wish, they can then count many of the activities they do on Sqn towards sections. We try and get expeditions done before they're 18 in in year 13 if we can. In April 2024, the Squadron was awarded the trophy as the best Sqn in the Wing for delivery of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, partly helped by having 5 cadets who achieved their Gold Award in last year. It's a continuous process though, we are currently gearing up to get our newbies ready for their first expeditions now that the summer is here (briefly).

2024 saw 1368 Sqn get its first ever Squadron marching band drums and bell lyres, thanks to a grant from the Warwick District Council, and we've been putting them to good use. Our blue badge band training programme is in full swing every week, helped by a visit from the new Wing band master a couple of weeks ago.  Cadets may be awarded musician badges according to the instrument they play. The four types of badge (trumpeter, drummer, piper, and instrumentalist (lyre) are available in blue, bronze, silver or gold. We only have lyre and drums currently. Our goal this year is for 1368 to be able to compete in the Wing band competition for the first time ever. There's still some way to go, we need to add a drum major, but we're now at the point where we have a skills foundation in place and more importantly, the cadets are really enjoying it and focused on improving. Blue badges are awarded solely on the basis of musical ability. The following is what Drum Badge - Percussionist...

Last Wednesday saw 1368's CWO C receive his investiture in the role of Lord Lieutenant's Cadet for Warwickshire 2024/25, a role that will see him as one of 3 cadets in the county (Sea, Army, Air) supporting him in his Civic Duties with the community and charity. The evening was supported by 4 very smartly dressed 1368 Sqn cadets in the honour guard. Each year, a cadet for each of the services the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, the Army Cadets, and the Sea Cadet's nominate a cadet for the honour of supporting the Lord Lieutenant. They get a unique experience to support his charity work and meet inspiring and possibly famous people. The role goes to the best cadets in the county, hence it's a huge honour for 1368 (Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa) to have one of it's NCOs take up the mantle. 

This year 1368 has been making a special effort to engage it's mid-level cadets in Cyber and we've now pushed this training down to our younger intake. Much of this is thanks to FS P who's interest in delivery was enhanced during his recent Qualified Aerospace Instructor Course (QAIC) he graduated from in April this year. On the Wing Commander's Visit to the Sqn last month, so many cadets answered her "What Badge do you want next?" question, as Bronze Cyber! The focus on skills for the future and how to be safe online are important for everyone. They also show how the air cadets is modernising and aligning it's activities to align to make the Air Cadets organisation relevant to the RAF, investing training in the ASTRA-aligned subjects - The Campaign to build the Next Generation Royal Air Force. Of course, these skills are also useful and relevant in life and as jobs skills.

End of April saw the beginning of 1368 Squadron's athletics training period, something it traditionally does in the run up to the Wing athletics competition. This is also a period of exams for some of our older ones, hence in line with RAFAC policy we shift away from academic subjects. It also helps cadet's who would otherwise struggle to achieve DofE and Pre-DofE Physical sections. Great enthusiasm shown by cadets in the first couple of sessions who got off to a flying start.  Also, some important life skills learnt by junior cadets, such as how to do the Hokey Cokey, which the CWO justified as a professionally executed cool down, includes jogging on the spot, bending knees and stretching arms to name a few but seems to have "become a thing" since its first appearance. The Squadron won the Wing athletics competition for the last two years, hence a lot on the line but nice to see how they spur each other on, regardless of ability. 

Well done to CWO C and CWO G on passing Mountain Training's Camping Leader course on separate days, 20-21 Apr 2024. We can now have an even better "safe and enjoyable overnight experience". When combined with Lowland Leader Award (LLA) this is a minimum National Governing Body (NGB) qual. to run camps such as DofE Bronze in local area. Very handy to have. More quals for staff = more cadets doing more activities. https://www.mountain-training.org/qualifications/walking/camping-leader