S&NI Newsletter

2012 Issue 4

Newsletter DateApr 2012

In this Issue:

1. Go Mountain Biking2. WAC at Galashiels3. What A load of Rubbish5. Gav’s Marathon Challange6. Top Guns7. CWO Lauren McNulty Retires8. 1271 Sqn DOE Awards9. A Muddy Day Out

Change in command

Flying Officer Gregory Sinclair, OfficerCommanding 107 (Aberdeen) Squadron,

left this role in April to take up a career in theRoyal Navy. He spent twelve years with theAir Cadets rising from a fresh faced cadet atthirteen to be in charge of one of the largestsquadrons in the North East Scotland Wing.We wish him well for the future and thank himfor his significant contribution to the successof the Squadron.

The new Officer Commanding is FlyingOfficer Paul Bond who has been with theSquadron for over a year.

He held this role in a previous squadron andhas brought with him a wealth of experience.Flying Officer

Bond is looking to continue the developmentof opportunities for male and female cadetsand expand the Squadron further.

Sports

Cadet Sergeant Andrew Smith received theJack Mansfield trophy which is the annualaward to a cadet in Scotland with the bestoverall sporting achievements.

(Continued on page 2)

In November 2011 the British Heart Foundation released to their affiliatedgroups details of the proposed TV advert that was going to be broadcasted for

three weeks during January 2012 - ‘Hands only CPR’, with Vinnie Jones, wherethe full two hour Heartstart Course was advertised as the gold standard. SouthEast Scotland Wing First Aid Instructor (Training) Officer, Sqn Ldr Hilda McAdamtook this as a fantastic opportunity to capture the Wings attention to providingthe skills of Basic Life Support by facilitating a Wing wide Heartstart Initiative inFeb/Mar 2012.

Just over half of the Sqnswithin the 36 Unit SouthEast Scotland Wingparticipated in the eventand over the course of amonth saw 277 ACOpersonnel trained to therequired standard. SqnLdr Hilda McAdam wasimpressed with thesupport of the SqnTrainers and theenthusiasm of the Cadetsand Cadet Force AdultVolunteers trained, but

was extremely pleased that Units not participating had either not long since rana Heartstart Course, or were concentrating on an a St John Ambulance YouthFirst Aid Cse.

Picture – 2284 (Dunblane) Sqn with their Heartstart certificates with HeartstartTrainer Plt Off Katrina Mulkerrins,

1271 (Bathgate) Squadron recentlyhosted a visit from Mr Jim Lauder,

Regional Health and Safety Officer forScotland and Northern Ireland Region.

During his visit he carried outinspections on the squadron, health andsafety records before witnessing a fireevacuation drill.

Mr Lauder in recognition of our practicespresented the squadron the highestpossible achievement, the Gold Awardrating, commending staff and cadets ontheir positive and pro-active attitude toHealth and Safety.

Well done.

Heart Savers!

Gold Health & Safety Award

Latest News from 107

S&NI Regional NewsPage 2

Three Cadets from 2466 (Loanhead) Squadron, have joineda unique club by completing four Adventure Training

competency certificates in four different disciplines.

Cpl Sawicki,Cdt Cloustonand CdtMcintoshcompleted theScottishCycling, GoMountain BikeLevel 1adding to theircollection ofcertificatesalso holdingthe following :-

National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme Level 2

Bronze National Navigation Award Scheme

British Canoe Union Paddlesport Start

South East Scotland Wing Training Centre was used for thedelivery of the Go Mountain Bike Level 1 where cadets learntand practiced skills before going on a 10 mile Cycle to Balernoin Edinburgh. During the cycle they stopped in Currie at thedismantled railway where Dougal Haston (First British ascent ofMount Everest) practiced his bouldering skills.

Deputy Officer Commanding, South East Scotland Wing waspresent to hand over the certificates to the cadets.

The South East Scotland Wing Training Centre will see twentycadets next weekend attend the Go Mountain Bike Level 1 fromacross the Wing.

Taking advantage of the latenights cadets from 297

(North Berwick) DetachedFlight took part in abseiling ofthe 25 Metre crag on BerwickLaw at the seaside town ofNorth Berwick in East LothianThis is just one of six areasthat have been block landcleared for the Air Cadets toundertake climbing activities inSouth East Scotland.

Sixteen cadets from South East Scotland Wing completedthe Scottish Cycling Go Mountain Bike Level 1 at the South

East Scotland Wing Training Centre. Learning skills on how toweight the bike on different terrain and braking were taught.Cadets then undertook an obstacle course and 10 mile crosscountry trek to complete the award.

Cadets were from 38F, 869, 1145, 1739, 2180 and 2463Squadrons.

The Wing First Aid Officer, Deputy Officer Commanding SouthEast Scotland Wing delivered the training and were supportedby Sgt L Paton, 2466 (Loanhead) Squadron.

Future Wing Adventure Training Officer Maybe ? Berwick Law – Abseiling

Go Mountain Bike Level 1

The annual NE ScotlandWing sports competition isapproaching and 107Squadron hope to continuetheir good results at thisevent.

Rampaging Chariots

Our current project eveningsare concentrating on theconstruction of two radiocontrolled robots which wewill enter against other youthgroups at the ScottishRobotic Games in June.These robots are built fromidentical kits and give thecadets experience in woodand metal working, radio andelectrical engineering skills,which then compete inFootball, Sumo, AssaultCourse and Tug-of-Warevents.

(Continued from page 1)

S&NI Regional NewsPage 3

You have probably neverheard of a WAC but did

you know that situated lessthan one hour south ofEdinburgh in the Borders townof Galashiels is the WAC?

So what exactly is the WAC?Well it might be the answer tothe increasing difficulties weface in providing camp typeactivities for more than a fewcadets from one Squadron at atime

The WAC is the Wing ActivityCentre and it’s the perfect basefor a wide range of activitiesranging from an HQ forexpeditions to sports trainingweekends and first aid coursesto leadership courses.

The WAC is situated on theupper floor of the building thathouses 2180 (Galashiels)Squadron and is a fewminutes’ walk from the towncentre, major shopping centresand leisure facilities such as

swimming pool, cinema andsports fields. The Centreboasts up to date sleepingaccommodation and its ownhigh standard kitchen. There isadequate parking and manyother facilities can be madeavailable on request.

The Southern Upland and StCuthbert’s Way passesthrough Galashiels and theFour Abbeys Cycle Routepasses close by. Canoeingand kayaking can be done onthe Tweed in Galashiels and at

Yair which is less than a 30minute drive and an hour awayis the St Mary’s Loch SailingCentre. Glentress and itsmountain biking courses areless that 45 minutes away.Much of the surrounding areais approved for ACO activities.

A 25 metre indoor small borerange with 4 firing points islocated at the TA Centre whichis a mere 5 minute walk fromthe walk and arrangementscan be made to book thefacility for marksmanshiptraining. Qualified range staffand the necessary equipmentcan be arranged.

Sports facilities in the area arefirst class less than a fiveminute drive away isNetherdale the home ofGalashiels RFC and GalaFairydean FC. Fairydean nowboast a FIFA/IRB standard fullsize 3g and a smaller 5-a-sidepitch which is available forhire. It can accommodate

football rugby and hockey.Beside that are many acres ofback pitches if you still hankerafter real grass. The town alsohas a swimming pool suitablefor RAF Swimming proficiencytraining

All rooms have bunk beds,lockers showers and toilets.There is a large diningroom/classroom and a walk inwet shower room which catersfor individuals with a disability.There is adequate parkingoutside the building and

nearby. Sleepingaccommodation canaccommodate 24 Cadets intwo rooms and 8 staff in tworooms.

The facility is available to bookthroughout the year and at themoment is free of charge. Afully equipped kitchen isavailable to use.

The great Abbeys of Melrose,Jedburgh Dryburgh are closeby as is the home of Sir WalterScott at Abbotsford.

Visiting Squadrons would beresponsible for making all oftheir own arrangementsrelating to sourcing andbooking the various facilitiesavailble in the area that theymight wish to use and disposalof waste.

WAC Bookings can be madevia OC 2180 who will pass onrequests to the WAC manager.

2180 Sq can make availabletheir premises which includeHF/VHF Radio equipment,internet connection, flight sim,aviation library, resuscitationmannequins, classrooms andleadership exerciseequipment.

WAC Accommodation

Room 1 – 14 Bunks

Room 2 – 10 Bunks

Room 3 – 6 Bunks

Room 4 – 2 Bunks

Kitchen – fully equipped

Showers and Toilets in allrooms

Secure Locker for each bedspace

Vacuum cleaners – use ofcompulsory!

There are no clothes washingfacilities

Vehicle parking

WAC - Galashiels

SNI Senior Hockey TeamNo matter the result, they

were absolutely greatsports! As you can see thisyoung man says it all.

S&NI Regional NewsPage 4

Sunday, 1st of April saw 18 Cadets and 5 staff from 2535(Livingston) Squadron take part in the inaugural event of

the West Lothian's Spring Clean-up Campaign of 2012. Theytook part in litter picking duties around the Civic Centrecollecting over 15 bags of rubbish as well as a discardedbicycle, assorted bottles and broken glass and half a car tyre!West Lothian Environmental Warden Michael Grady whoorganised the event was extremely grateful for the Squadron’sparticipation yet again (2535 have taken part for the past fewyears) and had high praise for their hard work and professionalattitude to what many consider a thankless task.

Squadron Commander Flt Lt Mel Fairley said “We are reallypleased to be able to help out the Council as they are greatsupporters of the Squadron. Taking part in a community eventlike this is something that is easy to do and the satisfactions ofknowing you have made a difference, albeit a small one, issomething our cadets should be proud of”.

More information on the West Lothian Spring Clean-up, part ofthe Keep Scotland Beautiful spring clean which runs from 1April to 31 May can be found on the West Lothian website atthe following address - http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/1523/1330/SpringClean

On the 21st of April 2012, 26 cadets and 12 Staff (and 1dog!) from 2535(Livingston), 62 (2nd Glasgow), 439

(Linlithgow) and 2463 (Currie & Balerno) Squadrons attendeda basic Fieldskills Training Day (lead by 2535) at the Dreghorntraining area on the Pentland Hills, near Edinbrugh.

Building on the theory lessons recently delivered in theclassroom, practical lessons on bivouac construction, personalhygiene in the field, ration pack cooking, hand signals andmovements and formations as well as some radio procedureswere the order of the day.

A long day starting at 0730 and finishing at 2200 culminatedwith a 3 hour navigation and multi point OP exercise using amulti-channel radio net! The teams were to gather intelligencefrom their observations, pass this to a central control pointwhich would give them details of a location for a final “mission”to recover some essential “equipment” – in the form ofchocolate bars!

As usual the weather was not great but that did not affect thehard work and determination of both the cadets and the staff tomake this a successful day. Gorse bushes and mud wereabound and a few midges all tried to spoil their endeavours butwith varying degrees of success all mission objectives wereachieved – with a greater or lesser extend of mud!

For many this was their first taste of a practical fieldskillsactivity and EVERYONE is keen to do more. Roll on Augustwhen 2535 will again be visiting Otterburn DTE for anotherLupus deployment where they will again be joined by 62, 439,and 2463 Squadrons for an even bigger and better fieldskillsadventure!

What a load of rubbish!

RAF Leuchars’ own 6 Squadron Typhoons in front of Hawkaircraft from 100 Squadron and French Alphajets from 2/2

Cote d'Or Squadron. These aircraft have been operating outof RAF Leuchars all this week as part of Europe's largesttactically-focused military exercise - Joint Warrior. The 100Squadron aircrews from RAF Leeming have been joining withtheir French counterparts based in Dijon to provide 'enemyforces' on the exercise.

EXERCISE JOINT WARRIOR

S&NI Regional NewsPage 5

Four cadets and twomembers of staff from 2519

(Strathmore) Squadron had asuccessful weeks easter campwith 20 other cadets and sixstaff drawn from 1145(Dunfermline), 571 ( Cupar),1192 ( Kirkcaldy), 2435 ( St.Andrews) 2284 ( City ofDunblane), 2311 ( Glenrothes),1370 ( Leven) , 775 (Burntisland) and 859 (DalgetyBay) Squadrons at Royal AirForce Linton-on-Ouse inYorkshire

The Strathmore Cadets wereAshton Dobie, Rea Bloice,Aidan Preston and GeorgeSimpson and the staff wereFlight Lieutenants Roy Kempand Michael Kay. Thephotograph was taken in frontof the gate guardian a TucanoT1 .

The cadets arrived at R.A. F.Linton-on-Ouse on theSaturday afternoon and afterbeing allocated theiraccommodation and flights thecadets were given a securitybrief from a member of thePolice Flight followed by ahealth and safety brief by amember of the Fire Sectionand were also introduced to allthe camp staff members. Aftertheir evening meal the cadetscarried out a familiarisationexercise in their flights to learntheir way round the station.

On Sunday the cadets startedtheir camp with a visit to EdenCamp, The only Modern WW2History Theme Museum of itstype in the World which coverssix acres.

Sixteen cadets went flying atRAF Church Fenton in theGrob Tutor T1, cadets ReaBloice, Aidan Preston andGeorge Simpson were thethree cadets from 2519(Strathmore) Squadron whoflew.

Four cadets were lucky toallocated a gliding flight in theVigilant which is a selfpropelled glider that is basedat RAF Linton-on-Ouse.

During the rest of the week thecadets had numerous sectionvisits to the Squadrons andUnits which are based atLinton-on-Ouse, such as theFire Section, SurvivalEquipment Section, 72Squadron which fly the Tucanoand Air Traffic Control.

They also undertook trainingfor the Mk 8 .22 rifle or the5.65. mm Cadet L 98 rifle andfiring of the rifles on thebarrack range during theircamp.

They all undertook LeadershipExercises at Adrenalin, awooded area in Yorkshirewhere they carried out

exercises on two of the highropes areas followed by all thecadets undertaking the assaultcourse which was used for theKrypton Factor a number ofyears ago.

They also had an afternoon atElvington Air Museum wherethey saw many of the aircraftthat the Royal Air Force flew inthe past, and also a visit to theNational Railway Museum inYork followed by them allexploring York such as YorkMinster, the Shambles andsome of the shops.

On Friday evening the cadetsstarted their packing ready forreturning home before thepresentation of various prizesand awards gained during theweek followed by a fun night.

The cadets returned home thefollowing Saturday, all tired buthaving had a very enjoyableweek and having made newfriends from other squadrons.

photo shows cadets and stafffrom 2519 (Strathmore)Squadron at Linton: (L-R) FltLt Michael Kay, Cadet AidanPreston, Cadet Rea Bloice,Cadet Ashton Dobie, CadetGeorge Simpson and Flt LtRoy Kemp,

OC 2435 (St Andrews)Sqn, Flt Lt Gavin

McDonnell completed theLondon Marathon on Sun 22nd

April - Well Done on behalf ofeveryone in the Region.

26 Miles and he can stillsmile…. What a hero!

2519 Easter Camp

Cadets at Gareloch CampFull Story on Page 7

GAV’S MARTHONCHALLANGE

DID ANYONE ELSETAKE PART IN THELONDON EVENT?

IF SO- SEND US YOURSTORY !!

S&NI Regional NewsPage 6

Station personnel from RAFLeuchars joined forces

with Cadet Force AdultVolunteers (CFAVs) from WestScotland Wing Air TrainingCorps recently, to undertake aClay Pigeon ShootingAssociation (CPSA) SafetyOfficer qualification.

The course was held at RAFLeuchars over the weekend23rd - 25th of March and thiscivilian qualification will allowthe holders to conduct a claytarget range. The nineparticipants were trained andtested in their shotgunhandling skills as well as in allaspects of range safety in thesport.

For the RAF Leucharspersonnel it means that theywill now be able to run theirown range on the base anddevelop interest in the sportfurther amongst stationpersonnel. This in turn willhave the benefit that cadets oncamp at the station willhopefully also be able toaccess the sport. The ATCinstructors who successfullypassed the course will now be

able to assist in training the aircadets for the annual Tri-service Clay TargetCompetition to be held in June,in which West Scotland Winghave been the ATC championsfor the past 5 years.

The course was delivered byFlt Lt Allan J White and Flt Lt

Derek McIlroy from1740 (Clydebank)Squadron who bothrecently completedtheir training andqualifications todeliver this coursethrough the ArmyRifle Association(ARA) and theCPSA. They are thefirst ATC personnelin the country to be

qualified in delivering thiscourse. Also assisting themduring the course was Flt LtMarise Hawthorne who is alsoa qualified Safety Officer. Flt LtWhite said, "Over the years,myself and other ATCinstructors have benefitedfrom training by the RAF, itwas great to be able to returnthe favour by training them!"

The course photograph(below) shows the Instructorsand candidates in front of a 6

Squadron Typhoon. (Left toright - Flt Lt McIlroy, WO Salter,Flt Lt MacMillan, Flt LtHawthorne, FS Donnelly, SACGraham, Flt Lt Pollock, CIForsyth, CI Black, Sqn LdrSinclair, Flt Lt Gibson, Flt LtWhite)

It is planned that future courseswill be delivered at locationsthroughout the country. Anyoneinterested in future coursesshould contact Flt Lt White atdevelop.wscot@aircadets.org.

Gliding is one of the bestactivities you can do as

an air cadet. It is right upthere with flying, shootingand camps.

The day started very early,meeting at the squadron at0600 hrs. Once all arrived,we got a small brief from thestaff before beingtransported to the glidingsquadrons.

When we arrived at theGliding Squadron, we weregiven a brief, shown thesafety videos and looked atthe weather reports. Theweather is a big player ingliding, if it is sunny thenyou can be up in the air foranything from 20 minutes to45 minutes. The firstpractical lesson of the day

Top Guns

showed us how to use the parachute. We then had todemonstrate to the instructors that we had listened,understood and could put on, use or remove it.

The day went very fast. We were taken onto the airfield andprepared for gliding, including an introduction to the glider andhow to get in and out without kicking the console andinstruments. We were weighed to identify if any ballast wasneeded and fitted with a parachute.

Then, I got in as instructed. The rest of the cadets helpedprepare the glider for take-off, as I did for them. I was verynervous at first but soon relaxed and enjoyed it. The instructorcompleted the launch preparation and soon we were beingwinched into the air! The instructor talked me through thecontrols and asked me to 'follow him through', explaining whathe was doing and the effect it had on the glider. I was put incomplete control ofthe glider, following instructions.

When everyone had finished, we took the aircraft back to thehanger to wash it down and prepare for the next day. It wasamazing. I'd like to get more experience to enable me to goforward for my gliding scholarship.

Cadet Corporal DavidFleming, 1271

Gliding at662 (Arbroath)

S&NI Regional NewsPage 7

Cadet Warrant Officer(CWO) Lauren McNulty

from Kilmarnock waspresented with a leaving giftafter 7 years as a cadet with

327 (Kilmarnock) Squadron.

Newest cadet Darren Shieldspresented CWO McNulty withan aeroplane charm and Flt LtJamie C P Downie, OfficerCommanding 327 Squadronpresented Lauren with abouquet of flowers.

Lauren, a former pupil of StJoseph's Academy, joined thecadets in 2005 when she was13 and achieved the highestrank of Cadet Warrant Officer.She is the first female to reachthe rank of CWO in theSquadron for over 20 years.

During her 7 years, Laurengained a number of awards,qualifications and training andhas taken part in a wide rangeof activities:

Awards

Bronze & Silver Duke ofEdinburgh Award

Bronze National NavigationAward

Community Sports LeaderAward

Millennium Volunteer 200hrsAward for Excellence

Scotland & Northern IrelandBest Drill ParadeCommander

Wing Blue for Hockey

Qualifications

Young Life Saver Plus FirstAid

BTEC Certificate in AviationStudies

BTEC Diploma in PublicServices

Courses

Leadership for Life - MoralLeadership Course at Stirling

Junior Non CommissionedOfficer Training Course

Instructor Cadet TrainingCourse at Rosyth

Activities

Gliding at Syerston near RAFCranwell

Flying at Glasgow

Clay target shooting atCambuslang

Kayaking, canoeing and raftbuilding at Llandbedr, Wales

Lauren is in her final year of anengineering apprenticeshipwith Rolls Royce at InchinnanLauren has now become acivilian adult member of staffwith the Squadron and hasapplied to become auniformed member of staff.

From the 13th – 15th ofApril, 44 cadets and 10

staff from three localsquadrons, 449(Lanark)squadron, 498(Wishaw)squadron & 2166(Hamilton)squadron, attendedGarelochhead Training Campnear Helensburgh for aweekend of Field Craft.

The weekend camp wasorganised by FlightLieutenant Sutherland,Commanding Officer of 449(Lanark) squadron and hisstaff, who invited cadets andstaff from 498 sqn and 2166sqn to join them.

After arriving on the Fridayevening the cadets took partin ice breakers where they allgot to know each other andhad fun doing so. For severalcadets this was their firstcamp, and they were quiteexcited meeting cadets andstaff from other squadronsand were looking forward tostarting the activities on thesaturday.

The majority of saturday wasspent out on the ground,

Cadet Warrant Officer retires after 7 years service

teaching the cadets Patrolling, Bush craft & Bivvies,Camouflage & Concealment and Radio Communication Skills.During the evening all the skills learnt throughout the day wereput into practice during a short night exercise. The exerciseconsisted of each flight navigating their way to checkpointswhile avoiding being spotted and having to rememberpasswords to help get them from A to B.

The Sunday consisted of 2 classes in the morning, cooking inthe field and battlefield first aid, before packing up and headingback home after lunch.

All of the cadets enjoyed the weekend and can’t wait to goagain. With plans for another weekend already being discussed

there are hopesit won’t be toolong until thecadets returnfor anotherenjoyableweekend laterin the year.

Cadets Learn NewSkills at Garelochhead

CONGRATULATION LAUREN

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

We will try and publish at least a quarterly newsletter, (more frequent if we have enough news!). Cadetreporters from all wings welcome.

You can also submit news and photos to the following e-mail address media.sni@aircadets.org.

E-Mail - Text in either Word document or plain text files. Photo’s, preferably jpg or png formats (files nogreater than 2.5 Mb in Size please) and use E-Mail heading “Regional Newsletter Article” so that it isobvious as to the content.

In between issues of the Regional Newsletter, why not keep up to date by logging on to the Regional website, http://www.aircadets-sni.org.uk

Indeed we have a number of people who can submit news items directly onto the Regional Website (bothstaff and cadets). If you are involved in your squadron or Wing in newsletter creation or media commsand would like to become a cadet reporter for your wing, please get your squadron commander to dropan e-mail to media.sni@aircadets.org with your relevant details.

Note from the Editor

S&NI Regional NewsPage 8

Recently twelve cadets from1271 (Bathgate) Squadron

have achieved their bronzeDuke of Edinburgh Award.Congratulations go to Cdt JohnFrame, Cdt Jamie Hamilton,Cdt Daniel Hart, Cdt RobbieLang, Cdt Kyle McComb, CdtKaitlin McGarrell, Cdt SgtCalum McMath, Cdt Cpl EmmaMcMath, Cdt Ellie Moffat, CdtBlair Redmond, Cdt MatthewReilly, Cdt Cpl Craig Smith.(pictured below)

How each cadetcompleted thisvaried … theDuke ofEdinburghschemecomprises foursections:volunteering,physical, skilland expedition.Entrants at bronze require tocomplete three months activityfor three sections and sixmonths activity for one section,as they choose. Approvedactivities included helping outat school, in the local charityshop or in the community forvolunteering.

Skill included cadet exams orlearning to play a musicalinstrument. Physical outwithschool was difficult, so thesquadron arranged to go to thelocal sports centre to take partin a weekly fitness programmefor 12 weeks … Zumba, Spinand Circuits, no less!Expedition took lots ofpreparation (campcraft,cooking, map reading) at thesquadron before venturingoutdoors. A practice took place

first before the actualexpedition at ChatelheraultCountry Park.

A further two cadets have nowcompleted their bronze andawait their Award.

Silver preparation is nowunderway …

1271 (Bathgate) Duke of Edinburgh AwardsCadets and staff from 327 (Kilmarnock) Squadron recently

enjoyed a visit to Kilmarnock Community Fire Station. Itwas an exciting night as one of the tenders was called outwhile the cadets were at the Fire Station.

The firemen showed the cadets around the station andexplained all of the equipment they use and the type ofrescues they can be involved in.

The cadets got to climb inside the training tower and saw theareas that the fireman simulate trying to se about in a smokefilled house and the fireman’s pole as well as their gym wherethey keep fit.

The cadets asked plenty of questions and thoroughly enjoyedtheir visit.

Air Cadets visit Strathclyde Fire and Rescue