241 (Wanstead & Woodford) Squadron ATC

Over the course of three Saturdays cadets from the Squadron have been brushing up on their navigation skills in preperation for their leading Cadet exams. The practical training is designed to reinforce and emphasie the previous classroom training in this essential skill and is the foundation of all subsequent map reading at Crowborough and the Wild Country areas of the UK that the cadets will experience over the next year. The training taught the cadets how to use a compass, and how to navigate to features having worked out the Distance/Speed/Time calculation and using various techniques such as pacing and handrailing to arrive on time on target!. The weather was a mixture of cold and frosty morings, rain, and sun, so fairly typical british weather!

The photos shows the cadets being shown how to find North with the aid of a stick and the sun and Cdts Chavner and Sambi considering their position iwitht he rest of the group n the middle of the forest where a compass is vital! 

The Sqn held its annual L98 Inter Flight Shoot between the 3 main Flights  on Sunday 21 February. Fired at Pirbright Ranges the initial heavy rain fortuitiously ceased before shooting commenced and allowed a pleasant shoot. Each Flight provided 6 shooters and 4 cadets to man the targets in the Butts. In total, 4 separate practises were fired, a deliberate shoot at 300m, a rapid shootat 200m, a snap shoot at 200m and a Fire with Movement Shoot from 300m to 200m  to 100m.

Using the new L98A2 rifle the shoot ran smoothly and enabled cadets to concentrate on the principles of marksmanship at the various distances. During the day OC London Wing, Wg Cdr Sylvia Silver visited and spoke to the cadets as they waited to fire. The shoot was won by 2 Flt for the second year running, beating 1 Flt and 3 Flt, with a crushing score of 458 to the second place 278. The photos show thwe cadets on the range and the victorious 2 Flt Team with their butt party.

Cdt FS Alex Dutch was one of a very select group of cadets who kicked off a series of events, which will take place this year, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the launch of the cadet movement, with a visit to Her Majesty The Queen yesterday, at a special reception at Buckingham Palace together with His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh . Cadet150 will see 150 events take place around the UK during 2010 which have been planned to reflect the spirit of fun, excitement, adventure and community service which is at the heart of the cadet movement.As well as visiting the Queen, the 26 cadets also travelled to Downing Street to meet Minister for Young Citizens and Youth Engagement, Dawn Butler, and Under Secretary of State for Defence, Kevan Jones. They also visited the Ministry of Defence to meet senior Service personnel.

The year of anniversary events honours the role the Cadet Forces play in assisting young people towards responsible adulthood through learning new skills and developing self-confidence, and celebrates the contribution the young people themselves make to their local communities.In the evening the cadets enjoyed a reception at Lancaster House hosted by the Ulysses Trust and the Council of the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association. The Ulysses Trust exists to support challenging expeditions by cadets and reservists, and adventurer, explorer and world record holder Sir Ranulph Fiennes attended the event in support of the Cadet150 expedition to Lesotho later this year.

The Sqn Commander, Sqn Ldr Jerry Godden said "This is a signal honour for both Alex and the Squadron for her to be chosen as one of just 7 ATC Cadet Ambassadors from over 36,000 cadets, and reflects on what she has achieved in the Squadron in her time with us. I am proud to be responsible for such an excellent example of British youth". Amongst numerous achivements Alex has completed a Flying Scholarship, Gliding Scholarship, Staff Cadet qualification, Cadet 100 for shooting, a Gold Duke of Edinburghs Award, BTECs in both Public Service and Aviation Studies, a camp in the Falkland Islands, Youth First Aid, Radio Operators Certificate, Wing and Region Blues for Sports, and is halfway through the challenging Junior Leaders leadership course. She has also just be appointed as the Lord Lieutenants Cadet for London and selected for an International Air Cadet Exchange to Israel in the summer. The photos show Alex (3rd from right) chatting with HM The Queens and with the other cadet Ambassadors at Downing Street (first row kneeling with the 0 of the 150!)

On the weekend of 05-06 Feb 10, Junior NCOs and NCO candidates attended the annual 241 NCO Cadre at Crowborough in East Sussex, organised an run by Fg Off Holly Brogden-Knight. The cadre is designed to teach leadership and personal administration skills to the cadets in order to help prepare them for life as a Non Commissioned Officer on the Squadron. It is also officially recognised as a leadership Course by the Cadet Vocational Qualification Office (CVQO), who administer the BTEC 1st Diploma in Public Service (a vocational award worth 4 GCSEs) for all 3 cadet services, and is believed to be the only such Sqn level course accredited to the CVQO Syllabus.

The first half of the weekend was based at the Sqn due to accomodation shortages at the camp, with the cadets were taught what was expected of them as the senior member of a Section, how to give and instruct drill and how to manage a section of younger cadets. Under the watchful eye of Sgt Michelle Cheah, each cadet was assessed in the above skills. After lunch on Saturday the cadets had a theory lesson on leadership, planning skills, problem solving and how to deliver an effective briefing. This was promptly followed by a planning exercise, which the cadets had to work on individually before coming together as a team to deliver their solutions to the directing staff. Some of the cadets found this element particularly taxing.

Soon after the cadets travelled to the training area. The second phase of the course was to involve practical leadership training with each of the cadets taking their turn in command. Over the final 24 hours, each cadet was given a complex task to complete set out over large distances and varying terrain, which involved them planning a solution, briefing their section and then executing their idea. The only break was an overnight rest, camping out on the training area. The final element of the exercise involved a timed march back to camp where the cadets had to work together as a team in order to complete the challenge. Hard work and effort was put in by all and there were high standards throughout the weekend. The pictures shows cadets attempting to cross a bridge constructed by the team, and awaiting a briefing on a cold and wet night.