Well xone to all those who helped with bag Packing at sainsburys on Saturday. We raised £602.00 the best result to date!
Sergeants Calum Roberton and Chris Symonds were promoted to the rank of Adult Flight Sergeant on the Squadron on Fri 20 Dec 13. Both have served four years as Sergeants and have put in a lot of hard work to reach the rank of Adult Flight Sergeant.
In order to qualify for promotion, in addition to their normal Squadron duties, staff must attend a number of different courses, attend Annual Camps at RAF stations, attend a greens camp, help organise activities at Wing level as well as obtaining a qualification within the ATC such as a Basic Expedition Leaders Award or Shooting qualification.
Congratulations to FS Roberton and FS Symonds.
M BERRY
OIC
As many of you will be aware the Squadron will be bag packing at Sainsbury’s in Ferndown tomorrow on 21 Dec 13.
Cadets will be assigned shifts tonight. You are welcome to do two shifts if you wish.
Dress ins Working Blues or CS95/MTP if you don’t have these.
Timings 0830 -1130 Shift 1 1100 – 1400 Shift 2. Total overall timings 0830 – 1400.
M Berry
OIC
Congratulations to CI Wade-Arnold who successfully passed his Wing Selection Board on Sunday 08 December 2013. Sgt Wade-Arnold will be going into uniform once the relevant paperwork is received from HQ Air Cadets and has a week long course at RAF Cranwell to look forward to in the New Year.
M Berry
OIC
On Monday 16 Dec 2013 cadets and staff from the Squadron enjoyed the Christmas Exercise. This is a long established tradition on the Squadron and always something to look forward to at the end of the ATC year.
The evening began with an inspection with cadets getting points for the way in which they had increased their usual camouflage by the addition of Christmas decorations. There were many variations including flashing noses and antlers. This was followed by a briefing to the cadets of the evenings activities.
The scenario was that Santa had crashed his sleigh and had been injured. The cadets had to locate Santa by a variety of means including meeting secret agents, crossing through borders with goblin guards and singing Christmas Carols to repel enemy forces.
Although it was a wet evening all the cadets thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the secret stores of sweets that were hidden around the area for them to find (and of course eat) during the exercise.
The Squadron will be stood down over the Christmas period. Last parade night will be Friday 20 Dec 13 (Christmas Party, dress civvies). We return on Monday 06 Jan 14. Wishing all cadets, staff and their families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy the Christmas break and see you refreshed and raring to go in January 2014.
M BERRY
OIC
Please see the Christmas Message below from the Comdt:
“This time last year I wrote my first Christmas message to the ACO when
I had only been in post a few months. This time, I have been in command
for the entire year so I know even more about the amazing things cadets,
volunteers and staff have achieved.
It has been an incredibly busy year and there have been some significant
highs as well as a few very sad lows. I take this moment to remember
members of the ACO who lost their lives this year and to say that our
thoughts and prayers continue to be with their loved ones. We will
remember them.
Turning to more positive memories of 2013, I could write pages and pages
about the many achievements our cadets have enjoyed, supported as always
by the incredible team of adult volunteers and permanent staff who make
the cadet experience possible. If I named some events and not others, I
would be bound to upset someone so, instead, I will simply say that I am
incredibly grateful to everyone who has worked so hard this year to
ensure that our cadets continue to be seen as world class young people
who are an inspiration to others. Our volunteers, too, are the envy of
many other voluntary organisations and I pay tribute to their talent and
their dedication – we simply could not exist without them.
On the strategic front, we have made some real progress and I am looking
forward to taking forward some big projects in 2014, all aimed at
enhancing the cadet and volunteer experience, as well as supporting our
small team of permanent staff as best we can. The establishment of our
first ever Duty Holder Gliding and the rebirth of No 2 FTS as the home
for all cadet gliding activity is a very exciting development and we
will keep you updated as plans evolve.
Father Christmas has come early this year and, whilst I can’t go into
details here, I can advise that we have some significant donations from
the RAF Charitable Trust and the RAF Waddington Air Show which we intend
to invest in supporting the delivery of cadet gliding and flying. The
VGSs will see some some significant investment and I hope to announce
details in the New Year.
I, for one, am looking forward to some family time over the Christmas
and New Year period and I hope that many of you will find time to relax
and enjoy the festive season. It goes without saying that I am
thoroughly enjoying my role as your Comdt and I look forward to another
full and exciting year of cadet activity and achievement. I will try to
visit as many of you as possible but if we don’t get to meet in person,
you can always connect via social media and let me know what you are
doing out there in cadet land.
I wish every member of the Air Cadet Organisation all you would wish for
yourselves and your loved ones at Christmas and in 2014.”
On Sat 26 Oct 13 cadets and staff assisted the Poppy Appeal in raising funds outside Sainsburys in Ferndown. Between you you raised an amazing £961.86. I have received the following message from the Poppy Appeal:
‘Thank you very much for helping with our Appeal. £961.86 was collected by you. Without your help we would be unable to continue our vital welfare and benefit work.’
Guys congratulations on your outstanding effort you are a credit to the Squadron.
M Berry
OIC
Congratulations to cadets from Ferndown Squadron who have successfully passed their SNCO Assessment. The following students from Ferndown Squadron successfully passed the Assessment Day:
The Assessment Day was held at RAF Boscombe Down. Prior to the Assessment the cadets had received a days training and had to prepare a presentation for the day itself.
The cadets arrived at 0830 for an initial briefing. This was followed by a General Service Knowledge (GSK) Test . There then followed a comprehensive uniform inspection. The course demands high standards of uniform from the students.
After the inspection the cadets carried out their presentations. Each cadet had a subject from the Junior NCO COurse to present as a lesson. They had powerpoint slides available as well as being able to use other methods to teach the class. Instructors were looking for a well structured and interesting lesson using the techniques that had been taught on the Training Day.
After this the cadets split into two groups. The first group headed outside into the fresh air to carry out command tasks. Students are given a 5 minute brief on the tasks they have to complete. They then have to brief their team, formulate a plan and carry it out using the team, all in a 10 minute time limit. During this time staff are marking students on all aspects of their leadership and how they interact with the team. In addition another member of staff will be evaluating how students interact with the leader and other members of the team to assess their teamwork.
The other half of the students were subjected to a comprehensive interview with two members of staff. For many this is their first experience of an interview. The interview covers the student’s knowledge of current affairs and their military knowledge, it also looks at their hobbies and sports outside ATC as well as their career plans.
After lunch the groups swapped round and changed activities. Meanwhile in the ‘command cell’ of the course Staff members assisted by cadet SNCOs are busy feeding the results into the master spreadsheet, which calculates the course grades and generates the Course Report.
At the end of the Assessment Day the students are individually debriefed by staff and given feedback from the days activities. This will be followed up by a Course Report , which is sent to the their Commanding Officer to go through with the student in detail at a later date. The purpose of the course is to assess if the SNCO will at some later stage be suitable for promotion to the Rank of Cadet Flight Sergeant.
M BERRY
OIC