As we approach the festive season, I look back on my first 4 months in command of the Air Cadet Organisation and am simply amazed by all I have seen and experienced as your Commandant so far. I have already clocked up almost 12,000 miles in the car and have visited Regional and Wing HQs and a number of individual ATC Sqns. I have inspected 2 CCF (RAF) sections and visited other CCF events. I have managed to fly twice, attempted part of an obstacle course and had a go at shooting on an indoor range (don’t ask if I hit the target!). I have had the honour of presenting Duke of Edinburgh Gold awards, the Sir Arthur Marshall Trophy and a wide range of certificates of commendation. I have met with many influential people and have attended concerts and competitions, the standards of which have made me incredibly proud to be your Commandant.

But in between all these high profile, fun events, my overriding impression has been of a fantastic uniformed youth organisation, staffed by the most impressive team of adult volunteers who provide leadership and support to some incredible young people. I have received such a wonderfully warm welcome wherever I have been in the Corps and I am genuinely energised by the enthusiasm I find at all levels. 

Of course, there are some problems out there and we all know that resources are tight and times are tough. However, it’s also an incredibly exciting time to be leading a cadet force, as everyone from the Prime Minister down is supportive of what we deliver for this country’s young people and impressed by the quality of young adults that progress through our training. We are in the business of creating future citizens and our adult volunteers embody all that is good about the world of volunteering – giving up their time to enable others to achieve their potential.

I look forward to 2013 with great anticipation as we seek to shape the ACO for 2020 and beyond. Many of you will have heard me mention the emerging Strategy we are working on to ensure that the Organisation continues to deliver fun, exciting and relevant activities for our cadets and also invests in the adult volunteers on whom we rely to deliver the cadet experience. My mantra for next year is to “keep the air in air cadets” and also to live up to our motto of “Venture Adventure”, whilst ensuring that all cadet activity is appropriately safe and properly supervised. I hope to involve as many cadets and volunteers as possible in this work and I will ensure that you are all kept informed of progress.

All that remains for me to do is to say a sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone in the ACO who has worked tirelessly throughout another year to support cadet activity. I say a special thank you to our volunteers, be they members of civilian committees, Civilian Instructors, ATC SNCOs and WOs, VR(T) officers, Service Instructors, padres, or gliding and flying instructors as, without you, our 45,000 cadets would never achieve all that they do. I also pay tribute to my small but dedicated team of permanent staff at HQ, Regional and Wing level, be they Civil Servants, Regular or Full-time Reservist officers – you have all done a great job under challenging circumstances. 

I send all members of the ACO my very best wishes for a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas and festive season. In doing so, I would ask you all to bear in mind those who cannot be with loved ones at this time of year, particularly those deployed on operations overseas – we wish them all a safe and speedy return to their families.

Happy Christmas and I wish you all you would wish for yourselves in the New Year.

Dawn McCafferty

Comdt ACO