Page 43 - Cadet Review Spring 2023

MIRFIELD AIR CADETS AT HALF-TERM
The half-term holiday is a period when school teachers and pupils in general get chance to relax and recharge their ‘batteries’ for the next period
of study, but for cadets of 868 (Mirfield) Squadron life during the October break was busier than ever. Over the first weekend, cadets and staff from the Squadron were involved in three significant activities.
A Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition is
a three-day venture and so school holiday periods lend themselves to this, meaning participants can take part without interruption to their school-life. Five Mirfield cadets were joined by two from 1053 (Armthorpe) Squadron for an expedition in the Hope Valley area of the Peak District National Park, and were assessed by the North Region D of E Officer, Squadron Leader Ian Johnson. All five successfully completed their expedition and are now a step nearer to completing their Silver Awards: Aiden Booth, Joshua Clark, Toby Mathews, Shaun Mitchell and Eliot Ryan.
Two cadets found themselves playing in the North Region Junior Football competition representing South and West Yorkshire Wing in their first ever mixed gender event, and were delighted to be part of the winning team, gaining Gold medals as the North Region Champions 2022. Well done to Willow Laher and Ben Walker!
Another two cadets, Damian Bednarczyk and Joseph Holmes, joined in the South and West Yorkshire Clay Target shooting day at the Park Lodge Shooting Ground near Goole, and enjoyed a successful day despite some very wet conditions.
Civilian Instructor Tom Jagger is also a firefighter based at Mirfield Fire Station, and he organised
and hosted, as part of the regular Tuesday evening meeting, the second of two visits to the station for cadets to learn about the Fire Service, fire safety and trying out hose running and water rescue throwlines – an exciting evening for all concerned.
A training day at the Squadron was also arranged for the Thursday of that week, and over two sessions, one in the morning one in the afternoon, Civilian Instructor Lionel Green assisted by Cadet Gabriella Green, delivered the St John Ambulance Essential First Aid course to twelve cadets, and all successfully completed their training: Alfie Abdy, Din Arnautovic, Archie Burton, Ryan Carter, Ryleigh Jackson-Hirst, Daijo Jentin, Manrajveer Khella, Willow Laher,
All five successfully completed their expedition and are now a step nearer to completing their Silver Awards
Freddie Murphy-Chaplin, Jayan Pathak, Louis Scott and Henry Sylvester.
Alongside the first aid course some of the cadets undertook other training in the Royal Air Force Air Cadets’ Space Syllabus, which has been developed in conjunction with the Open University. Three cadets successfully completed the Blue Level of their Space Studies, which focusses the Applications of Space Technology, Alfie Abdy, Ryan Carter, and Willow Laher. Another cadet, Din Arnautovic, progressed to completing the Bronze Level of the Space Syllabus which covers two further modules: Exploring Space and The Moon.
There was also opportunity for others to undertake assessments for their Blue Level Leadership badges, following from their initial training, and Archie Burton, Louis Scott and Henry Sylvester were all successful in completing the assessment process.
At the end of the week, the Squadron hosted a visit from Andrew Nickson from the Cadet Vocational Qualification Organisation, who delivered the training necessary for cadets enrolled for the BTEC in Teamwork and Personal Development to complete the workbook elements for this valuable qualifi- cation; another well done to Joshua Clark, Jamal Hancocks and Eliot Ryan!
Also, during the week, Flight Sergeant Aiden Booth undertook a review of his progress on the RAFAC Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and confirmed that he is on track for successful completion, which will gain him a qualification equivalent to half an A-level.
In his role as Firefighter, Civilian Instructor Tom Jagger equips cadet Armaan Ali in full firefighting gear
FS Aiden Booth, Cpl Joshua Clark, Sgt Kundra Shourya, Eliot Ryan, FS Toby Mathews, Cpl Shaun Mitchell, Sgt Kendra Titley
Cadet Joseph Holmes Clay Target Shooting
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