Page 33 - Cadet Review Spring 2021

Mirfield Air Cadets
end the year in style –
Part 1
As the first part of their wind-down from a very strange year, on Tuesday evening 868 (Mirfield) Squadron had a special Christmas Fun Night for the Squadron.
Cadets (and staff) joined in the regular weekly session
in Fancy Dress, including Flight Sergeant Jacob Stockwell, who was awarded the prize for this, wearing an amazing elf costume (with curiously variable headgear, as the end kept fading in and out of his virtual background) and the Doubells' home office became a tribute to Doctor Who.
The Squadron’s Chaplain, Rev'd Christine Shedd, provided a Christmas version of her popular monthly Quiz which was won by Civilian Instructor Ben Thompson. Flight Sergeant Becky Jagger provided the lead for a Treasure Hunt challenge - search around the house for particular objects including a cadet beret, a Christmas bauble, knife and fork and a pet! The prize here went to Sergeant Freya Pugh.
This was followed by a game of video charades, where the prizes were won by Corporal Alicia Dwyer and cadets Emelia Drake and Laila Robinson. The final game of the evening was an on-line Pictionary challenge won by Aiden Booth.
Prizes for the various winners included a Spitfire Calendar for 2021, posters of an Airbus A220 Flight Deck and RAF themed pens.
Squadron Commander, Flight Lieutenant Peter Doubell commented after the evening’s fun and games, “we
would normally have a more formal end to the year with a Christmas Dining-In Night, although still with a quiz and some games, but that just was not to be in the current coronavirus restrictions. Nevertheless, our Fun Night seems to have been a success with everyone and we now have a variety of prizes to send out to the various winners – congratulations to all of them!”
Some of the evening's
participants on screen
Flt Lt Peter and Mrs Sue Doubell's
homage to Doctor Who
AIR CADETS SPACE SYLLABUS
During 2020, training for air cadets has reached for new horizons: Space.
An exciting new modular syllabus of training is under development and so far, the first two levels, Blue and Bronze, have been released. These qualifications comprise modules of The Open University OpenLearn Launch Pad Space Award for Air Cadets.
The Blue level consists of one module: Applications of Space Technology.
The Bronze Level consists of two modules: Exploring Space and The Moon, Our Nearest Neighbour.
Cadets at 868 (Mirfield) Squadron have already had a taste of space exploration with input to their regular Tuesday evening Virtual Meetings from Civilian Instructor Sue Doubell. She has shared
with them news and updates about SpaceX projects and their new re-useable craft for transporting crew to and from the International Space Station, and about NASA and their plans for the Artemis Programme, a return mission to the Moon, including in 2024 the first female astronaut to go, and also progress towards a manned mission to Mars.
Under the guidance of Flight Lieutenant Peter Doubell, their Squadron Commander, one Friday evening towards the end of 2020, saw a group of 12 cadets from Mirfield Squadron set to work on the Blue Level of the Space Syllabus, and all successfully completed the course:
Ben Ayrton, Aiden Booth, Corporal Mitchell Breare, Emelia Drake, Corporal Alicia Dwyer, Morgan Francis, Sergeant Toby Mathews, Shaun Mitchell, Sachen Pathak, Flight Sergeant Jacob Stockwell, together with Mya Larder and Emily Richards who had only joined the Squadron in the previous month!
Their success was shared by Civilian Instructor Sue Doubell, who also completed the course during the evening.
Aiden Booth and Sgt Mathews were so inspired with the programme that they went on to also complete the more recently released Bronze level!
Flight Lieutenant Doubell said “This is an exciting development for the Air Cadets. They have often jokingly been referred to as ‘Space Cadets’ and now in line with our parent service, the Royal Air Force, we are extending our reach into the world of space. I am sure we will see further developments in this direction in the months and years to come, and maybe one day someone who is now a cadet will actually go on to become an astronaut!”
CADET REVIEW SPRING 2021 33