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In this Edition:

● Remembrance around the Region

● West Scotland Wing Camp

● Officers Initial Course Report

● And lots more……..

REGIONAL NEWSLETTERNo 7 (2014)

“LEST WE FORGET”

This year we pause to remember it was 100 years ago that the “GreatWar” started, and to remember with gratitude all those who paid

the ultimate price both during that war and all conflicts since then tothe present day.

They gave their lives that we might be free.

From all corners of the region cadets have been out in support of poppyscotland, in the run up to the remembrance events on Sun 9th Nov, asthe photos on this page show.

And on Sunday 9th November, units across the region took part in theirlocal parades, laying wreaths at the local war memorial, or even visitinglocal cemeteries and placing a poppy cross on war graves containedwithin.

We have taken a broad selection of your photos, from stornoway togalashiels and all points in between resulting in a 4 page photo gallerydepicting your actions on that remembrance day.

Some even travelled over 200 miles in a period of around 26 Hours tovisit every memorial in their area to lay a wreath (see inside for moredetails of 327 Kilmarnocksefforts in this task).

The one common constant isyour highly professionalturnout in so many high profilepublic events.

You can, and should, be rightlyproud of your actions. Welldone to each and every one ofyou.

When you go home

Tell them of us, and Say

For your tomorrow

We gave our Today

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We shall grow not oldAs they that are left grow oldAt the going down of the sun,

And in the Morning……WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

The first of two doublepage spreads depictingscenes from around theregion of cadets andadult volunteersparticipating in theirlocal remembranceparades.

Thanks to all those unitswho posted their photoson social media, fromwhich these photoshave been taken.

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This year to mark the 100th Anniversary of WW1 327 (Kilmarnock) Squadronapproached local businesses to sponsor a wreath. For that sponsorship the

Squadron would lay a wreath on every War Memorial in the local area of EastAyrshire with the logo of the business on it.

Easy? No there are 27 in the area and generating interest proved a hard task. Butwith determination and a can collection the goal was met.

So on Sunday after the main remembrance parade four members of staff set offwith three cadets each to lay all the wreaths. 266 miles and 26 hours between uswe achieved our goal.

A presentation evening to businesses has been arranged, with the Provost, arepresentative from The War Memorial Trust and The British Legion ScotlandInvited.

With this we hope to generate an interest in The Air Cadet Organisation with thepublicity and public show we have put on.Overall Cadets have launched themselvesinto this project and we are sure,

They Will Remember Them.

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his year to mark the 100th Anniversary of WW1 327 (Kilmarnock) Squadronapproached local businesses to sponsor a wreath. For that sponsorship the

Squadron would lay a wreath on every War Memorial in the local area of EastAyrshire with the logo of the business on it.

Easy? No there are 27 in the area and generating interest proved a hard task. Butwith determination and a can collection the goal was met.

So on Sunday after the main remembrance parade four members of staff set offwith three cadets each to lay all the wreaths. 266 miles and 26 hours between us

A presentation evening to businesses has been arranged, with the Provost, arepresentative from The War Memorial Trust and The British Legion Scotland

With this we hope to generate an interest in The Air Cadet Organisation with thepublicity and public show we have put on.Overall Cadets have launched themselves

Well done to all who took partin remembrance paradesaround the region on Sun 9th

November. You are indeeda credit to the Air CadetOrganisation.

This was a particularlypoignant year due to thecentenary of the start ofWorld War 1, and all theseevents were very high profilepublic events.

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On the 18th of October 2014, sergeant Thomson andcadet Sinet travelled a long 7 hour journey from Wing

HQ to RAFC Cranwell Autumn Camp, looking forward to afun filled week of meeting new friends and taking part inexciting activities.

After a few hours on the bus it was clear to see this wasgoing to be a great camp as everyone had already startedto bond. We arrived at RAFC Cranwell at approximately1630hours. Once we had arrived we were assigned to ourrooms and unpacked very quickly before we went for ourdinner in the JRM. We then went for our first activity - sportsat the east camp gym.

Our second day at camp we had a day wandering aroundDuxford Museum, finding out about some really amazingaircraft, it was very interesting. When we returned to campwe went back to the JRM and then were divided into ourflights (A flight and B flight) we then went to the gym andhad inter flight competitions playing football, hockey anddodgeball and handball, where A flight left with the points!

Monday was our first day in uniform, everyone got up earlyand changed into our wedgewood blues, for our first call ofduty, the camp photo. We visited 45 squadron for our briefon the flights on the King Air aircraft. We also visited thefire section where we were taught about all the equipmenton the fire engines and CWO Khan, 2452 squadron got hishands on the microphone and played "Ibbys hour on thehour" and played a song through the fire engine. After ourtour of the engines, we got a shot of doing casualty rescuingwearing smoke goggles, that was interesting, there waslots of laughs and giggles as the cadets were falling aboutthe place and almost killing the casualties. During this agroup of 7 cadets got a 2 hour flight on the King Air, whichthey all seemed to enjoy. We did a little bit of drill practicefor out competition at the end of the week. After dinner wewent back to the gym for some more inter-flight competition.

Tuesday was a full day of weapons training, where cadetstrained on both the L98 A2 and .22 Rifle. The cadets fullytrained in both weapons were not left out, we also got topractise our skills on the extra weapons we had. Duringthis 4 cadets sergeant Thomson (62) sergeant Taylor,corporal Reinhardt (both 1089) and cadet Stormonth (2414)got the opportunity to go to the ATC visit, where we weretold about all the different aspects of the job and the use ofall the different computers, we also got to see the viewingtower, unfortunately there were no aircraft in flight that daydue to the weather. Once everyone was finished wereturned to our accommodation for a movie and chill night,we all gathered in the hall and watched 22 jump street onthe projector with munchies. Everyone had a great time andtruly started to get to know each other.

The next day we had another visit to 45 squadron and the TajMahal this time to find out what they do, and see the Pumaaircraft and some lucky people also got some souvenirs off theaircraft. During this another 2 details got flying on the King Air.Those who were not away flying went for a day trip to Lincoln,where corporal Reinhardt (1089) corporal Laurie, corporal Bruff(both 2502) and sergeant Gray (1001) had to go buy somesmart clothing as they were told earlier they were lucky enoughto be allowed to dine in the officers mess. Later that day wewent to the local leisure pool to go swimming where most ofthe older cadet chilled out in the hot tub.

Thursday we spent the full day at RAF Digby to use the 25mrange, unfortunately we didn't all get to do marksman shootsdue to the lack of time, however well done to cadet Robinson(1089) who achieved her regional marksmanship. On the upside we waited to shoot in luxury as the waiting room hadheating and a toilet! Once we returned back to our ownaccommodation we had another movie night to watch "live,die, repeat" which Flt Lt. McIlroy was determined for us towatch.

Our second last day everyone was feeling the camp blues asit was coming to an end, however it never brought down ourspirits, we woke up, put on our wedgewood blues and marcheddown to the drill square as it was time for our drill competitionwhere we were assessed by the SWO and sergeant Nauyokasfrom the TV show bad lads army, it was scary! Our drill was tothe highest standard it had ever been, in the end it was B flightthat won and went away with the points for our inter flightcompetition. After that we made our way to the gym where wemet the ACLO team and done some leadership andcommunication exercises with them which were great fun, andeveryone got wee torches or pens for asking questions aboutthe RAF.

Later that night, corporal Reinhardt, corporal Laurie, corporalBruff and sergeant Gray headed off to the officers mess anddined in luxury, whilst the rest of us got ready for got dolled upfor the camp disco which was epic! Everyone had an amazingtime. It was also sergeant (ATC) Dochetry's birthday, so hewas presented with his cards and presents (tiger onesie, faketan and a teddy) during the disco, we also handed out ourpaper plate awards, some of which were very funny!

The next morning we were getting ready to depart and did ourfinal parade, where we found out the winning flight... A flight!We then packed our stuff onto the bus and got ready to leave,everyone felt the camp blues as we left the base. What anamazing camp, definitely one I would recommend to anyone!Amazing camp & long lasting memories.

Sergeant Thomson & Cadet Sinet 62 (2nd Glasgow) squadron

WEST SCOTLAND WING AUTUMN CAMP AT RAF CRANWELL

Message from Reg Cmdt Grp Capt Leggat -

Corps Swimming Competition - The S& NI Team won 6 Gold,1 Silver and 5 Bronze Medals. Region came 3rd in SeniorBoys. A great overall performance and first class team spiritand morale!

Well done to the teams from NESCOT today at theNational First Aid competition at RAFC Cranwell.

Excellent results and one cadet Sgt Chloe Blyth especiallywell done, third top score in the individual rankings.

107 young adults 5th and 2367 cadets 6th

All 6 regions could field 2 teams in each category.

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When new officers are commissioned into theRAFVR(T) they only hold a conditional commission

and the rank of Officer Cadet until they pass the weeklong Officers Initial Course at the Adult Training Facility(ATF) based at RAF Cranwell. Having passed OASC andbeen awarded a commission, this was my next step.

I arrived at Daedalus Mess on Sunday evening andunpacked before attending a briefing with Flt LtMcGavigan, the ATF's Training Officer. She outlined whatwould be expected of us for the next week and issued ourwhite hatbands and orange and white rank slides whichsignified we were "officers under training". This was alsomy first opportunity to get to know my coursemates forthe next week. It was clear from the offset that it wouldbe a demanding, but rewarding, course. We had classesin subjects such as child protection, health and safety,communications and defence writing among others. Wewere also fortunate to have guest speakers from RAFA andthe HQAC Staff who were able to give us interesting inputsas well as a Q&A session with Air Commodore McCafferty,Commandant Air Cadets.

Everyone agreed that this was one of the course highlights asshe was incredibly enthusiastic and was happy to answer allof our questions no holds barred, it was an honour to meether. There was much importance placed on leadershipthroughout the course because essentially, as officers, wewere being trained to become leaders. We received classeson leadership theory and styles before we had to put whatwe'd learned in to practice and lead a group in practicalleadership exercises. Some of these were carried out at ATFbut in the afternoon we visited the OASC Hangar, which isincredible.

Another important part of the course is drill and uniform. Wewere put through our paces on the drill square by FS Moss -apparently drill is "a pill best taken twice daily". I found the drilllessons enjoyable, although not so much when they filmed us!(Are my arms really that bendy when I'm marching?!). Wewere also inspected on our uniform every morning, first by FSMoss, then by WO Mannion and finally by Sqn Ldr Pelcot (TheBoss), who are ex-Queens Colour Squadron and miss nothing.Most evenings were spent teaching each other how to ironand polish and working hard to make sure our uniform waspristine.

Officers Initial Course

After what seemed like a lifetime together, it wasFriday and the course was almost complete. All thatwas left was the exam and one final class on the rolesand responsibilities of an officer before it was time toditch our white hatbands and put on our shiny newPilot Officer rank braid. Normally VR(T) officersgraduate from College Hall like the regulars butunfortunately College Hall was unavailable due to theChief of Air Staffs Conference - we will have to waituntil next time to walk across the famouscommissioning carpet. Instead we were presented withour scrolls in Daedalus Mess by the ACO's Chief ofStaff, Group Captain Lawlor. With the graduationcomplete, we had one final meal as a group beforeleaving RAF Cranwell.

Although it was hard work I thoroughly enjoyed myOfficers Initial Course. I know I will take the skills thatI have learned and developed with me and use themin my career as an officer within the ACO. I am alsoincredibly lucky to have spent the week with such asupportive and inspiring group of people whoseteamwork was essential to us all completing thecourse. Finally the staff at ATF, Sqn Ldr Pelcot, Flt LtMcGavigan, WO Mannion and FS Moss, were highlyprofessional and effective instructors who made thecourse both useful and enjoyable.

Plt Off Claire McKenzie, 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron

Check out thenew Part Task

Trainer (aka glidingsimulator) recentlyinstalled atSyerston VolunteerGliding Squadron(VGS).

A rolloutprogramme ofthese Trainers isalso in progress toall VGS' across thecountry

Message from Reg Cmdt Grp CaptLeggat -

Cadet Inter Services Skill at ArmsMeet. Great news for 1297(Stonehaven) Sqn with F/SgtChristian Avis 1297 have wonCISSAM best ATC Team and bestoverall, 6 Cadets in Corps Team,Also F/Sgt Avis is Top Cadet

Well done Stonehaven!

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West Scotland Wing Skills CampAll 29 squadrons joined together at the Annual Wing Skills

Camp, held over the 9th - 11th of August at GarelochheadTraining Camp.

Activities included Mountain Biking, Indoor Climbing,Kayaking, First Aid, Swimming, Weapons Training, Methodof Instruction and Clay Target Shooting. Cadets on theActivity First Aid got a treat when Wing Commander Haleycame along and volunteered to be the casualty for a log roll!

A good time was had by all, another successful camp by WestScotland Wing.

HOCKEY

Silver Medal for Scotland & Northern IrelandHockey team

The S&NI hockey treat were placed second inthe inter region hockey tournament at RAFCranwell today congrats to Wales & West AirCadets for taking Gold. A huge well done tothe hockey team and coaches . It's been quitea few years since the regional hockey teamplaced so high Commandant Air Cadetsexpressed her delight at how well S&NI didafter travelling so far. Well done ladies !

Hockey - Four cadets picked for Corpscongrats to Cdts Munro McLean Tweed AndLeaper. Well done ladies!

FOOTBALL

Inter Region football. S&NI were placed fifthat the inter region football competition at RAFCranwell today. Three West Scotland playerswere selected for Corps. They are Cdts RaeMcGloan & McCartney. Well done to the teamand coaches.

BREAKINGNEWS

Lowland Leader Assessment, 6 - 8 Feb 2015The Region will be delivering a Lowland Leader Assessment, which will givesuccessful individuals the same day remit as the Basic Expedition Leader. Ata further date a expedition skills module will be provided giving the LowlandLeader candidate the full Basic Expedition Leader remit.

The Assessment is open to individuals who have completed the following:-

Lowland Leader Training / Hill and Moorland Leader Training / MountainLeader Training

Individuals who have completed either the Hill and Moorland Leader orMountain Leader Training need to register with Mountain Training for theLowland Leader Award.

Information about the Lowland Leader Award can be obtained from theMountain Training Website including the qualification handbook, whichindividuals should read before attending assessment noting that the minimumamount of days is twenty, which should be presented in the candidatesDLOG.

Closing Date (19 December 2014), though would appreciate earlyapplications.

Lowland Leader Assessment

Duration :- 2 Days

Dates :- 6 - 8 February 2015

Location :-SE Scotland Wing Activity Centre,

Remit :- Same as the Basic Expedition Leader ideal for Bronze Duke ofEdinburgh Award delivery.

Cost :- £30 per student. (This includes accommodation and messing)

Student Minimum :- 4