FROM THE COMMANDING OFFICER

[This note was handed to all personnel in September]

I have been with the Corps for eight years, firstly as a Civilian Instructor and then some five years ago I received my commission. Having obtained my commission I took up post as a squadron officer with 68 (Westbury) and after a short time I was asked to take over as the Commanding Officer. Some two years ago I was offered the position of Commanding Officer of 2238 (Warminster) where I remained prior to accepting the move to 2397 (Devizes).

My personal interest within the Corps is Adventure Training (not the green type) and have for the last two years run the Dorset/Wilts Wing annual visit to the Air Cadet Training Centre at Llanbedr, North Wales. I am one of the few members of the Dorset/Wilts Wing who have been given Wild Country status by the South West Regional Commandant. I will therefore be promoting all aspects of Adventure Training especially as the squadron has two of the three members of staff within the whole Wing who have been assessed under the Mountain Leader Training Board scheme.

I am also very keen that Cadets themselves take a proactive role within the squadron in its day to day running and general activities and will be promoting this in the near future.

I definitely operate an open door policy and hope that all members of the staff make use of this.

At the present moment in time I see no need to make any alterations to the way in which the squadron operates, however should anyone have any suggestions the door is open

SPORTS

Congratulations to the North brothers, Cdt Sogot and Cpl Eardley on being selected for Wing sports teams.

SPTA EASTER CAMP

My wife and I have stood down from running the Easter camp after 12 years in charge. Warrant Officer Barney Wiles has taken up the challenge and has already gained Army permission to use New Zealand Farm Camp and vast areas of training land on Salisbury Plain. A planning meeting of key staff from our squadron and other units has been held. It looks as if this event is a goer ~ not to be missed !

FLYING

I hear that flying at Boscombe Down on 21 October went ahead despite the dodgy weather. Hope you enjoyed it. We will be concentrating on teaching the 3 core subjects to get the new recruits ready for our next flying allocation.

RECRUITMENT

The September “Come & See” evening brought in a good lot of new joiners. I hope you are enjoying being in the ATC. We will do our best to offer you a wide range of things to do. Thanks go to Warrant Officer Wiles for organising the recruit training day in October.

DUTY ROSTER

Inevitably the squadron premises get untidy during parade evenings so we have a system to ensure that at the end of the evening waste bins are emptied, any litter picked up, windows and doors are closed and keys returned to the key safe, lights switched off as well as disconnecting electrical appliances. Checks are also made on the toilets. Two cadets are required for this task ~ one of whom is an NCO and the job is done according to a printed duty task check list.

In order to spread the workload fairly, a duty roster is published in advance. On evenings when a cadet is required to undertake this task (which should take between 5 & 10 minutes) he or she is likely to leave the premises just that bit later. The roster allows cadets to see when this will apply except that, in the absence of the nominated cadet, the next person on the list will do the task instead. The missing cadet will do it on his or her next attendance. In theory, ordinary cadets should be involved once in 15 weeks whereas NCOs being fewer in number will be involved during one session in every 3 weeks.

Sergeant Sharon Hayes has produced the new roster and is fully supported by all of the staff in implementing it.

SEEND FETE

We have received a letter of thanks for our assistance at Seend Fete in August. The charity raised some £4,900 and we can be proud to have helped this magnificent achievement.

LIONS SPONSORED WALK

This took place on Sunday 29 October. It was very fortunate that the weather was fine following the great storm on Saturday. It looks as though we will raise about £180 ~ not bad considering that this was the second running of the event this year. Well done to everyone who took part.

CIVILIAN COMMITTEE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Attendance by parents was very poor so it was fortunate that Mrs Martin was prepared to remain as Chairperson despite her increased commitments. The committee is a very important part of the squadron and is a good way for parents to influence what is provided for the cadets by way of resources and treats. Meetings only occur every 6 weeks so the demands on your time would not be great if you decided to help the squadron in this way. Why not give Sheila Martin a ring to find out more ?

REMEMBRANCE

The squadron will parade at the town Remembrance Service on Sunday 12 November. We look for the maximum possible turnout and will, as usual, be the smartest unit there.