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2175 (Rolls-Royce)
Squadron
Air Training Corps |
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2175 (Rolls-Royce)
Squadron
Air Training Corps |
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March / April 2002 LORD LIEUTENANT'S CADET PRESENTATION By CWO Suzanne Callan
On the evening of the 3rd of April 2002, I had the honour of being presented with my certificate and badge as the Lord Lieutenant's cadet for Renfrewshire. I have held this appointment since October 2001 and taken part in three functions including two royal visits to the area. Each year a cadet is chosen to accompany and assist the Lord Lieutenant in his duties. The cadet is chosen from candidates recommended by their squadron Commanding Officers. The evening began with an inspection of the cadets by the Lord Lieutenant
who spoke with the cadets about how much they were enjoying being part
of the squadron and the ATC.
He then proceeded to visit the 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron RAAF museum, the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust and the Squadron Headquarters. The Lord Lieutenant, Mr Cameron Parker OBE was extremely interested in our Duke of Edinburgh's award expedition planning, chatting to the cadets about their chosen route. Also in attendance was the Lord Lieutenant's wife, Wing Commander George Campbell OC Glasgow and West of Scotland Wing and his Deputy Squadron Leader Paterson, Wing Commander McIver from the 602 Museum and our civilian committee chairman Mr. Ian MacDonald
2175 CADET WINS FIRST WING “GOOD SHOW” AWARD By CWO Suzanne Callan
Also on the night of the 3rd April 2002, Cadet Elizabeth Brad was awarded the Wing “Good Show” award. The award, the first of it’s kind was thought up a few months ago at Wing and Cadet Brad brought herself to the attention of Squadron Leader Patterson the Wing Physical Education Officer (PedO) at last months Wing Hockey Competition. As seen in the picture Cadet Brad is nursing a broken hand, an injury from the recent Hockey Competition. So determined to play on for the wing (or perhaps to get her own back on the opposing players!) was Elizabeth that she asked Sqn Ldr Patterson to bandage her hand to her hockey stick! This action not only represents true 2175 spirit but also the determination required by the wing to succeed at competition. Sqn Ldr Patterson was so impressed that he recommended her to the Wing Commander for this award. The Wing Commander agreed and is pictured opposite with Cadet Brad and her Award. It is hoped that the award can be presented to other cadets who show similar qualities as Cadet Brad. Congratulations Elizabeth, the whole squadron is extremely proud. Pictured above is Cadet Elizabeth Brad receiving the cheque from Wing Commander George Campbell. LAND COMMAND COURSE By Sgt Robert Hastie
Earlier this year, I heard about an Army leadership course, that some air cadets are allowed to attend, and I applied for this course. I then later heard that I had been selected to participate in this course from 30th March to 5th April 2002. The course itself was held at Nescliff Army training base, near Shrewsbury, and consisted of six days of intensive training, and testing, all about leadership and leadership related qualities. I travelled down to the camp with another cadet from our wing, Cdt/Sgt Mc Martin, and when we arrived we firstly had to collect all the equipment that we would need for the next week. A list of equipment was presented in front of us, that we previously had never seen, and we originally had to select what we already had, and what we had to borrow from the Quartet Masters Mess. Being Air Cadets, we had little of the equipment that we would find essential for the coming week, and so come back to our billets with an armful of webbing, camouflage, and other bits and bobs that would otherwise be overlooked. After a short period of settling in and getting all of our stuff "squared away", we were ready for the initial briefs, and talks. Here the officer in charge of the coarse, Major Tazey, introduced us to the other staff members, and gave a vague outline of some of the weeks events. While some of the cadets were noting the relevant details, most of us were still in shock after the Major told us that the wake up time for tomorrow was 5:00, for PE, which was a far cry from the Saturday sleep in we were hoping for. A short sleep that night marked the start of the real work, and at 5:00 the camp was alive with cadets, army, navy, and air, all rushing for a shower before we went for PE. Once round the camp and then a race, of the course, left most gasping for air, as we filed in for breakfast. The week continued with many leadership, and team building exercises, some more successful than others, and practices at field craft. We practised field craft in the training area, north of the base, and when the platoon sergeant came to instruct us he asked us all how we all were at battle field commands. As an Air cadet I knew nothing about army cadet activities, and I'm sure he must have been horrified when my first question was, "What's a battle field command?". This was not as badly received as I though it would as my section helped me along with the events, and I was quickly an expert. My skills were tested on the Tuesday as we moved out to stay in the field for the next two nights. We set up our harbour and then went out on exercise, to assess the "enemy" position. This plot of events continued for the remainder of our stay out in the field, and when it came to leave we were not looking forward to our transport back. We had to run, with all our webbing and our rifles, back to the camp. This was called the march and shoot, as after this gruelling feat, we then had to complete a tough obstacle course, followed by a shoot of ten rounds, for the best grouping. To say that this was hard would be an understatement, but, by some miracle, we managed to complete it. This was the last marked event in the course and all that remained to do was to get washed and packed. This meant we were one of the first teams to arrive back; we were fortunate enough to be one of the first into the showers, using up all the hot water in our well deserved scrub. After the course debrief we were astonished to discover that our section had won the best section contest, and the usual celebration was replaced by a night of sleep, a rare thing on this course as most nights contained some for of watch, or sentry duty, at the harbour. When it came the time to leave the camp, we were reminded of the Major's words to sum up the course, and now we understood what he meant. He said, and I can now see how true this is, "It will be a lot of hard work but it will be fun", and it was. BEST PR IN WING By CWO Suzanne Callan
The squadron understands that we are this years winners of the
Glasgow & West of Scotland Wing Public Relations Competition. This
award is presented annually to the squadron who makes best use of their
achievements by publishing them to local newspapers, the Air Cadet magazine
and the RAF news to spread the word about the ATC and the work that we
do. Last year we were mentioned in the Air cadet magazine twice, the RAF
news and had numerous mentions in the local press for winning the Foster
Trophy, the Wing and Regional Drill cups, the Andrews Sash, the Netball
competition…
CLASSIFICATION TRAINING RESULTS By CWO Suzanne Callan
Six of the cadets with their new classification badges. From Left to Right, Cdt Little M, Cdt Muir J, Cpl Reynolds C, Cpl Bradley C, Cdt McMillan C, Cdt Espie R This month saw the culmination of nine months of training as cadets from the squadron achieved their classification badges. Their results were as follows: Staff Level Sgt Hastie – Pass with Distinction
Senior Level Cpl Reynolds – Pass with Credit
Leading Level Cdt Morrison - Pass
Partial Passes Cdt Hogg
Congratulations to all the above cadets who maintained the squadron’s excellent record at classification training. DUKE OF EDINBURGH BRONZE EXPEDITION By Cadet Craig Jones
After weeks of planning and preparation, two teams of 4 cadets set off on their DofE expedition on Saturday 20th April for the weekend. Starting off at 1030 from Muirshiel Country Park we made our way to the first check point making good time. The weather was cool and dry to begin with but by 1200 the weather turned really bitter, the rain was coming over the hills and the wind picked up, it was time for waterproofs to come out. Before taking on the hardest part of the day, we stopped for lunch for
about half an hour.
After reaching the campsite at 1800, tired cold and very wet we set up camp and a campfire. And then someone noticed the dead sheep that lay over a wall from our campsite! After a hot meal we felt a lot better and sat around the campfire. Unfortunately it was still raining so we were drying off as well keeping dry. We sat around the fire till around 1130 when it was pitch black. When we returned to our tents we discovered that that some of the tents had let water in, and some of the sleeping bags had been soaked. Luckily we had survival bags. While sleeping in the survival bags it was still quite cold and the weather was worse than ever we could hear the rain lashing down on the tent. Unfortunately the weather spoiled this hike, but another one is planned for the future and we are all looking forward to it. AMPORT HOUSE By Cadet Chris Kilmartin
On the 19th of April, I attended a Personal Awareness Skills course at Amport House. Amport House is Near Andover, just outside of London in England. I was due to be at Amport House for 4 o’clock in the afternoon on Friday the 19th so I had to get up really early to catch the train down to London King’s Cross station. Once in London King’s Cross I had to get the London Underground to Euston Station, then get another Underground Train to Waterloo Station, then get another Train to Andover Station where I would get a Taxi to Amport House. I made it to Amport house with about half an hour to spare, so I just had time to get to know the other people that were there. We had a quick brief on the course and what it was for, then we all got to know each other better in a small game - I am not allowed to say anything about the game or any of the other activities I done there because it will spoil it for everyone else – anyway after the game we pretty much knew each other pretty well. After that we had the rest of the day off, except for Dinner time, the food was excellent, everyone kept going back for more. Our accommodation was really good, we all had “en suite bathrooms” and really comfy beds. After breakfast the next day we played Snooker till they had the next exercise ready for us, yet again I cannot say what we done in the exercise because they pretty much do the same stuff every time so it will spoil it for everyone else. All of the exercises were a really good laugh and very enjoyable, the only exercise I could telly you about is one where they split us all into 3 groups of 6 then gave each group a different scenario, we were asked what we would do if we were in that kind of situation and if we knew straight away they would add extra parts on to the scenario to make it harder for us. After this activity almost everyone went out side into the gardens to take part in the many different outdoor activities they had for us, Croquet, Tennis, Cycling, Golf and a few others I can’t really remember that well because I didn’t take part in them. Before dinner we done another exercise which helped us understand what kind of asset we could be to a Team and what kind of Leadership qualities we have. After this we had our Lunch, had some free time then done another exercise which helped us get to know each other a little bit better by telling everyone our achievements, losses, hopes for the future, mottos and things like that. After that activity we done an Exercise called “People Puzzle”. We finished the exercise then had our dinner, the rest of the day would be ours. We all went back out into the garden and finished off whatever it was we were doing previously then we went back inside and just sat a talked to each other in the bar area (soft drinks only I’m afraid so hard luck to anyone else who is going on the course). The next morning the Cadet from Dundee and Myself only had enough time for breakfast then we had to depart because we wanted to catch the early train home, so we said our goodbye's to everyone and wished them all luck for the future 'n' all that other mushy stuff the girls always do at the end of a camp. The trip home was just the exact opposite of the Trip there so if you go back to the start and read it again it will save me typing it out. I think it was a really good weekend and I would gladly do it again. EASTER CAMP By Cadet Christopher Kilmartin
From the 20th to the 27th of March, Cdt Morrison and myself went to RAF Linton-On-Ouse Easter Camp. Linton-On-Ouse is next to York in England. During the Coach journey we got to know everyone a little bit better. We made only one stop on the Journey to camp and that was for a bite to eat and to stretch our legs. We eventually made it to Camp, as we were arriving the cadets from the previous week were leaving. We gathered all our stuff together and were told what rooms we were in. Once settled in we got all the briefs we were going to need for the whole camp i.e. Fire, FOD, health and safety and AEF Brief. We had a lot of section visits during the camp that I found to be very interesting and very informal; they supplied plenty of information to the cadets that were hoping to be doing that job when they were older. The first Activity we done was on the first night of the camp and it was called Exercise Linton Look, they split all of us up into 3 flights and gave each flight a map of the base and a sheet full of questions about the base. We then had to navigate our way around the whole base and find the answers to these questions, they said it would help us remember where things are on the base and how to get to certain areas of the base without getting lost (didn’t help me very much, I still managed to get lost going to the NAAFI!) After that exercise we had a bite to eat then some free time before lights out. During our free time we just got to know each other a bit better, watch videos and do what ever other activities were available to us. The next day we all got up very early, I can’t remember what time it was but it was very early anyway. We got into our dark blue uniform and went to breakfast; the food at the camp was quite good apart from the bread and butter pudding, which looked pretty weird. Myself and Cdt Chuddley (Cadet form another Sqn) were contemplating on taking one of the “RAF Linton-On-Ouse” place mats as a souvenir, however, we soon changed our minds when we heard the consequences if we got caught. After Breakfast it was Leadership Exercises for my flight, Flying and Dry Training for the other 2 flights. The leadership exercises at the camp were quite good but nowhere near the quality of the squadrons exercises. My flight switched over with the flight that was doing Dry training so that everyone in my flight could go for a refresher course or be taught how to use a Rifle properly. On Friday two of the flights went shooting, my flight included in that. I managed to re-qualify for my ATC marksman even though I already had my RAF marksman at the time. I can’t really remember what we done after lunch that day either but I am sure it was practice for the camp drill competition, Myself and Cdt Morrison were shinning examples of how to do drill properly as opposed to the other squadrons at the camp who have not yet won both Wing and Regional Drill Competitions. After Dinner it was more free time and time for me to get to know certain other people a bit better i.e. the females at the camp!!! On the Saturday we were taken to York to do some shopping and sightseeing, I really enjoyed it. Cdt Chuddley and myself spent the last of our money on this day; we also went swimming in York with the exception of myself, Cdt Morrison and a few others from various squadrons. I believe the cadets that did go swimming described it as “Fun”. After everyone had finished swimming it was time to head back to base we had some more free time where I got to know my friends even better! We also had our camp Night Exercise this night as well, it was quite exciting even though everyone did really bad and kept on getting caught, the night exercises the squadron make up are also of a much higher quality than that of Raf Linton-On-Ouse. Near End Ex myself and Cdt Morrison decided to get up and walk it to our destinations and complete our objectives, it was much easier than crawling in the grass and we didn’t get caught as often. After the night Ex we went back to our rooms and got showered and into our beds as we were all very tired after lying in the grass all night. We done a Hill walk during the camp as well but I am unsure of the exact time it happened, all I remember is it was cold yet fun. On Sunday we went to Church, I enjoyed this because I had not been to church in a while and it was a whole new beginning for me. After Church we had a small bite to eat before getting our packed lunches, after we got out packed lunches we got our stuff ready for a Navigation Exercise around the Villages just outside the base, it was a bit like orienteering because we were given more questions and we had to find the answers on our route, we also had to mark our own routes out on a map. There was some wonderful scenery around the base and the villages near the base. After the navigation exercise I think we went back to base for our Dinner then we had some more free time then PE, the PE wasn’t very difficult, we all had to do 5 laps of 3 tennis courts then we could do a sport of our own choice so long as we tidied the apparatus up after we were done with it. Cdt Morrison and Myself played a little bit of badminton then practised relaxing on a crash mat for the rest of the PE session, it was very strenuous! After PE it was even more free time, most of the cadets watched videos however I just sat outside with one of my new friends from the camp. We went to bed quite late that night, well I did anyway, as did Cdt Morrison and one of his new friends I believe. The next day was the day my Flight got to go flying, so we rushed breakfast, grabbed our packed Lunches and got on the mini-bus that was going to take us to RAF Church Fenton, home of 9 AEF. Almost everyone in my flight done aero-batics, oh and the gentlemen at number 9 AEF thought they would play a little trick on us, they had a coffee tin and filled it full of flour, they then placed a straw in the side of it and another at the top (the straw at the top was blocked off, we found this out later on). We were told it was a high aptitude breath test, we were supposed to blow into it and see how many times we could make a small fan spin around, however because the straw at the top was blocked off we were just pressurizing the coffee can full of flour and when we moved our mouth away from the unblocked straw the flour had to go somewhere with all the pressure and that somewhere was all over our uniforms! After everyone had done the “Aptitude Breath Test” we managed to get a little tour of the Air Traffic Control Tower. After our short tour we had to head back home, when we got home we went for our dinner then we went Ten Pin Bowling, it was really good and everyone had a great laugh. After the bowling it was time to head back to our rooms and it was lights out. The next morning we had our breakfast then did outdoor PE and the drill competition, the PE was yet again strenuous and the drill comp was quite difficult because the others in my flight were not up to my standard of excellence, that could be the reason why my flight didn’t win. Cdt Morrisons flight did win however so it still reflects on my excellence because we are both from the same squadron. After all of those activities we were told to get ready for the Disco, we all went to our rooms and sorted our clothing for the disco out. The females were given a small lecture before the disco, they were told to wear nothing any more revealing than their cadet uniform i.e. a nun’s uniform. After hearing this lecture the females still managed to put on an outstanding show of beauty and excellence by showing a bit of flesh at the disco, as for Cdt Morrison and myself at the disco well…that is another story that shall remain untold. After the Disco it was lights out and we were all straight in to our beds because we had to get up early the next morning to get our stuff ready for leaving. We got up early and got everything ready without hesitation, we all helped clean the place and it was immaculate when we were finished with it. We had something to eat and picked up out packed Lunches then loaded the coach. We all got on the coach and I sat next to my favourite friend “Lizzy” on the bus, we TALKED about how much we enjoyed camp and how nice the weather was. Cdt Morrison also TALKED to his female friend “Laura” (from 396 Paisley Sqn) about how they both enjoyed camp and the weather. Overall I think it was a really good camp and I hope to go on another camp like it in the future, I think the best part about it was the people I met and I hope to see them again in the future at other ATC activities. RAF MARKSMAN AWARDS By CWO Suzanne Callan
On Saturday the sixth of April, six cadets from the squadron attended a Wing Range day at HMNB Clyde (Faslane). As a result I am pleased to announce that the squadron obtained a further four RAF Marksmanship badges, with one re-qualification and one cadet getting the chance to fire the L-98 for the first time. Of the four newly qualified marksman was myself, Cpl Reynolds, Cdt McMillan and Cdt Muir. So, it just goes to show that even after 6 ½ years in the ATC, I was still able to achieve something new! RADIO COMMUNICATIONS By Cadet Colin Campbell
With the recent purchase of the hand-held radio equipment, the squadron has begun a series of radio communications courses. Using the talents of our Warrant Officer and our now qualified Civilian Instructor who had to attend a course before he could begin to teach us about the wonders that is the hand held radio. So far the cadets have been instructed on how to use the radios properly, regarding call signs and appropriate grammar and language that has to be used when transmitting. The phonetic alphabet has proved to be the biggest challenge as the cadets are used to just using bog standard letters and regularly forget to use the phonetic alphabet in place of those pesky letters and numbers. Most of these tricks are taught during classroom sessions on normal parade nights but the cadets use the weekends to practise operating them in the field. (That’s Hillington industrial estate to us lesser mortals) These exercises are typically search and report, where a team searches for information left around the estate and report their findings back to the base hoping that they’re beating the other team who are trying to do the same task as them. However local civilians believing that our cadets are some form of well-dressed terrorist organisation have hampered the progress of these exercises. Showing their concern by calling in the boys in blue, who not only gave a select few of our cadets some exercise but a good laugh at the same time of this ridiculous misunderstanding. Other than this incident the course has progressed rapidly and with some skill, our cadets will soon be proudly displaying their radio communications badge on their uniforms. ROLLS-ROYCE EAST KILBRIDE VISIT By Cadet Michael Little
As we are named 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron we are asked to go on visits to the Rolls-Royce factories mainly the factory in Hillington to find out more about the company and what it does. However, for the first time we were asked to go the East Kilbride factory and we accepted the offer. We were to be at the squadron for 8:00, which is an early start for some of us. There were about nine cadets going on it, there was not a big response as some people thought it would be very boring. We got there by mini-bus and when we got there we were given passes so we were recognized by security. We were then taken by John Sutherland who organised it from the factory and Mr Sim who helped organize it from the squadron by getting all the information John needed and arranging the transport. The first part of the day was mainly learning about the site and what it does which is it building and repairing engines. We were then shown around half of the site and then had a superb lunch. After lunch we got to see the rest of the site including the test beds, this is where the engines are tested, but unlucky for us there wasn’t one on at that point. Maybe next time. After that we had a quiz on what we had learnt on the day and we did very well and received baseball caps which was very nice. Over all it was a very successful day and we would like to thank both John and Mr. Sim for organising it, thank you. Also we thank the caterers for the food and last but not least we would like to thank the East Kilbride factory for having us. CADETS REACH NEW HEIGHTS..WITHOUT AIRCRAFT By Cadet Niall Morrison
On Monday the 15th of April 13 cadets from 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron went to the Glasgow climbing centre in Ibrox. The centres staff assisted cadets and all involved felt that the instruction and advice rendered by the staff proved highly valuable as they told cadets how to get past various obstacles and also climbing techniques, which made scaling the walls easier. Although there were some cadets with sore arms and fingers after the nights climbing there were no complaints about the service or the walls of the centre. The cadets spent two hours tackling the walls that night and all thought that it was brilliant and they wanted to go back to the centre as soon as possible and some are considering joining the centre on a permanent basis which means that they will be able to climb whenever they want, the centre offers some great member only rates. Special commendation must be given to Cadet Kelly who skilfully scaled one of the most difficult walls in the centre, which some other larger cadets could not conquer. BASIC SWIMMING PROFICIENCY By Cdt Joseph Muir
On the 18th of March 9 cadets plus two staff (CWO Callan and Mr Sim the civilian instructor) went to Bellahouston sports centre to complete a series of tasks to obtain this certificate. This was assessed by a qualified lifeguard. To start off with we swam a 100 metres using any recognized swimming stroke. Then we remained afloat for two minutes in a restricted area of water (two metres). Finally we exited the pool out of our own depth without an aid. Eight of the nine cadets completed it and achieved their certificate. Unfortunately one cadet failed to complete it. Better luck to that cadet next time. After the swimming even though we were all tired we had a game of basketball and learned a lot from Sgt Hastie because he’s rather good at this sport. All in all the day was very enjoyable and it’s something I’d love to take part in again. We also have the next stage of this swimming course to do quite soon which is the intermediate swimming proficiency followed by a game of badminton. Pictured above are five of the successful cadets, from right to left, Sgt Hastie, Cdt Muir, Cdt Little, Cdt Espie, Cdt McLellan A. Gliding By Cpl Chris Bradley
On the 31st of March four of our cadets went to RM Condor in Arbroath. We were there to do our Gliding Induction Courses with the volunteer Gliding School. There were two GIC 1, one GIC 2 and a GIC 3 obtained on the day. We started off at 6:30 in the morning when Flying Officer Anderson picked us up from the Rolls-Royce factory; we knew we had a two-hour journey ahead of us. On the way up to Arbroath we all fell asleep apart from the driver. We arrived at RM Condor at 8:30 so we had plenty of time to spare. We went into the main building and received our brief, after that we headed up to the airfield. Cpl Reynolds and Cdt Mack were first to go up, Cdt McMillan and I stayed on the ground to help the glider to take off. Just before lunch I got up on my first flight. On my final flight my instructor let me take off and land and also fly about so I had a great final flight. My instructor was saying to me that he was expecting myself and Cdt McMillan to return and do our Gliding Scholarship. The day ended as it began with a 2-hour car journey back home, Yet again we all fell asleep. The day was a great success and all the cadets loved it. Llanbedr Camp Cdt McMillan
Between the 20th to the 27th of April Cdt Mack and I went to the Air Cadet Adventure Training Centre in Llanbedr, Wales. There we met up with another nineteen cadets to complete a week of adventure training. During the camp we did group work, which included a lot of map reading, especially for the orienteering exercise. We also did some leadership exercises, dry slope skiing and Indoor Rock Climbing. There was also a chance for us to capsize a canoe in the local swimming pool. Included was a visit to Caernarfon and to King Arthur’s Labyrinth. The biggest hit of the week was when we went to a river and built a mini dam to raise the depth of the water so we could swim in it. All the cadets finished the camp feeling fit as they done P.E every morning. The camp was a really good and we would recommend it to any cadet. Wing Athletics Training and Competition 2002 By Cadet McLellan (F)
This year 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron have taken to athletics in a big
way. There were 2 training sessions; one held at Scotston Leisure Centre
and the other at the indoor track in The Kelvin Hall; and finally, the
wing competition held in Ayr. After last years disappointment of only gaining
a 3rd in the males, and no placing for the females, we were determined
to set the record straight.
Pictures of the Athletics competition are available in the Photo Gallery |
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