Colleagues,
I write to you this morning reflecting on what has been a very challenging year, not only for us as in Norfolk & Suffolk Wing but the wider organisation and the nation. I’m sure we all thought at the start of 2021 we would be much further forward than we are and certainly not thinking we would be talking about another Covid variant that is now playing havoc across the country. But we are where we are and we certainly can’t change it.
This year you have all risen above the challenges. Early this year there were countless MS Teams sessions where you continued to engage with your staff and cadets providing training and development sessions. It was relentless, tiring, and sometimes arduous, yet you carried on with a sense of duty and responsibility to each other and your cadets. In the spring you picked up your tape measures and scissors and set about making your squadrons a safe place to meet, you marked the floors, updated the notice boards and invited your WSO’s to sign off your team’s hard work, to bring your cadets back face to face and boy did you do an amazing job! You embraced the guidance, went out and brought additional signage and devoted hours to the task, also taking time to refresh your units. As a WSO at the time I know that I and my fellow WSO’s were amazed at the work undertaken and the high standards that you all set. With this, as a Wing we opened our squadrons quicker than any other Wing. It wasn’t a race but we were driven to succeed and wanted to get back to what we do best, parading face to face with our cadets.
Since this time and through the hard work and dedication of the volunteers, the opportunities have come thick and fast. We hit the hills on DofE expeditions, our road marching team took to the road providing the cadets with the chance to gain the blue badge as part of the PTS. We ventured back into Fieldcraft at RAF Honington, attended a regional summer camp at RAF Coningsby and 2 trips to the National Air Cadet Training Centres at Windermere (as the first wing to use the facility) and Fairbourne (Staff development and MTB training) The Multi Activity Camp at Croxton Road Thetford was a huge success and the training team provided opportunities for NCO & staff development. We continued to interview our SNCO and Commissioning candidates with 100% pass rates at the Wing and Regional interview stages. First Aid Training has continued and adapted to the Covid conditions, having completed the course myself, this was no easy task! At a national level the Air Cadet Muster took place at RAF Cosford for 1000 cadets to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the ATC and the National Aerospace Camp took place at RAF Syerston really cementing our aim to become an Air, Space and Cyber Focused Youth Organisation. We even managed to get cadets gliding!
We welcomed our new WExO Sqn Ldr Simon Roberts who has already made a huge difference to our ways of working and that of the HQ team, with more to come in the new year.
You should all be incredibly proud, and now take a well-earned rest. Next year will present many more great opportunities but more about those in my New Year’s Message.
Can I wish you & your families a very Merry Christmas and I look forward to catching up with you in the New Year.