Eleven Air Cadets from 2120 (Witney) Squadron have celebrated completing their bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award this weekend.
Completing their expedition in the Cotswolds, the eleven boys and girls have brought to conclusion twelve months of hard work towards the bronze award, which has involved dedicating time to a volunteering opportunity, enhancing a skill set, improving a physical activity and completing an expedition of two days and one night’s duration without adult assistance. Some activities included have seen the cadets volunteer at Helen and Douglas House shop in Witney, improve their First Aid skills and develop their swimming abilities to include basic lifesaving knowledge.
Completing his award, Cadet Sergeant Aaron Gibson said; “This has been a really enjoyable experience. It was hard work getting this far but when I look back at what I’ve done and what I’ve achieved with my team, I can feel really proud. I had a really enjoyable expedition and it didn’t rain either!”
Squadron Commanding Officer, Mike Caffrey praised the Cadets for their work leading to the end of the Bronze award:
“Introduced to the Air Cadets in 1959, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is an external activity that we provide as a core part of our syllabus. It teaches the participants a lot about themselves, how to look after each other in the outdoors and the joy of adventure when away from adults, though we supervise expeditions remotely. With emphasis on teamwork throughout, we’ve watched every single Cadet grow in stature and the awarding of eleven Bronze awards is credit to their hard-work, commitment and community spirit. I look forward to repeating this occasion with the next group to complete the Bronze award, and these eleven as they work through their silver award.”
Witney Air Cadets continue to train and encourage the next generation with a wide range of training and skills that are beneficial to military and civilian life. Being an Air Cadet offers the chance to take part in exciting activities including summer camps at RAF Stations, Sports, Adventure Training and of course, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.