On the hottest weekend on record since 1976, Air Cadets from Thames Valley Wing attended the Oxfordshire’s Annual Joint Services Cadet Challenge. An annual competition organised between the Sea Cadets, Army Cadets and the Air Training Corps.
This year’s Challenge was hosted by the Sea Cadet Corps on board HMS Bristol, a commissioned warship permanently harboured in Portsmouth and used by the Cadet Forces for training.
The Air cadets were given the opportunity to try their hand at open water rowing, boating, practical first aid including training on defibrillators, as well as a tour of HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship during the battle of Trafalgar and Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard.
Cadet Marcus Berridge noted that he’d never been anywhere like this before, and would encourage any other young people in the area to give the Air Cadets a go; “Air Cadets is the one thing I look forward to every week, there isn’t anywhere else we get the opportunity to do stuff like this!”
The Air Training Corps, also known as the “Air Cadets” is a national youth organisation sponsored and supported by the Royal Air Force and industry for 12 to 18 year olds, Air Cadets provides a challenging and varied syllabus based on aviation and military themes.