Easter 2013 had a new twist for a number of members of staff and cadets from across Thames valley Wing as they enjoyed the hospitality of RAF High Wycombe during their Easter Camp.

Despite the snow, frost and freezing temperatures the camp enjoyed a whole host of activities including trips to the RAF Museum at Hendon, a visit to RAF Halton, Hell Fire Caves and the C17 and C130 fleets at RAF Brize Norton. Continue reading →

Flt Lt Mary Houghton, Squadron Commander of 2211 (Bracknell) Squadron, received a commendation during surprise visit as the Squadron was preparing to move to Longmoor Training Camp for a weekend exercise.

Flt Lt Houghton was awarded a Regional Commandants Commendation for her work at various Squadrons within Thames Valley Wing as well as her support to the Wing’s successful RAF Camp programme.  Continue reading →

Fifteen cadets and staff from Thames Valley Wing have just returned from the 2013 Alpine Adventure ski trip in Bavaria, Germany. Alpine Adventure is a well established ATC activity that has been running for nearly 20 years and provides the opportunity for up to 80 cadets to either learn to ski, or to improve their skiing techniques.

The Thames Valley Wing cadets formed part of the South West Region contingent, staying at a 14th Century Mill in Wertach, along with cadets from Region, as well as others from Manchester, Middlesex and Kent. Continue reading →

Having experienced the delights of a mornings flying with 2 AEF at RAF Benson, a group of cadets had the added bonus of a sneak visit to see the air ambulance helicopter.

Arranged by Warrant officer Dan Twigg, the accompanying officer on the day, the cadets from 1116 (Woodley), 2402 (Burghfield) and 2403 (Aldermaston) Squadrons were surprised when it was announced that they would be going to look around the helicopter. Continue reading →

The best of the best from the Thames Valley area have come up trumps in the annual South West Region activities held this year at MOD Boscombe Down.

With activities ranging from Drill and presentational skills through to aero modelling and media communications, the battle was on to see which of the 6 Wings that form South West Region could come away with the silverware. It is fair to say that the competition was fierce but friendly throughout the whole days activities whilst the support provided by the staff, either directly to their own teams or in running the day as a whole was truly amazing. Continue reading →

In a surprise result, the cadets of 2211 (Bracknell) Squadron have won the Thames Valley Wing Activity Day held at Edward Brooks Barrack from a strong field of 287 cadets from right across the Thames Valley.

Bracknell secured the win by a strong performance across all the categories – Foot Drill, Banner Drill, Aviation Art, Aeromodelling, Photography, Media Skills, Aircraft Recognition, Flights of Fancy and Map Making. Runners up were 1996 (Earley) Squadron followed by 211 (Newbury) Squadron and 381 (Reading) Squadron. The overall drill winners were favourites 1116 (Wodley) Squadron who now go forward to the Regional Activity Day. Continue reading →

Waking up at 6am isn’t the usual Sunday morning for a teenager, but the cadets from Slough squadron were up for the challenge of Wing Activities Day. Ready to compete, we arrived at Edward Brooks Barracks prepared to engage in the competitive spirit of Thames Valley Wing. As Slough squadron’s team captain, Sergeant Pusey was already motivating the cadets: “This is a great opportunity to boost the confidence of three of our new cadets.” The new cadets at Slough squadron had been preparing and training for this opportunity to demonstrate how much they have improved over recent months, and were excited to participate. Continue reading →

The annual Inter Squadron Swimming Competition was held recently at Temple Cowley Pool and saw 21 Squadrons from across Oxfordshire and Berkshire in fierce battle for the awards on offer.

The competition itself was spread across four classes (Junior Boys, Senior Boys, Junior Girls and Senior Girls) and comprised both individual and team events in all four main disciplines, namely Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle. In addition there were further categories including the individual medley, one cadet completing all four strokes in one race, the medley relay (4 cadets 4 strokes) and the freestyle relay (4 cadets any stroke). Continue reading →

What do you get if you take 100 Air Cadets, a confidence course, the RAF Outreach Team and a choice of field craft training areas – well you get the most successful  greens camp offered by Thames Valley Wing to date!

The camp, now in its third year at Pirbright Camp in Surrey, was aimed at the Wing’s younger cadets with a three day “Blue Phase” which was followed by a two day “Green Phase” field craft exercise.  Also in the mix were a VIP engagement day and a myriad of evening social activity. Continue reading →

Cadets from Thames Valley Wing have been putting themselves in the news at their first weeklong Media Camp held at Pirbright Camp in Surrey.

The cadets learnt lots of new skills including photography, copy writing, newsletters, film making and presentation skills during the week as they provided media cover for the Wing’s annual greens camp. Continue reading →