Well done to Cpl B on their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award, joining 3 of their comrades and Bronze DofE Awards for 3 cadets who completed their expeditions last month. Great effort.  The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, like community services, sports, and drill/discipline is one of the pillars of the 1368 cadet experience. It's not just about getting the certificates; it also builds friendships and experiences and creates a sense of comradery aligning well with the Air Cadet motto 'venture adventure' (one of the reasons why the Air Training Corps is the leading operating authority of the scheme and funds the cadet's eDofE enrolment cost, if they achieve the award).

... on delivering a splendid prize giving and enrolment evening to celebrate individual and team performances that have been excellent throughout the year and to welcome the parents of our latest batch to 1368 (Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa) Squadron. The cadets and NCOs did an outstanding job to get their presentations of their achievements in community service, sports, parades, camps and DofE in only a week and a half. Some very fun stuff thrown in by them, as well. Takes something special to present them to a room of over 120 people.

Remembrance Sunday is a national opportunity to remember the service and sacrifice of all those that have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life. At an Air Cadet Squadron, we remember the Armed Forces, and their families, from Britain and the Commonwealth, the vital role played by the emergency services and the huge sacrifices paid by the fallen in conflicts around the world, to protect those freedoms. Cadets from 1368 Squadron split into two, to parade at both of our towns, Royal Leamington Spa and Warwick town-centre at the same time. For many of our cadets it was their first formal parade; their first opportunity to parade in uniform and show their pride in the Corps, upholding the standards of the organization. Parades also help to develop their confidence, responsibility, self-reliance, resourcefulness, endurance, and sense of service to the community, qualities vital to their success in whatever they do after school or university. Over 40 cadets from the Squadron par...

October saw an usual intake of fresh new cadets into the 1368-fold. Idea was to repeat the success of our large "1021" intake by having a large cohort at same time so they make friends and go through training together. Queen's death put things back a few weeks hence our "1022" intake turned out to be a bit bigger than planned hence we've been parading 40+ more recently. Cunning plan to scare them off with cross country running didn't work out (38 turned out when it was the worst weather we'd seen). Seems that some have stuck around hence the NCOs have been drilling and shouting at them to see if any leave. And the purpose of drill is? Well, from AP 818: "Drill is a powerful aid to discipline. It develops a sense of corporate pride, alertness, precision and readiness to obey orders instantly. Good drill in aircraft is directly fostered by the habit of drilling smartly on parade. Personnel are better prepared for any work they have to do – on t...

Congratulations to Sgt G and Sgt C on getting their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards finally signed off. You marched through that one quite well and stepped up to the plate. It was a long road but fitting that you're the first of the batch through the oven. The Air Cadets is the largest operating Authority of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. The DofE objectives have strong parallels in the RAF Air Cadets and participation is strongly encouraged. Benefits for participants include: The DofE is understood by those outside of the ATC, where achievement in cadet examinations or other ATC activities may not be. There is a greater expectation of involvement by the cadet in the planning stage of their DofE experience than in standard cadet syllabus, thus accelerating the process of personal development. The ATC syllabus offers an almost ‘off-the-shelf’ programme to gain an Award and there are ample opportunities for cadets and young volunteer staff to gain Awards by their work within the...

 ... 1368 (Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa) Sqn Air Cadets. An amazing achievement which shows how a little preparation and team spirit can go far. In October we expanded! Fantastic individual performances from long standing team 1368 players. Medals for some of our newest '1022 intake' in their first outing with the Squadron. Stronger together. The great thing is that everybody can gain confidence by believing that they can get better and achieving their own individual improvements, and there's nothing like a team and a goal to help with that. 

 ... the cadets were finally issued with light sabers (well, one torch, but isn't it great!). 1368 cadets assisted with their community duties to help the amazing Warwick Lions club with their annual Bonfire and Fireworks night, moving barriers and escorting important sponsors contributing to the community.  Community service is one of the pillars of 1368's Annual Calendar. We view it as our civic duty to engage with the local community and presenting young people's positive and enthusiastic contribution to helping worthwhile causes and the communities where they live.

The overriding response seemed to be "I'm actually enjoying this" when it came to the 1368 Bronze expeditions in October. It was a bit of a race against time to get them away before the expedition season closes (the nights draw in) but we did it, with 2 teams from 1368 undertaking their newly planned expedition route to test the existence of Warwickshire footpaths around Hatton. It just seemed to be about having fun camping with your friends. A nice shower or two on Saturday, but pretty lucky on the weather for Sunday and a really nice group of cadets, what's not to like.

Leadership training is both fun and challenging, a chance to test your nerve and put theory into practice with problem solving tasks where you have to lead a team. It's like escape rooms for the military. Well done to the five cadets, Cdt H, Cdt Th, Cdt B, Cdt R, Cdt Tr, and who achieved their Bronze-level leadership badges last week over a two-day course. They had to a lead a team of cadets they didn't know, including NCOs from other Squadrons. Some Cpl's amongst them, perhaps? Bronze leadership develops the briefing technique (SMEAC) introduced during the cadet Foundation blue badge course and allows cadets to explore the fundamentals of leadership theory. The course expands ideas into more advanced ideas such as action centered leadership and different leadership styles.